Church streams Sunday services real-time onto phones
A congregation is streaming its Sunday services onto phones and computers to enable people to worship without having to go to church.
St Andrew's Church in Bo'ness, West Lothian, will screen services real-time on iPhones and iPads.
Minister the Reverend Albert Bogle said it was hoped it would open up "a whole new world" for the house-bound.
The congregation also plans to try streaming services onto other devices such as BlackBerrys and Nokia phones.
The church has already been webcasting services for a number of years.
The latest venture was spearheaded by Mr Bogle and congregation member Neil MacLennan.
"We tried the technology last weekend, and I was able to sit in my car on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and watch the morning service live," Mr MacLennan said.
"Essentially you could watch the service anywhere which had a 3G network."
He added that he hoped other congregations would follow their example and try the technology.
Mr MacLennan said: "What we've developed is not some big secret to be kept in Bo'ness, we want other churches to try this and we'll be happy to help them on their way."
Mr Bogle said the technology allowed easy access to the church services at a click of a button.
He added: "Although it is feasible for an old folk's home to set up a projector with a laptop and speakers to watch one of our services online, it's not very practical to do that every week."