Embracing technology can help as we move into a new era of worship

Last week we received delivery of a piece of technology for one of our computers.

It was a seven-port external USB extension with its own power source, and what’s more, I knew why we needed it, knew how to connect it to the computer, and knew how to get the computer to now do all the things we wanted it to do.

For some of you reading this, this might have been an easy task, but my goodness, it made me realise just how far I’ve come in the last six months in my use of technology.

Before this pandemic began, I was computer literate in that I mainly used it to word process, and used it to send and receive emails, and I really wasn’t that interested in using it to do much more.

Technology just didn’t interest me that much. Then came lockdown and suddenly the church building was closed, people couldn’t meet in person any more, and technology became a much more essential part of our lives.

There were only two options for many of us; either to sit still and lose contact with our friends, family, and for me, my church family, or to take what were initially baby steps into the land of technology and explore how we could keep in touch.

Fortunately, at the beginning of lockdown my younger son, a science teacher, was still at home and he encouraged me in my journey, firstly showing me how to record videos which were then put on the website.

By a couple of weeks, they were being woven by one of our elders into a church service, complete with hymns, readings and reflections, and these have gone out every Sunday on our website for people to view, and feel that they are still part of the church family. They have also reached people we now think of as our extended church family, being viewed from all over the world.

In these early days we were also introduced to the concept of v i r t u a l v i d e o mee t i n g s , mos t l y t h r oug h z o o m, a nd t h r oug h o u t this process we have had two zoom coffee mornings every week and it’s been great to see everyone, if only on screen. We also quickly learned how to host a virtual Sunday School event for children, again through zoom, and while it can be a noisy affair, (children learn very quickly how to un-mute themselves) it’s also a lively affair.

Then there are the church meetings which can be conducted from the comfort of our own sofas. My goodness we’ve come a long way.

The old proverb says that “Necessity is the mother of invention.” That’s certainly been true for me over the last few months, as it has for many folks.

Ev e n my e l d e r l y mot h e r i n a nursing home looks forward to her zoom vi deo conference with t he wider family on a Saturday evening.

So, I am going to enjoy using my seven port external USB extension and marvel at how far I’ve come.