Praying digitally is another way we can engage, communicate and ‘be’ with God and one another – as a praying community, and in praying for others. We’re not ‘virtually’ or ‘remotely’ praying – we’re praying!
I explore how digital offers unique opportunities to be with God in ways which speaks to our temperaments and how we relate to the world.
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Transcript
“Hi I’m Victoria Elliott. I’m based in Edinburgh, and I’m an active member of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
“As my day job, I work in the public sector as a Senior Content Designer, basically developing digital content so it meets the needs of its audience. A lot of my job is to do with words, and using evidence to plan how written content is presented and laid out, so that people can find the information they need.
“I originally studied theology, and since then have been actively involved in church. I’m probably bit of a theology nerd, so I’m also involved on the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Faith and Order Board, as well as its General Synod.
“I’m particularly interested in digital as a medium through which we encounter God – and make God known in the world. Much in the same way as Paul wrote the letters we find in the New Testament, and later Luther, who used the printing press in the Reformation.
“I suppose in my own “quiet” way I’m a passionate advocate for the role of digital and faith in the 21st century. Not just in using it – and we’ve seen a huge uptake during the pandemic, for example through livestreaming – but also ‘how’ we use it, and how we approach it through a reflective, spiritual, and theological lens.
“Speaking, writing letters, printing pamphlets, or using digital to spread a message or engage in dialogue are all essentially forms of communication. Each have their own subtle nuances or quirks which add their own unique colour to the ways in which we communicate. They are different means, but they all provide a way for us to communicate and engage.
“For me, the fundamental substance and meaning remains – our humanity, and our relationships with God, one another and the planet.
“Much like stained glass streams coloured light into a church – it’s still sunlight and glass which interact together – it’s just the way the light takes on different colours which is different.
“So, praying digitally is another way we engage, communicate and ‘be’ with God and one another – as a praying community, and in praying for others. We’re not ‘virtually’ or ‘remotely’ praying – we’re praying!
“We interact with images, sounds and words to pray and encounter God. Digital gives us the opportunity to do this in slightly different ways, and it also broadens the possibilities for how we interact with God.
“So what does this look like? I don’t really need to rehearse the many and creative ways we have connected online to worship through the pandemic – be it live-streamed services and reflections on YouTube and Facebook, or bible studies and gathering for prayer on Zoom.
“But I think if we limit how we understand the use of digital for prayer through the lens of the pandemic, we miss a trick. Digital enables us to engage with God in ways which speak to our God-given temperaments, much in the same way we all have different learning styles.
“For me, despite having a career in words, words on their own don’t always do it for me. Without my senses being engaged through sound or sight – it can sometimes feel quite dry. As someone with ADHD the many words used in prayer means you have to sit still, which can feel restrictive at times. “Stop fidgeting” is something I remember quite a lot when sat as a child in the pew! In some ways it was liberating during lockdown to be able to have live-streamed worship on the TV, and wriggle guilt-free to my heart’s content!
“Singing in choirs over many years gave me an excuse to use my whole body for the purpose of worship. Not only that, singing beautiful music connected me to God in a profound way – and listening to it now, has a similar effect. And something that has sustained me in my spiritual life outside the confines of a church building is listening to choral music sometimes quietly, or not so quietly, singing along! Through technology my phone and headphones, together with an internet connection, I can do this wherever I am, and whatever I am doing. I do not necessarily need to sit down to do it.
“I’m also a fan of a daily prayer app called Universalis. Universalis lets me follow the liturgy with words and audio on my phone. As the liturgy progresses, the relevant line being spoken is highlighted in yellow. This also engages me and keeps my attention. Somehow, hearing the words spoken, and seeing the highlighted text moving down the screen, I am carried through the liturgy and it’s harder to get distracted. The words also leap off more significantly to me than if I had used a paper book.
“These are just a couple of different examples of what works for me. No one person is the same, and neither is there one “right way” of praying! But I do think using digital for prayer opens up new and different ways for us to be with God, in ways which speak particularly to our souls. And ultimately, through our souls we meet God.”
This video was originally produced for the Premier digital Lent Course for 2022. View the full video and read the course notes on their website.