There is a kind of technological inertia whereby people adopt a certain level of gadgetry with which they are comfortable, and which seems to do the job, and stick with it. Nothing wrong with that of course. Though tech does tend to improve all the time, and once you've seen that there is something so much better than you have now, you might have a rethink.
I've been away interloping at a conference of the Northumbria Community and the Anabaptist Network, held at the home of the Order of the Holy Paraclete. Met some great people, heard some new ideas and appreciated the theological input.
There is, however, a bit of a conflict between monasticism and technology. The 'simple' lifestyle may not have room for a computer.
The problem is, if there is a technological line to be drawn, where do you draw it?
What level of technology is permissible?
A projector and laptop were used some of the time. Other people seemed uncomfortable even with their unpowered presence.
I wonder what requires more technology - reading liturgy from a piece of paper, or from a projection on a wall?
The latter usually requires a laptop and a projector - hitech items both.
Giving everyone a bit of paper is clearly the way of simplicity.
Except that it's not. I did promise not to talk paper any more, but...
Firstly you need a couple of hundred sheets of blank paper. That has been produced from trees grown thousands of miles away - pulped, bleached, pressed, dried, cut, packaged - using vast amounts of computer controlled machinery. It has to be delivered, again using transport machines. Someone then has to use a computer to combine text and graphics, and put an image on one piece of paper using an inkjet or laser printer. This is then usually duplicated using a combined digital scanner/laser printer called a photocopier. Finally, everyone can be given a copy. Though by this time we'll have to switch our electric lights on so everyone can read it.
Somehow people see this as a simpler process than using the computer as above, and connecting it to a projector pointed at a wall.
Human self-deception knows no bounds. We aren't usually interested in where our stuff comes from. I'm sure a visit to an abattoir would turn most people vegetarian.
I should perhaps have included a third option above - the way of the OHP. Quite a simple device with a bulb, fan, and lens. You scrawl on a transparent film which the light shines through, onto a wall. That is the simplest of all 3 options, and arguably the most ecologically sound.
It was with some barely concealed amusement then that I arrived at the community of the Order of the Holy Paraclete. The Paraclete is of course the Holy Spirit, from the word used in John's gospel. John gives us a unique understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. The word means someone who stands by us, sticks up for us, defends us against accusation.
The OHP sisters were of course quite delightful ladies, very lively and full of the joy of the Holy Spirit. Not at all like the image of the Mother Superior beloved of inferior dramas. These are people who know what it's like to walk with the Paraclete.
John 14:16 New International Version (NIV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
Location:Whitby
Since you've returned to the topic!
ReplyDelete1. Referring back to a previous comment on an earlier post that OHP is more flexible than ppt - unless you have the software and someone who can operate it efficiently it is very difficult to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit and change parts of the service, especially songs, with ppt. With an OHP the appropriate acetate can be found reasonably quickly and substituted easily.
2. I notice that you carefully don't mention the work, materials, energy that go into producing the computer, projector, software.
3. Once a paper copy/book is produced it does not require further energy expenditure each time it's used - I'm discounting the comment about electric lights because they are not on specifically for reading and would not necessarily be used during daylight hours.
4. As to your idea that paper is too fragile to last, I would refer you to the fact that some churches still have copies of prayer books, hymn books and Bibles that have been in use for decades - whether that is actually a good thing is another matter entirely!
5. The majority of people (especially but not exclusively older people) are still more comfortable with something in their hands than looking at a screen. Not many people watched the photo display on the screen on Sunday at church but many of the same people on Monday morning couldn't wait to look at the two small albums of photos I took in to the craft group and spent ages chatting to each other about them.
The change will happen of course, inevitably, but it will take quite a bit longer I think. By the time it does hopefully there will be a reliable energy source so that we won't have the power cuts that immediately render all that lovely technology useless.
What a long comment! Lynn says you have too much time on your hands!
ReplyDeletehere's my comments on the comments then:
1) I disagree! A song can be changed much quicker on the computer, and can be selected from thousands. Liturgy can be changed and of course Any Bible verse can be displayed. How many transparencies are needed to be that flexible? 10 thousand? And as for skilled operators, everyone puts OHPs upside down, back to front, and forgets to shuffle it up and down to get the correct verse on screen!
2) I purposely mentioned the computer being used in both cases. You are right about the projector though. The difference is that one projector (containing a bulb, fan, lens like an OHP & an LCD the size of a phone's) does for maybe 200 people. If you go to a church like St Andrew's you'll find shelves full of paper for 200 people, for several different services every week, and several services as seasons change. The resulting thousands of pieces of paper do wear out and need replacing.
3) see 2) and I certainly do include the usually dozens of bulbs that are always on unless we have a service outside. Why else are they on in daylight hours? I've never seen a church yet where the projector bulbs use more power than the lighting.
4) I suppose that's ok for BCP and Hymns Ancient and Older lovers. Not so good for the rest of us, as you say!
5) I seem to remember passing my iPad around after a midweek communion. People immediately understood how to move on to the next photo (physically easier than turning a page) and passed it around the table. That would be the like-for-like comparison at the moment, and soon it will be with a flexible screen that's even easier to use!
6) any mobile tech can be powered by solar charging so power cuts aren't the end of the world. According to The Times the other day, we may have Nuclear fusion by the 2030s too.
Hope that wasn't too negative!
Yeah, sorry about that. Think I was catching up after being away!
ReplyDeleteDoes St Peter's have solar panels then?
I'll not start trying to answer your comments on my comments or we'll keep going 'til Jesus returns - whenever that may be and I'm not going to start on that topic either.
I wish we did have solar panels. I started enquiring about putting a water turbine in the stream at the back, too!
ReplyDeleteIf the diocese was as Eco-friendly as it would like to be, we'd at least have solar-powered vicarages by now. Possibly even solar-powered vicars!