A new ‘vodcasting’ initiative called Channel CMS is set to revolutionise the way Sydney Anglicans relate to their global network of link missionaries.

"Vodcasting and the internet gives supporters a rich, visual immediacy to the issues their link missionaries are dealing with right now," says David Maegraith, Communications Manager of CMS-NSW.

CMS missionary Danny Mullins in France uploaded the first CMS video newsletter to the internet- the very day it was made by Mr Mullins!

Danny asked for it to be sent to his link churches, so they could pray for some very pressing issues that very Sunday.

One reason vodcasting is such a huge leap forward, is that is offers both ease and flexibility of use.

By subscribing to Channel CMS, supporters will automatically receive video updates from their link missionaries on their favourite digital device.

"We are now living in a visual age," says Mr Maegraith.

"While print will always have a place, CMS members and supporters love to see their missionaries in action. What vodcasting offers is videos of their link missionaries downloaded to the desktop, to play at home or in church, or to transfer to a portable media device."
CMS recently began uploading their missionaries' videos to Google.

This proved proved popular, but they are streamed videos, so viewers had to watch them online and it required a fairly fast broadband connection.

"What we are now offering with the vodcast service, Channel CMS, is the ability for viewers to download CMS videos to their desktop to watch whenever they want," says Mr Maegraith.

"Viewers can also burn the videos to CDROM to play in church and also incorporate into PowerPoint presentations to use for mission meetings."
The first Channel CMS vodcast was created by CMS missionaries Rolf and Bonnie Lepelaar in Cambodia.

It provides an evocative visual summary of their work at the Phnom Penh Bible College.

Tech tips

To subscribe to the CMS vodcast Channel CMS, you need to install a reader, to read the Channel CMS feed.

Mr Maegraith points out that some readers only feed text and images, other readers, like iTunes, only feed audio and video.

As a result, he recommends the Fireant reader because it feeds both the vodcast and displays text and images related to the vodcast.
You can download the free Fireant reader from here

Once you have installed it, copy and paste the Channel CMS link to add it to your Fireant channel list

"Fireant will then download the Channel CMS vodcast and voila, you are subscribed!" says Mr Maegraith.
Click here to visit Channel CMS