Tonight I get to participate in a conversation annual gathering of The Society of Christian Ethics (SCE). Tonight’s conversation will bring together the “Liturgy & Ethics Interest Group” and the “Technology & Ethics Interest Group.” Both liturgy and technology are formative practices that powerfully shape the moral life. To form Christian disciples, thoughtful Christians need to attend to both processes.
Here’s how this conversation was framed:
Pope Benedict XVI will be remembered, among other things, as the Pope who took the Roman Catholic Church into Web 2.0. Yet, his presence on YouTube and Twitter created a paradox: the Pope who critiqued the culture of secularism tried to use its favorite tools to form Christian disciples. This session will explore the complex relationship between our liturgical and digital lives, a relationship that will only grow as liturgical communities inevitably extend their connectedness through technology. The speakers will examine the ways in which liturgical and technological practices work—sometimes together, sometimes in opposition—to shape Christian lives. What insights do traditional liturgical practices offer the new world of the connected Christian? Conversely, what insights do digital communication practices offer to help Christians better practice, perhaps even retrieve, the Christian liturgy?
The interest groups have invited church technology expert Dr. Dwight Friesen (The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology) to discuss ways that local churches are using technology to keep connected and the various impacts of these methods. LEIG co-convener Therese Lysaught (Marquette University) will consider the ethical resonance of liturgy and its potential impact on the formation of technological practices. TEIG co-convener James Caccamo (Saint Joseph’s University) will explore some of the underlying technical and economic structures in use with an eye toward the hidden dynamics at work in ethics of communication technology.
This session is designed to enhance collegial interaction between members of these Interest Groups. It is also designed to meet specific goals of each IG. The session will serve the LEIG’ goal of exploring “the impact of cultural forces on congregational worship and moral action” and the TEIG’s desires to “provide a location for reflection on critical issues in technology ethics” and “increase awareness of the implications of new technologies for other areas of ethical inquiry.”
The Society of CHristian Ethics
Peace, dwight
