As the Big Day In "shopping cart' goes live today, Sydney churches are being warned they must act with urgency to ensure their technical capabilities are up to speed in time.
"The ISPs [Internet Service Providers] have already said that in December you won't be able to get a service installed," says Justin Carey from Angliconnect. "We have our work cut out. It's a very short time frame. But my aim is to ensure we make our best shot at a truly successful project."
The aim is to have all participating churches ready before Christmas so Angliconnect can conduct testing mid-January.
The Big Day In is the launch event for Connect09 and will take place on Sunday, February 8 at 10 am.
The technical problems will be especially acute for those parishes outside the Sydney metropolitan area if they can't access the Australian Christian Channel.
"If you don't have an ADSL, broadband, or cable you need to call us urgently," Mr Carey says.
However even churches planning to use the digital TV broadcast should assess their equipment.
Mr Carey claims piggy-backing on Big Day In provides opportunities for massive cost savings.
"Yes, there will be a digital TV broadcast. But the issue can be that church projectors older than three years [may] not be compatible with digital TV," says Mr Carey.
"Now is the time for all churches to do an infrastructure upgrade. This project will reduce hardware costs by 30 per cent purely based on volume. This means equipment will be much cheaper" more so than buying later from your best mate down the road."
Mr Carey said the "shopping cart' presentation allows churches to buy an option that suits them best.
Angliconnect is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sydney Diocesan Secretariat.
Archbishop Jensen urges involvement
Last week, the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, sent a personal email to all Sydney rectors urging them to participate in the Big Day In.
"True to the nature of our campaign, the best place for this launch to happen is in the local church. But in order to stress the unity of our efforts, we have decided to join all our parishes by television and webcast."
The broadcast will be a 50-minute church service, featuring a talk by Dr Jensen, and music by Colin Buchanan and Garage Hymnal. It will be hosted by radio and TV professionals Samantha Boog and Glenn Daniel.
"I expect churches will utilise this launch in different ways," the Archbishop said.
"Some will cancel all services and just meet at 10am. Some will sandwich this in between their normal meetings. Some will move to a nearby hall to accommodate all congregation members. Some will watch it live and videotape from the Christian Channel to play it for their evening services.
"Like Connect09, it will be done in different ways, but the important thing is that it will be a joint effort, powerfully symbolising our unity in the Gospel and our desire to connect with our communities, and share the love of Jesus with them in 2009."
