Yr. B, Wk. 16: OMG, Spirituality in the Digital Age

Class: Christine, first year; Mariel, Tom, Gene, second year; Erica, third year; Scott and Susan, mentors.  Absent: Christine.

Mariel led us through Compline. While Scott served Pasta Puttanesca, we shared answers to Mariel's question for the week, "With whom do you ever share spiritual matters?" Some of us were drawn to EfM in the first place just because it's a forum for exploring spiritual matters in a mutually open and respectful way (with "undefended hearts" as Bishop Neil Alexander says).

Sharing led to discussion of what evangelism means in our society today, and the model we arrived at was a kind of constructive, hospitable, engagement with non - believers in a way that would make them interested in having what faith offers. Mariel offered St. Francis, "Preach the Gospel; use words, if necessary." Tom recalled Fr. Roger's story of a saint (Augustine?) working alongside villagers to repair their town, and leaving without preaching, telling a skeptical monk, "If we didn't demonstrate the Gospel in our work with them, nothing will."

We had an interesting detour into "Prosperity Gospel," and just what that means. Scott cited John Winthrop's preaching at the founding of New England Colony, to the effect that good people prosper, and failure is a sign of God's disfavor. There have long been preachers who promised riches to followers who will give their money to the preacher.

We discussed this week's essay, "OMG, Spirituality in the Digital Age" by Bishop Charleston of Alaska. The Bishop is an "extreme introvert" reluctant to use social media, who simply shared thoughts from his morning prayer time. His page "blew up" and became a self - selecting community of believers and non - believers alike, just a few bad actors who left quickly, and enough who wanted a tangible printed collection of these commentaries to make a successful book. He made some observations about the experience.

Our group was not so excited. Gene visited the website, and felt that it was a "fake" community; Mariel asked, "'Fake,' or just 'different?'" Susan observed from experience that conversation on line, even when it's synchronous, misses cues of body language and tone that we read when we're together in a room, and it comes down to people at their own screens writing past each other. Erica wondered if, being of a later generation than Charleston, she's less awed by the technology than the Bishop, seeing social media as nothing more than one other tool for communication. Was discussion and community - formation via books and pamphlets any different?

Tom was bothered by the Bishop's observation that this on - line community formed in a way opposite to most groups:

A religious community is often formed by identifying the parameters which circumscribe it: the borders of faith, the articulation of creeds, the rules and rituals that become the container for a culture. Once people either self - select or are recruited into this paradigm, they become a community. In the experience of our Facebook congregation, just the reverse process has taken place; over time people have entered in without any sense of structure; we have no litmus test for belonging, not even the need to believe in a higher power. Instead, an unspoken consensus of hospitality has developed.

It occurs to me as I type this that Bishop Charleston here describes precisely what we talked about in our earlier discussion of evangelism, setting an example of caring and hospitality without defining who's "in" and "out." 


Instead of a TR and collect, we collected around a lovely Linzer tart from Douceur de France, a gift from Susan.

Next time: We meet January 8. We'll read the assignment for Week 17. Dinner will be brown bag; Erica will bring worship; Gene will initiate a TR.