Some basic rules:

1) No one shall have one-on-one electronic contact with a juvenile parish member that does not include a cc: to another adult leader and, preferably, their parents as well. This is especially important for text messaging.

2) Adult social media communicators will monitor daily comments, postings, etc. that affect our parish electronic mediums. Any inappropriate behavior will be addressed immediately.

3) If it cannot be said publicly in the middle of the parish hall, then it should not be said privately.

4) Think thrice, send once.

http://www.ctepiscopal.org/images/customer-files//SocialMediaGuidelinesbooklet.pdf

Rev. Kurt Huber
St. Peter’s, Monroe, CT

You’re right, the distraction factor is huge. I know when I took some classes earlier this year, everyone had laptops and were taking notes on them. At least they APPEARED to be doing that. Some were surfing, some checking email, some tweeting. As an instructor or if you were presenting a project, you never know what is going on in those computers. You just trust that they are listening to what you have to say and are being responsible. We may have to have the same attitude with smart phones.

Having said that, I think the church is way behind on using modern technology to connect with those of working age.

The barcode idea is very good idea from a technical and environmental standpoint. However, the danger of inviting congregants to use their devices for one purpose is the near certainty that congregants will then use them for other purposes during the service: texting, emailing, blogging, facebooking, IMing, youtubing, etc.

One way to use smart phones to promote church growth and outreach would be to encourage congregants to “check in” on their social networking sites before they turn off their devices. Maybe a dignified sign at the entrance suggesting that people “Check in, then check out. Please turn off electronic devices during the service.”

Technology only moves one way, and that is forward, so I agree that it will find its way into worship one way or another. Perhaps offline electronic readers in pews would be a middle ground for those who find books an anachronism. It would be an initial expense for the church, but think of the saved costs in paper and postage, not to mention conserved natural resources. As these things become cheaper that may very well become a cost-effective no brainer way to go.

Smartphone use in worship has both good and bad potential. The potential good is that people use their smartphones/ipads for just about everything. They are a great way of conveying data, and this should be harnessed to our advantage.

The potential bad is that they can contribute to the atomization of society, and worship is a communal– which is to say participatory– ritual. As people become atomized, they participate less. Staring at a smartphone in a room full of other people staring at their smartphones isn’t communal, it’s parallel play.

A smartphone is essentially a hand-help video feed. We would do well to consider what is being activated in our psyches as we shift from (left brain dominant) alphabetical communication, which has been the norm of “Western Civilization” for the past few thousand years, back towards (right brain dominant) pictorial communication, particularly in the context of religion.

My two cents worth: whatever we do, let us beware the absence of context inherent in any matrix.

I recommend that decision-makers read “The Alphabet Versus The Goddess” by Leonard Shlain and “Psychology and Western Religion” by Carl Jung for insight into the implications of incorporating technology into ancient ritual.

Yes, change is inevitable. But if it is not undertaken consciously we risk unforeseen and unintended consequences.

On the other hand, I understand the point of view of the elderly but in my former post as Parish Admin, I created all-inclusive bulletins using Rite Stuff and Rite Song and all church goers including the seniors and non-cradle Episcopalians loved using these large print bulletins. The pew books are becoming obsolete one way or another.