In Theory: Keeping up with technology

A group of Jewish entrepreneurs observed a National Day of Unplugging, lasting from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Reboot, a nonprofit organization aimed at reinventing the traditions and rituals of Judaism for today’s secular Jews, hosted the event. The event was based on 10 principles of the Sabbath Manifesto, an ongoing project designed to hopefully lessen the hold technology has on people. “Avoid Technology” is one of the principles. How important do you believe it is for people to unplug and reboot from time to time? How do you teach, in your respective place of worship, ways people can put down the cell phone or laptop without this utter “disconnectedness” that some may feel at no longer being attached to their electronic devices?

?

Unity is a spiritual approach to life. Unity is known as practical Christianity — applying spiritual principles to daily life.

Within the principles of unity, we would emphasize the practice of daily prayer and meditation. A typical meditation includes relaxation, stretching and taking at least three deep, cleansing breaths; acknowledging the presence of God, our Higher Power, or Divine Mind; claiming our desired good, for example, healing; resting in the silence, the true state of receptivity to Spirit and gratitude, which is giving thanks for what we have received.

During any prayer or meditation, anything that would be a distraction from the spiritual practice, such as the television, cell phone, landline phone, computer, iPod, etc. should be shut off. Morning prayer and meditation set the tone for the day. Evening prayer and meditation help us release any issues that have happened during the day and give us an opportunity to express gratitude for the blessings of that day.

THE REV. JERI LINN

Unity Church of the Valley in Montrose

?

This past week I was able to enjoy a couple of days of just “being” rather than “doing.”

I am a goal-oriented person, but there are times when this can be unhealthy for us emotionally and even physically. So when I read the article in CNN Living on unplugging, I felt it was a timely piece on not avoiding technology, but learning when to set it aside to embrace human connection. I find this a practical and necessary activity.

I believe it can be life-giving and restorative to unplug once in a while for the sake of connecting with our families and others in a way that does not interrupt conversation and eye contact. Checking our phones, Facebook, e-mails, etc., can frequently interrupt this connection.

And these modes of technology can definitely create disconnectedness in relationships if they are the “major” means of communication. But I do not believe they are bad in and of themselves — it is how they are used or abused.

Do people who use these devices daily feel disconnected without them? Most likely. But I believe the idea of setting them aside for a major part of the day — such as a Saturday or Sunday to give more face time to our loved ones — is a wise idea.

THE REV. KIMBERLIE ZAKARIAN

La Vie Counseling Center in Pasadena

?

The issue this week is definitely a generational one.

People younger than me probably do need to reboot occasionally from technology — but people my age and older probably need to get more up to speed with today’s technology.

Frankly, this is not an issue in my church or among my parishioners, unless I am hopelessly out of touch with my flock. The “disconnectedness” some may feel is sort of the modern version of being unable to relax, to “be still and know that I am God,” to get away from what used to be called the rat race.

Regardless of the culture and regardless of the century, one needs to be able to find quiet time, time away from the ordinary, time to “restoreth my soul beside the still waters.” The need for quiet meditation has always been around; what has changed are the temptations. It is now easier to get music, noise, talk, and whatever other stimulus we want, electronically.

The need, perhaps, is to see the value in silence and possibly to appreciate the fact that I can’t always get what I want when I want it. Monasticism wasn’t all bad, you know.

THE REV. CLIFFORD L. “SKIP” LINDEMAN

La Cañada Congregational Church

?

The full 10 principles of the Sabbath Manifesto are:

1. Avoid technology.

2. Connect with loved ones.

3. Nurture your health.

4. Get outside.

5. Avoid commerce.

6. Light candles.

7. Drink wine.

8. Eat bread.

9. Find silence.

10. Give back.

Sounds heavenly to me. I’m considering becoming Jewish.

THE REV. AMY PRINGLE

St. George’s Episcopal Church in La Cañada

?

I have to say that the United Methodist Church has invested more in encouraging congregations to be technologically savvy than it has in advocating a retreat from our devices.

A recent conference focused on “Theology After Google” brought together progressive Christians with influence built from blogging, podcasts, YouTube posts, etc. For these voices to be heard and considered, we’ll need to continue to catch up to the conservative theological voices that are so loud and so widely disseminated.

And as we all know, social networking is one more way to build community, and that is pretty much how we use it at our local church. On our Facebook page, people post hilarious photos of kids waving palm branches and hunting Easter eggs, and we share reflections about worship or study or life. We celebrate the fact that with e-mail, committees do not need to meet so frequently, freeing us for the other good stuff God has for us.

All that having been said, the CNN article suggests creating a Sabbath space to counter an addiction to your technology — a breathing space to stop staring at the screen or waiting for the next vibration, which could be oh-so-much-more-interesting than whatever it is you’re doing at the moment, which could be talking to someone else or driving.

Just because it has become habit to have a text conversation going while talking to a real person doesn’t mean it has become respectful or healthy to do so.

So I appreciate the encouragement from the Reboot movement.

Rest from work and gossip and the trivial details of someone else’s life, look up at your world, and honor the person in front of you.

THE REV. PAIGE EAVES

?

The goal of simplifying our lives in an increasingly hectic world is timely. Avoiding technology completely may be impossible, but is not necessarily what is most needed.

No matter what the degree to which we are individually bound to a technology-laden daily experience, or even compulsively devoted to it, we can increasingly grow in insight, initiative, effectiveness and freedom when we understand that God governs our lives.

Each of us has a natural connectedness to our creator, from whom we can never be disconnected, who brings peace and fulfillment, and who is always present, both when we are fully occupied with daily demands, and when we take a break from them.

The Apostle Paul wrote that “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, not height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8: 38, 39). Paul’s calm and self-assurance persisted in all circumstances, recognizing no undue imposition and no lack.

We can let go of what ultimately is a self-imposed acceptance that we are imprisoned by a trap of technology, and see that the effectiveness of our technology is the good that it accomplishes — what isn’t good will ultimately be supplanted by what is.

The God-given spiritual side of each of us includes a perfect balance, which we can expect to fashion us, without any over-attachment to favorite devices and activities, including the ability to let go of them when necessary for our own progress.

We refresh ourselves most effectively when we realize that spiritual poise cannot be taken away from us, that it is unaffected by technological devices, present or not present. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, wrote in “Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures,” “Whatever is governed by God, is never for an instant deprived of the light and might of intelligence and Life [God].”

Thus we should expect a spiritual intuition to guide and satisfy us moment by moment.

GRAHAM BOTHWELL

Church of Christ, Scientist, in La Cañada

?

It’s not the primary teaching focus of our ministry to periodically disconnect from technology, but still that’s one of the ways we can fulfill Jesus’ wise order to “come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.”

When Jesus said this to his disciples, “There were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” That describes many of our lives — multiple demands upon our time, including checking e-mail and voice mail and keeping up with our Facebook friends.

More and more people get put off with us if we don’t respond to their electronic messages within the hour. We are expected to be online all the time. Even the time we take to spend face to face with friends is interrupted by one or the other’s cell phone ringing.

And, of course, there is the incessant barrage of “crises” streamed to us through the news channels, demanding we keep up with the latest happenings. Jesus’ disciples may not have had laptops and cell phones, but we do, and they often make us feel as overwhelmed and swarmed as the disciples must have felt among the crowds.

It is crucial for the well-being of our souls to spend personal, private and uninterrupted time with Jesus Christ, in prayer and scripture reading, also in quietness and just listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, even in wordless worship and awe of who he is.

These are the times that he gives us direction, encouragement and renewal. We were made by him and for him. We weren’t made to be slaves of the media we originally created to make life easier. Reassure your friends that you love them, regularly turn the devices off for a while and restore your soul, enjoying nothing but the Lord’s presence.

In regards to your soul, such “disconnecting” is actually the best way to recharge.

THE REV. JON BARTA

Valley Baptist Church in Burbank

?

Humans are defined, in part, by the drive to increase their efficiency and, thereby, to increase the availability of leisure time in which to connect with and celebrate the glories of life.

For this generation of humans, that drive has manifested in remarkably seductive technology, allowing us to have at our fingertips a treasure trove of accumulated knowledge that can be accessed and instantaneously shared in a multitude of new ways.

As a “commuting” minister I value the technology that allows me to serve my community by these means when I’m not able to be on site. At the same time, I’m acutely aware of the incredible preciousness of our “presence” to one another, whenever and wherever we gather as a covenanted people.

I’m aware of the depth of communication and celebration that happens when we “unplug” and of who and what is lost when we don’t. To help our plugged-in community “connect with and celebrate the glories of life,” we ask that cell phones be silenced during our gatherings, and that there be conscious appreciation for the ways in which our time for shared worship is set apart from the demands of the day-to-day. Music helps. So does our time of silent meditation and the ability to personally greet one another and to express — in word or flame — our joys and sorrows.

However, the greatest reminders with the most far-reaching implications are our persistent affirmations of inherent human worth and dignity, which have nothing to do with the technology at our disposal and everything to do with our responsibility to care for one another in every way possible.

THE REV. STEFANIE ETZBACH-DALE

Unitarian Universalist Church of Verdugo Hills in La Crescenta

?

For thousands of years, fasting has been a Christian discipline used to help focus on spiritual verities. This recent Jewish endeavor is essentially the same but without any apparent spiritual significance. It’s directed, after all, to secular Jews and not those who normally observe the Sabbath. Some other principles proposed include shutting up and drinking booze. It kind of reminds me of smoke-out day (maybe in reverse) or take-your-kid-to-work day.

There may be some benefit from their suggestions, or maybe no benefit at all. I imagine it depends on the individual, but the main priority of this unplugging day has to do with technology.

I suppose there are times I feel encumbered by my constant cell phone companion, but then I recall the times when I didn’t possess the device and my vehicle stranded me. Then there was that time when I had to deliver a eulogy after a SigAlert impeded my punctuality. Had I no means of communication, it would have been wretched. I also use my computer daily, but I’m not burdened by it.

Sometimes it seems overwhelming when my congregants overload me with many “pass-it-on-if-you-love-Jesus” kinds of e-mails, but I appreciate having information at my fingertips, and I want people to be able to reach me. This is our world.

We don’t rely on smoke signals to relay messages, and we shouldn’t die hiking in Angeles Crest National Forest simply because nobody knows we’ve fallen into a ravine and didn’t bring a cell phone.

My advice to my church might be to leave the stuff alone until after they’ve had a time of morning devotions.

After that, I’d regard technology a good gift of God, thank him, and use it to his glory. Maybe an occasional fast from modern gear will make them more aware, but like electricity, faucet water and gas stoves, I’m not certain we’d be any more spiritual, let alone happy about it.

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Montrose Community Church