Reflecting on Our Technology

In my May Catalyst article, I refer to a show "On Being" which, if you don't already know it, is WONDERFUL. This show interviewing author Sherry Turkel is full of ideas to ponder. Enjoy!

Being: Sherry Turkle in Alive Enough? Reflecting on Our Technology

What do you think about our relationship with our technology?
Have you ever wished for WiFi in the Sanctuary?
Do you tweet during the Message for All Ages?
How does technology effect the sorts of programming we offer in RE?

If you think that last question is irrelevant, think again! The expectations of children and parents around learning are being shaped by social media and technology and your RE Committee is already working out how best to embrace or respond to it.

As people of faith we need to be conscious of how technology serves us. All these modes are very new. Our society is still deciding how best to use the new technology to form meaning in our lives and connect us together without stripping us of needed solitude or face to face interactions. The challenge of adapting to change is figuring out what is worth preserving.

Join the conversation!

The Quiet Side of Mystery Friends

We run the fun program, Mystery Friends every year at Channing Memorial.  Everyone seems to like it.  Adults enjoy thinking up clues and planning surprises.  Children enjoy guessing and hoping for the secret messages, written just for them.  This year I started thinking about why we really do this wacky matching game.
We do it for the fun, yes, because winter is cold and the holidays are over, and we need something silly to make us smile.  These are good reasons.

We also do it because making these small friendships leads to multi-generational community.  In a world where generations are increasingly separated, children have fewer chances to just casually interact with adults.  Mystery Friends connects two people who might not speak to each other ordinarily.  A tiny, but permanent bond is formed with this pair.  Even if the child and adult do not have much contact in the following seasons, they can look across the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall and think, "That person knows me, knows what sort of books I like to read, and likes Star Wars, too.  We have something in common."

I have watched my own kids form a special sort of fondness for their past Mystery Friends.  My son always seeks to sit near one Friend at potlucks.  My daughter names the Friend who gave her a craft kit several years ago every time she brings it out to make a new string bracelet.   I don't know if these adults even know the quiet comfort their presence brings.

Isn't that what community is all about?  When we have people who are a piece of our story?

Sign ups for Mystery Friends are happening now.   Yes, do it for the zany fun.  And as a bonus you get to be part of creating a loving community!

It Takes A Whole Village, revisited

Today, I am writing more on my Credentialing Portfolio, a chapter on Volunteers, when I came across this video slideshow I made a couple years ago during teacher recruitment.  I wanted to share it again, and rejoice in the community we have at Channing!  Enjoy!

Real People, Real Community

I heard this commentary by NPR's Peter Sagal a few days ago.  I love how he is asking questions about what it means that our children are spending more time with electronic computer relationships than with people. (In his funny style- Wait Wait is one of my favorite shows!)

 

Childhood is all about practicing skills we use as adults.  It is so true that real people are more difficult to handle than imaginary people.  Our children need time to be together with other children and adults to share joys and sorrows, make mistakes and learn from them,  to figure out what make their hearts sing. 

 

We do this in our time at Channing- or around the dinner table or in a musical group, we do this whenever we spend consistent time together invested in our relationships and building community.

We make sure our children practice their musical instruments or math times tables, but do we insist that they practice the art of community?