I've seen some really creative ways of actually engaging people's cell phone usage in worship for the purpose of worship. Jeremy Johnson from our class posted about what his church did on Easter Sunday. The Worship Community has some ideas that I'd definitely consider using in high school ministry. But what about the level of engagement we seem to have with our phones -- a level of engagement that many seem to struggle to leave behind for even an hour of worship? Does it help some of us focus on what we're experiencing in worship? Have we lost a sense of what it means to fully retreat as Jesus did and spend time with our Creator?
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Sunday, June 13, 2010
worship with cell phones or cell phone worship?
So I went to worship this evening at House of Mercy in St. Paul to listen to a friend preach. While there I couldn't quite get away from the concepts we talked about in class. There really wasn't much of any technology used in this worship service...but there were cell phones everywhere! It started with Tim Snyder taking a photo with his phone from behind the altar to tweet that worship was beginning. Then it was the high school aged kid sitting in front of me playing Teeter on his phone (I couldn't tell if he was better than me or not.). Next it was the kid's mom tweeting something, followed by the kid's dad checking his Facebook feed a few minutes later. I went without noticing any cell phones for a few minutes, but then the friend next to me checked his e-mail quickly, and then I had to check what time it was on my own phone...
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Just as a weird side note, the pastor at my last church insists on sermon notes. I thik the kids should send their notes in on Twitter or text messages! Then we'll see if the main point is there or what it is they are reacting to as it happens!!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't discount the ability of technology to aid in our retreat. My phone can play soothing music and give me a flame to look at. I haven't tried it, but I think it would work for me. I have seen intellectual Jesuits compare surfing the web to a type of contemplative prayer. In some ways the medium will dictate your composure, but there is more freedom there than we give credit for.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I think that you ask some very important questions. I will be honest, it annoys me when people check e-mail, text, tweet or whatever during worship. My reason is this: we are all together to focus on the God that gives us life and community. Now what Jeremy's church did was a great idea, but it was incorporated into the focus on God and not on-going throughout the whole service. You bring up the balance between distraction and engagement. We have so many things that distract us from God in our daily life that this one hour (two if you engage in education) can help us to center and clear some clutter from the other 167 hours of the week. But conversely, Jeremy's church brought to the forefront how to use media to deepen our relationship with God. It is all in the presentation and the intention. Thanks so much Lisa for a great conversation! Brigette
ReplyDeleteCell phones in church. What's next. I agree with you that cell phones can be very distracting, people checking emails and texting. In one of my posts today, a number of the youth have bible applications on their cell phones and rather than texting they were reading scripture. Additionally, several youth were taking notes using their cell phones Jeremy had a great post on how cell phones were used in his Easter service that had a very positive impact on ministry. Where do we go from here?
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