Cell phones in worship

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Hank_Ford said:
Interesting column on the Washington Post site about the problem with cell phones during Mass.

newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/01/turn_the_other_ear_cell_phones.html
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I had it happen to me once. My cell is always on but I use it so seldom that I often forget I have it with me. That particular day, at the anticipated Sunday Mass, it went off during the offertory. To my embarrassment and dismay I couldn’t turn it off: I was so rattled that I didn’t realize I had it on “lock”. To add insult to injury, it was a wrong number. I now make a point of turning it to “silent” when I leave the house to head for church.
 
Phemie said:
I had it happen to me once. My cell is always on but I use it so seldom that I often forget I have it with me. That particular day, at the anticipated Sunday Mass, it went off during the offertory. To my embarrassment and dismay I couldn’t turn it off: I was so rattled that I didn’t realize I had it on “lock”. To add insult to injury, it was a wrong number. I now make a point of turning it to “silent” when I leave the house to head for church.
Click to expand...
The stars were aligned against you that day. 🙂

Once at the start of a Mass the priest handed me his cell phone - he had forgotten to take it off. It was turned on and I didn’t know how to turn it off, so I just took the battery out, then put it back in at the end of Mass and handed it back.
 
Hank_Ford said:
Interesting column on the Washington Post site about the problem with cell phones during Mass.

newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/01/turn_the_other_ear_cell_phones.html
Click to expand...
The local Roman Rite parish, St Andrew, has a statement read just before the opening hymn:

“Good morning, and welcome to St. Andrew Parish. In view of the solemn nature of of the liturgy, please turn off all cell phones and silence all pagers. Today we celebrate the name of feast. Our celebrant(s) (is/are) name of priests and bishops, assisted by name of deacons. Our opening hymn in number ___, on page ___ of ____. Please Rise.”
 
This does happen occasionally. But it seems to be much less frequent than it once was.

I think most people have acquired the habit of leaving the phone in the car or turning it off or to vibrate prior to the start of Mass. This is probably because we are usually expected to do the same at school, at work, at the movies, etc. At just about any place I visit where it is considered impolite for a phone to ring I see people fiddling with their phones as they walk in the door. It’s kind of like wiping one’s shoes on the doormat.

If one enters the church for Mass at the same time as others it is hard not to be reminded to change the setting for one’s phone.

Yes, people do forget. (Most of them are not deliberately rude.) It’s as likely to be the priest’s cell phone that rings at Mass as that of a parishioner.
 
Aramis said:
The local Roman Rite parish, St Andrew, has a statement read just before the opening hymn:

“Good morning, and welcome to St. Andrew Parish. In view of the solemn nature of of the liturgy, please turn off all cell phones and silence all pagers. Today we celebrate the name of feast. Our celebrant(s) (is/are) name of priests and bishops, assisted by name of deacons. Our opening hymn in number ___, on page ___ of ____. Please Rise.”
Click to expand...
We used to have a problem with cell phones in Church, then we got a new priest:D We make a statement like that at ours too. Every once in awhile someone will forget to turn their’s off. Father stops talking and just waits for the phone to stop. It doesn’t happen that often now, not to people who come every week!
 
I find it happening less and less. I think as they become more mainstream, we also develop the habit of turning them off when needed.
 
Just before Mass Saturday night, I stepped out of the Church to call in my fried chicken dinner, take out order, at the local restaurant.

I chose to leave the cell phone on when I returned to my seat, just in case the restaurant had any questions about my order.

Relax, I’m just joking. 😃

Jim
 
The leader of song makes an announcement before every Mass to turn off those “cell phones, pagers, etc.” Every once in a while you still hear one go off, especially during the holidays when a lot of folks are at Mass who are not normally at Mass.

Quick funny story: Monsignor was giving the PREP teachers a welcome talk and was just about to go start a prayer when a cell phone went off. He just stopped and stared, waiting and waiting and waiting for it to be answered but it just kept ringing. He then realized it was his phone (he was on-call so we let him slide 🙂 ). I have never seen anyone turn that red so quickly.
 
Hank_Ford said:
Interesting column on the Washington Post site about the problem with cell phone
Click to expand...
from title I thought you were going to tell us how pastors are incorporating cell phones in worship. I was thinking something along the lines of a bell choir, but using the various ringtones available on cell phones
 
Set your ringtone to your favorite hymn:)

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Holy God we praise Thy Name
Ave Maria
 
I habitually turn off my cell phone before entering the church for Mass…however, entering the church for our recent Advent penance service did not trigger my habit. I completely forgot about my phone, and of course…while in the pew praying my penance…my phone rings :eek: (one redeeming factor is, my ringtone is Ode to Joy!). I was so completely flustered, I could not immediately locate my phone in my purse. When I finally did find it, I opened it to stop the ringtone and did a speed walk down the aisle to the vestibule. I brought the phone to my ear and said hello?..and the guy on the other end said, “Oh, sorry, wrong number.” :banghead:

My son told me later that he was in the confessional when he heard the phone ring, and he knew it was mine! 😊
 
It is not legal in the United States, but in some countries churches are being rigged with some sort of jamming system that prevents telephone and pager signals to be received or sent from inside the building.
Maybe it is just me, but I think is is discourteous for cell phhone users to chat away while shopping. I still make a list when I go to the supermarket, making a call home unnecessary to find out what shouldbe purchased.
 
I was unaware that I had my phone in my purse one evening, and of course it rang during Mass. Then I had to find it.

One evening last year, a cell phone rang during the homily. Father asked everyone to TURN them OFF. He was more than a little peeved when another one went off minutes later during the Eucharistic Prayer. He stopped everything and said something about if Adam and Eve were around today, it would have been cell phones and not apples. Then he restarted the Eucharistic prayer from the beginning!

A priest friend admits that his has gone off during Mass before, much to his embarassment. He told a story about one man in the choir loft at one parish who answered his phone during Mass. He turned towards the wall, thinking he was muffling his conversation, but the sound was carried out into the congregation by the wall. Oh well.
 
mystified said:
It is not legal in the United States, but in some countries churches are being rigged with some sort of jamming system that prevents telephone and pager signals to be received or sent from inside the building.
Maybe it is just me, but I think is is discourteous for cell phhone users to chat away while shopping. I still make a list when I go to the supermarket, making a call home unnecessary to find out what shouldbe purchased.
Click to expand...
ya, i’ve heard of that jamming thing for cell phones but never in a church.
 
It doesn’t happen at our parish very much- mostly because when it does, our pastor stops whatever he is doing and stares until he finds the person frantically searching for their phone, and gives them a long, hard scowl even after theyve put it away. Never happened to me, but i know i would die of embarassment. Always, always turn my phone off when i get out of the car in the parking lot. :o
 
Just this Sunday, as DH and I were finding a pew, I heard an electronic ringing noise; ring, ring, ring… Not my phone, not DH’s. Wrong tone; besides, DH left his in the car, and I checked my purse for mine, and it wasn’t there. It seemed to follow us.

We found a pew a few yards away. A little bit later, still before Mass began, I heard it again. A plain ringing noise, not either of our phones. I double-checked my purse… then I figured it out.

It was DH’s watch.

😃

Ruthie
 
Some years ago, I was attending a Traditional Latin Mass. At one point, a cell phone rang. The woman who owned it answered it and started talking. The priest, who was doing one of the readings, simply stopped and waited. For about a minute, the woman continued talking as the heads of all the people slowly turned in her direction. The entire church was utterly silent except for her conversation. After a minute or so, she finally looked around her, realized what she was doing and ended the call. The priest then resumed the reading.
 
mystified said:
It is not legal in the United States, but in some countries churches are being rigged with some sort of jamming system that prevents telephone and pager signals to be received or sent from inside the building.
Click to expand...
I’m glad it’s illegal here. I used my cell phone in church a couple of years ago to call 911 for a fellow choir member who collapsed during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It was a lot closer than the nearest parish phone in the rectory office and didn’t require a key to get at it.

That said, after a highly embarrassing moment several years ago involving my ringing cell phone and the very much powered “on” cantor mike in front of me, I always put the phone on silent mode before attending Mass. 😊
 
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