Printing

Went to the Bible study at the cathedral this morning.  Canon Jules talking about Noah's flood.  Quite interesting.  We didn't get to the animals two-by-two bit though we did mention Gilgamesh and chiasmus, so it was quite learned.  Liked the bit about how God's bow now points up and away from the earth rather than hanging over it Damoclese-style.

Genesis 9:17
¹⁷ Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”
(follows from the verse here)


At the service afterward (surprise, surprise - a Eucharist) I sat in suitably anonymous solitude (that's what cathedrals are for, I think?)  Until I was joined by a young couple who'd turned up 2/3 of the way through, without any books.  I felt bad about this and gave them mine.  After all, I should be able to remember the words by now.  I mostly did - except for the last hymn, which is one of those that you know the first couple of lines and then get lost.  Thankfully I was able to log on to the free wifi and download the words to my phone.  I appreciate that it might have looked a bit odd to the more traditional churchgoers - that I was singing a hymn from my phone.  This is one of the many disadvantages of not having a screen in church.

Here's what cafe church would look like at the cathedral, with a big screen.

The church has often been at the forefront of technology.  We were early adopters of books and the printing press.  What is the next step?
It's quite clever that you can now get a 3D printer.  That means you can print objects rather than just flat sheets of paper.  Think of it like an inkjet, that prints a layer of plastic ink.  Then does the same again on top, so it slowly builds up layer upon layer until you have a picture in 3 dimensions.  I don't think it's quite that simple - maybe the video below will help.
Don't know what use the church could make of this - other than tacky merchandising ( at which we're already sufficiently adept.)  Crafty stuff for kids, probably.  Suggestions welcome...