The worst case of staying “connected” I heard of was of a man who came up for communion talking on his phone.  As the priest came up to him, he said to the phone:  “Just a minute, I’m taking communion” and put the phone down on the Altar rail.  He received the Bread and Wine and then picked up the phone on the way back to the pew.

I did not witness that happening, but I read it on a reliable source (not T19 or StandFirm).

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

The best use of a cell in church I’ve seen was a little more than two months ago when Robert Schuler Jr. had everyone take them out during his sermon on reaching out to those that needed to hear about God’s love. He had them call, right then, one person and tell them, “God is working in your life right right now to bring you closer to Him and to answer your prayers.”

He had to tell them twice, but they did it. Many hundreds contacted.

I like what’s written just below our parish’s mission statement on our service bulletins…

“If God calls you during the service he won’t be calling your cell phone or pager; we thank you for turning off these devices.  Your cooperation helps keep our worship prayerful and reverent.”

This is in bold print, probably the 2nd most noticeable thing on the page, the name of the church being the first.

Before everyone had cell phones my wife and I built a house with a telephone on the wall in the bathroom.  It was the coolest thing in the world to look at.  Then one day it rang…
The wires are probably still in the wall.

I’m still astonished at the number of people who can’t manage to turn off their mobile telephones for funerals. And it’s not for lack of reminders.

But Phil [#1], your story is even worse because it was so deliberate—-about as deliberate as smoking a cigarette in church and grinding the butt into the carpet.

Mobile-telephone abuse is a good example of where Christians and others need to push back against secular culture.

Another story I read (again from a reputable source) is that a bishop was making his annual visit to a congregation.  As the bishop started his sermon with a joke, the Sr. Warden’s cell phone rang rather loudly.  The Sr. Warden (who was vested and serving in the Altar Party) answered the phone and handed it to the bishop with the words: “Bishop, God wants to talk to you.”

The bishop picked up the phone and talked for a few seconds and said:  “That was God.  He said to cut out the jokes and get to preaching the Gospel.”  The congregation laughed and the bishop continued his sermon - sans jokes.

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

Several months ago, a cell phone was going off in the middle of a sermon at my church.  And it wouldn’t stop ringing.  Then, after finishing a point, the homilst casually said, “That’s my cell phone, by the way.”  He reached into his pocket and it was still ringing (a reminder tone about unchecked messages.)  The congregation erupted in laughter.  He said, “You know, it’s a terrible thing when people come to church and don’t turn their cell phones off!  Our world is ripe with unrighteousness and that is one of its many forms.”  He went on with his sermon as if nothing happened.  It was hiliarious.

Deliver us from email.

#8—RTOFL :LOL: