Grafton Cathedral goes digital

Historic Christ Church Cathedral in Grafton is embracing the latest digital technology for its mission to the city and beyond.

Last week technicians were hard at work installing the cabling and antennae needed for a high speed WIFI network across the Cathedral campus. This week the new network goes live.

Free WIFI will be available to people visiting the Cathedral, attending events in the Parish Education and Welfare Centre, or simply sitting quietly in the garden to reflect.

The Dean of Grafton, Dr Greg Jenks, describes the free WIFI in the Cathedral garden as a digital welcome mat.

“Jesus was constantly inviting people to come and share, come and be healed, come and find God among us,” said Dr Jenks. “As a Cathedral we are a community of invitation, always putting out the welcome mat. In today’s world, sometimes a welcome mat looks like a free WIFI service!”

At his first Parish Council meeting after commencing as Dean in September last year, Dean Jenks presented a social media strategy for the Cathedral’s mission to the city and the north coast. The Dean’s Sunday sermons are published on the Cathedral web site, as text and video. The new WIFI network is the next step as that plan is implemented.

High speed WIFI will allow events to be streamed live from the Cathedral, as well as providing the technology infrastructure for multimedia to be incorporated into worship services and other events at the Cathedral.

“Our faith has ancient roots, but we share that faith using the latest technology,” said Dean Greg Jenks.