IN THEORY:Technology not as scary as first imagined

David Heimann is on a pilgrimage to visit 365 churches in a year’s time. While on his trek, he has used the latest technology to document his experience. Many religious leaders, in fact, have been similarly turning to the latest technology to reach the faithful. How have you used the latest technology to reach your congregation and what’s on your high-tech to-do list?

The purpose of our website is to help people who want to know more about Zen to learn about our center and then to consider taking one of our introductory programs. Those who practice at the center, have access to a sub-website and receive a monthly newsletter by e-mail. I am writing this response on a new wireless laptopI am a Google and Wikipedia fan, and the possibility of finding almost any information online is a thrilling explosion of knowledge.

But what about wisdom and compassion? While technology has obvious benefits, how cautious are we about its potential to negatively affect our lives? Most of us are aware of the obvious dangers of fraud, addiction, threats to children and teens, and so on. But have we considered how well we are managing our use of technology overall, or does it seem to be sneaking up on us and perhaps driving us unawares?

Two spiritual issues adversely affected by technology are community and leisure. Having time away from job responsibilities, enjoying free time and indulging in pure leisure are prerequisites for the spiritual life. The world’s religious traditions recognize the importance of a Sabbath, a retreat, a 30-minute meditation period, some time away from the demands of daily life to reconnect with the big picture. What happened to a day at the beach with family, a hike in the mountains or an afternoon on the porch, uninterrupted by cell phones, text messaging or e-mail? Being too accessible can rob us of the riches of privacy, silence, solitude and leisure.

The Zen tradition teaches that Zen practice develops in community. Sometimes people find meditation instructions online, do their best at home, join a chat or online course, and hope to realize their deepest aspirations without having to spend time with the others on the path. The importance of giving and receiving in spiritual community — face to face — can be underestimated in a culture that values extreme individualism and autonomy. People struggling to make their spiritual life a priority often try to use technology as a substitute for “showing up.” We have a policy at our Zen Center that spiritual questions, business matters and other non-urgent communications should take place at the center during our gatherings, rather than by e-mail.

We encourage practitioners to become more aware of the effect of technology on their lives, and to make conscious decisions about their use of it.

REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

A new age was launched when, in 1455, the Gutenberg Bible, the most famous incunabulum, rolled off the press as the first mass-produced printed book, revolutionizing future Biblical publications. The defenders of the faith greeted the phenomenon with fear and loathing.

The church exerted strenuous opposition to metal molds and alloys supplanting the quill. It was apprehensive that dissemination of the Bible among the common man would undermine the monopoly of scriptural knowledge held by priests and clerics. Thus was the marvel of movable type resisted by the religious technophobes of the 15th century.

In the sea-change from scroll to book, technology was placed at the service of faith, and so it can be today. The impact of the one upon the other presents an attempt to reconcile the millennial with the modern. Today’s technophiliacs can perform a great good by aiding in the presentation and propagation of God’s word. Just as the printing press allowed for wider access to religious truth, so today we can produce materials that are attractive and arresting to multitudes.

Technology can be a boon for the religious person. We can fax our prayers to the Western Wall where pious attendants place them in the crevices according to custom. But placing limits on technology can also be a blessing. Recently a “kosher phone” was developed that is “one of the most successful mergers of technology and centuries-old tradition.”

This phone is “stripped down to its original function: making and receiving calls. There’s no text messaging, no Internet access, no video options, no camera. More than 10,000 numbers for phone sex, dating services and other offerings are blocked. A team of rabbinical overseers makes sure the list is up to date.”

We must not become so enamored of our technical prowess that it overshadows the heart of the message we wish to convey. We dare not make an idol of technology, worship at the altar of the work of our hands, and speak in accents of arrogance. Technology, like all of God’s gifts, is susceptible to abuse. Our infatuation with gadgetry should not short-circuit the purity of the message. Slick and glossy may captivate the eye, but it does not capture the heart.

Through intelligent usage, technology provides a tool for dramatizing a message. But bombarding the senses cannot substitute for communing with our inmost being or God. I wonder if technology might be seized as a substitute for religion. The path to religious maturity is an arduous one, not suited for booting-up. Inspiration, not ingenuity, is the vital component for the journey.

I believe that the religious quest demands infinite effort and that no amount of space on a hard drive can accommodate the dimensions of the struggle. I am more intent on pursuing knowledge than having it handed to me, more attuned to mystery than mastery, more preoccupied with Heaven than cyberspace.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

As I joined this new congregation in July of last year, we immediately dove into renovating the website. Through the website, you can find out what food to bring to the potluck, sign up for a missions trip, submit a prayer request, find out if there is a life group in your locale or life-stage, find resources for Bible studies and Bible memorization, and much, much more. When we had a sudden death, the congregation knew that instead of calling our offices, and instant information on providing meals, the needs of the family, and funeral arrangements could be found on the website. The website has enhanced our capability to communicate as a church family. I am now trying to discipline myself to blog and I have been working on my MySpace account.

I use blogs now for several groups that I work with. We have only scratched the surface. We would like to add a subscription for podcasting of the messages. The iPod has already changed the way our people listen to messages during the week, and we are trying to make it more convenient for them. I have also started to use Skype, which is an Internet-based phone system that allows me to talk for free to our partners in the ministry around the world.

Like any great resource, there are negatives, but if we abandon them, they can only get worse.

RIC OLSEN

Lead Pastor

The Beacon

Anaheim

I turned 60 this year, so I am one of those who depend upon the younger generation to help me through the twists and turns of the technology race track. I keep intending to start a blog, but I can’t find the time to do all that technology demands. This week, I had a very productive meeting with three of my twentysomething group and they’re all excited about using YouTube. We talked for hours on setting it up, designing the episodic five-minute weekly segments, and how we would answer questions and, most important, pray for those who ask. I’m proud that I have a group of motivated twentysomethings. They give me hope that the work I do will continue and grow.

PASTOR JIM TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesa

Temple Isaiah, like most temples, uses e-mail to communicate and we are installing a DSL line. About a little over a year ago, we hired a full-time Internet specialist. Our temple website is templeisaiahoc.org. It took a long time to develop just the website we wanted. It is constantly changing and being updated with current events, programming and messages. Now we have a programming specialist who works at new technological skills. Her name is Faye Hirsty. We have kept her on as a marketing specialist in charge of programs. Most rabbis today have iPods, blackberries and cell phones. We soon will have a GPS on all our cell phones and in our cars and we’ll do live picture-telephone conversations. With new advances in our technology, rabbis will have to make decisions about how they relate to Jewish Law. It will certainly be a challenge.

RABBI MARC RUBENSTEIN

Temple Isaiah

Newport Beach

The Humanist Assn. of Orange County is a branch of the American Humanist Assn.. Our website is www.ochumanists.org and the national website is www.AmericanHumanist.org Since we only have regular meetings once a month, we rely on our website, as well as a monthly newsletter, to get the word out about upcoming meetings, which can vary significantly. Sometimes we have guest speakers, such as Eugenie Scott, the executive director of the National Center for Science Education, speaking on subjects like the evolution of creationism.

Sometimes we show DVDs of speakers like Richard Dawkins or Michael Shermer discussing some of their books, as a prelude to open discussions. But aside from the website, we don’t do anything much involving technology. We just encourage people to come and express themselves.

JERRY PARKS

Member

Humanist Assn.

of Orange County

More than 18 years ago, before my arrival at this wonderful parish, our vestry vehemently debated whether or not to have computers in our church office. When I arrived, we had good electric typewriters and a copy machine, but no fax or computers. Now every staff member has an up-to-date installation in their office. My assistant and I even have cable TV and a VCR … leaving our families wondering if we’ll ever come home!

We have an e-mail list of about half of our parishioners and regularly send electronic updates and reminders. Aware that many who used to use the yellow pages to “church shop” now do likewise on the Internet, we have knowledgeable webmasters for an excellent web site www.stmikescdm.org

I want us to always exhibit such excellence and trust others more able than I am with technology (that is, almost everyone else!) to keep this church updated technologically.

When I last went away on a three-month sabbatical to England outside Salisbuty in 1995, I thought that keeping in touch with friends and parishioners here via e-mail was revolutionary and frightening! Now using e-mail and the Internet several times daily is part of my regular routine. I try to read blogs written by friends around the world faithfully. I do so only at the station in my office at church, not with those mobile “crackberrys” to which some friends seem addicted. I truly dislike cell phones and use one only in emergencies.

I would like to be as technologically savvy as my wife and our 12-year old son are, but I know I am dreaming. And I have kept my ol’ manual typewriter — in case all this “latest technology” is just a passing fad.

(THE VERY REV’D CANON)

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar