no cell phones during church service

[g8orbill]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/D2_c81Nnsc0

[Gatormb]

Had mine go off sitting on the front row of a funeral right in the middle of a prayer. Generic Android ring. Two others panicked also.

[RayGator]

Really, I don't know why this should happen. When I go to Church I just leave my iPhone 4 in my car. I seldom go to a movie but when I do. Same thing. Just leave it in my car. Of course the car is locked and I have it hidden from view. This always works.

By the way, I'm using my iPhone now.

[cocodrilo]

I manage to live without a cell phone. I carry one in my car just in case of a road emergency, and have never had to use it for that.

I don't understand the need, unless it's business-related, and I find the ubiquitous use of cell phones by others to be very annoying.

I go to the post office to get the mail out of my mail box, and find that other people can't even do that without talking on a cell phone.

What did people do before cell phones? But I guess that's like asking what did people do before air conditioning. The fact remains that today they can't live without it.

[StrangeGator]

I keep my cell phone in my tallit bag when I go to synagogue, but I always make sure the ringer is turned off. It's usually still off from the night before. I spend two and a half hours at the dojo on Friday night. Our coats hang in the same room where we train. That's one place where you don't want your phone to ring. You have to dash off the mat to turn it off. Sensei doesn't like that. Sensei can do things to me my rabbi would never think of doing.

[Dreamliner]

"Hang on, Jesus, I just gotta get this."

[StrangeGator]

Just remembered a funny anecdote from years ago. We were having a discussion related to this in my son's psychiatrist's office right before the high holidays. He took my son's phone from him and dialed his own cell number. His ring tone was a shofar blast.

For those who don't know what that is… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shofar

[RayGator]

I know what a Shofar is and how it sounds. There is a guy in my Church that has one and he does a good job of playing it. I can just imagine how a stranger who is not familiar with it may be quite startled when he suddenly hears it go off on a cell phone!

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by RayGator

I know what a Shofar is and how it sounds. There is a guy in my Church that has one and he does a good job of playing it. I can just imagine how a stranger who is not familiar with it may be quite startled when he suddenly hears it go off on a cell phone!

A shofar is awesome when played very well. The rabbi at my last synagogue had been a trumpet player in the Minnesota symphony before he went to the seminary. Was also an excellent bugler. Could hold a note on the shofar for almost three minutes. Still plays at a lot of military funerals in the St. Louis area. Anyway, on Rosh Hashanah right after 911, he opened the service by playing Taps on the shofar. It was the eeriest, most powerful moment of any high holiday service in my life. Every hair on my body stood straight up.

[RayGator]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

A shofar is awesome when played very well. The rabbi at my last synagogue had been a trumpet player in the Minnesota symphony before he went to the seminary. Was also an excellent bugler. Could hold a note on the shofar for almost three minutes. Still plays at a lot of military funerals in the St. Louis area. Anyway, on Rosh Hashanah right after 911, he opened the service by playing Taps on the shofar. It was the eeriest, most powerful moment of any high holiday service in my life. Every hair on my body stood straight up.

I would have loved to have heard that!

[gatormark89]

In a lot of churches now, a large percentage of people have their bible on their smart phone and they use it for notes. Also, a popular trend among churches is to use apps that allow interaction and allow for the church to push "extras" to your phone (i.e. notes, slides from the "powerpoint" presentation, photos, links to resources, announcements, requests for prayer...and yes, even the option to give financially)

[g8r925]

I have my smart phone setting on my pulpit to record all of my messages digitally, I turn the ringer off of course, except for the one occasion that I forgot to disable the alarm clock , and it went off about half way through one of my sermons. My congregation got a kick out of that, my deacon said that's the two minute warning. I can get long winded some times. lol

[gatorman_07732]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

"Hang on, Jesus, I just gotta get this."

LMAO

[gatorman_07732]

Just the other week the same persons cell phone went off three times. That is pretty rude.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by gatormark89

In a lot of churches now, a large percentage of people have their bible on their smart phone and they use it for notes. Also, a popular trend among churches is to use apps that allow interaction and allow for the church to push "extras" to your phone (i.e. notes, slides from the "powerpoint" presentation, photos, links to resources, announcements, requests for prayer...and yes, even the option to give financially)

That's a great idea. We can't do that unfortunately. Jewish law forbids use of any electrical devices in the synagogue on Shabbat. (If you're really strict, you wouldn't use anything electrical or gas powered anywhere.) If you ever drive by a synagogue on a Friday night or Saturday morning, you'll often see a handful of men and women outside talking on their cell phones. They're called doctors.