Live stream for church mass

Transitioning to online has been a breeze for Dardanup-Boyanup Catholic Parish priest father Wayne Bendotti, who streamed his first church service through Facebook Live two weeks ago, attracting more than 900 views.

“I have always used Facebook as a ministry tool to reach out to the community and create discussion,” Father Wayne said.

“The weekend before Palm Sunday was the first weekend we had to close the church doors so I thought I may as well give Facebook Live a go and it went really well.”

In his 20 years as a priest, Father Wayne has worked all over Western Australia, making new friends along the way.

“When I first joined Facebook I used to laugh at the fact that some people could have 800 friends —I think now I have around 1800,” he said.

“So the reach for my first mass video was huge, people were sharing it and commenting throughout the live streaming.

“To see the comments continuously roll through as I was conducting the service was a really nice feeling.

“Although it was a very different church service, people were commenting “Amen” and “peace be with you”.

For those who are unable to access Facebook, Father Wayne has printed “Holy Week at home” leaflets in booklet form and has been posting them out to the elderly.