Annunciation Church & Ascension Mission
ASCENSION MISSION CHURCH LIVESTREAM
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ast year, the global pandemic that began changing the way Americans live — and worship — was an entirely unprecedented event. Annunciation, like all Catholic churches across the world, had to adapt to new ways of serving God’s people. Our Tech Ministry, highlighted in the February 2021 newsletter, quickly sprang into action to find
new and better ways of keeping our faith community connected in a time of social distancing. At our mission church of Ascension, one parishioner has gone above and beyond to make the livestream of our Masses available to all. Fred Costanzo and his wife, Andrea, have been parishioners of Ascension in Puako ever since
The livestream setup outside Ascension Mission Church allows for overflow seating.
Tech Ministry helper Liz Chock with Fr. Tony and Fred and Andrea Costanzo at Puako house after Palm Sunday Mass
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their retirement brought them from Northern Virginia to Hawaii eight years ago. The couple had long been active in their Virginia parish, so it came naturally to them to dive right into life at Ascension. In addition to serving as a lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Fred is also on the Parish Pastoral Council. In the summer of 2020, Fred heard that Fr. Tony wanted to begin livestreaming the Masses from Annunciation and Ascension. With a background in engineering, Fred decided to lend his talents to this new Tech Ministry. The first order of business was to help the mission church acquire a strong enough Wi-Fi signal to enable the livestream. Next, Fred identified and donated the necessary livestream cameras. Over the past year, Fred has found his involvement in the Ascension livestreaming very rewarding. “The livestream allows people to stay connected with their fellow parishioners,” he says. “Even if they aren’t comfortable being here in person, they can see their fellow parishioners coming into the church or receiving Communion, and they witness the offering of Mass. Even if we reach out and just reach one person who otherwise wouldn’t experience the virtual Mass that week, it’s a good thing. I’ve had nothing but really good feedback from people. Praise the Lord that we are making
