Churches in the Enid area have another resource at their fingertips to reach the masses — the remote control.

PEGASYS, Enid’s community access television station, allows churches (and individual members) to film, edit and air segments promoting their messages.

Churches can easily take advantage of this opportunity offered by PEGASYS through a few simple steps, said station director Wendy Quarles.

“They take the training and they do the show themselves,” she said.

First, the church as a whole can purchase an organizational membership for $125 per year, which gives six church members access to the station’s equipment. Or an individual church member can purchase a single membership for $25 per year ($15 for students and seniors 65 and older).

Second, the member or members take an eight-hour training course that covers the rules and regulations of PEGASYS, how to run a camera and take care of the equipment, how to produce a program at church or in the studio, how to edit a program, and how to get it ready to air. The training can be broken up over a period of six weeks or can be done in four days, depending on the availability, Quarles said.

Once the training is finished, the member or members will assist in filming a PEGASYS-produced show — such as a board of education meeting, a city council meeting or a ball game — for experience before the equipment is released.

Lastly, the member is ready to take action. Those responsible for creating the television program check out a camera, which is typically for a 24-hour period.

When the member rents one of the 13 cameras available, there is no fee, but he or she signs a contract agreeing to replace the equipment if it is accidentally damaged or broken. Members have the option to pay a $20 insurance fee each year to relieve them of signing the contract.

“We recommend they get the insurance,” Quarles said.

Cameras can be checked out for periods longer than the 24-hour period, such as a week of church camp or a convention, but there is a separate contract for those events.

The members then shoot the program, edit it and get it ready for air. Programs range from 29 to 59 minutes long.

“They give us the tape, fill out a cable-cast request form to air it with information about the show and we schedule it for air,” Quarles said. “We’re not allowed to preview it. We do not control content.”

She said the producers — hence the members providing the program — are legally liable for their views, not the station. Quarles added she has not had any problems with religious programming.

“They know how to take advantage on how to spread their message,” she said. “It’s an inexpensive way to advertise. A lot of them do this for their homebound members. The homebound are dependent on these shows for their spiritual life.”

Quarles said Chisholm Trail Cowboy Church, west of Enid, was recognized by PEGASYS for boosting its membership in part because of the airing of Thursday night services.

Most churches and religious organizations film weekly. They get two airings a week and are locked into particular time slots.

“Basically we give everyone one prime slot (7 to 10 p.m.) and one non-prime slot (anytime other than the prime times),” Quarles said. A new program may initially be in a less-favorable spot, but will be moved, she said.

Most of the religious programming is filmed during the church’s worship service and then is sometimes combined with other events. She said an exception is First Baptist Church, which airs its Sunday morning worship service live and has all of its own cameras and editing equipment.

“This is our 20th year and people still don’t know about us,” Quarles said. “The whole purpose of PEGASYS is community access. It’s access to making their own TV show.”

To inquire about becoming a PEGASYS member, call 237-0099 or go online at www.pegasys.org.