The 'Golden Retriever' delivers again!

The back pew cartoon is a WINNER..
I already put the pic on my desktop and will print some for this sabbath.
Thank you!

I love squirrels so I just had to add the squirrel phone.

These are GREAT! I've been an adamant opponent of cell phone "abuses" since they crossed the line from prestigious car mobiles into everyday lives of ordinary and boring people who really don't need them in the first place. Like everything else in the world, once they make that transition they became an imposition on the rest of civilization. Kind of like how spam and AOL killed the internet.

At any rate, I'm all for having a very firm policy against them at worship service, having that policy explained one on one to each member and even having members sign individual waivers that they understand the purpose of the policy and that violation thereof is grounds for (temporary) confiscation (they can have it back when worship ends). Then there can be a cell phone idiots' room next door to the mothers' room. (But please don't impose these weenies on the poor moms, many of whom need the mothers' room to try to put a sleepyhead down for a nap, nurse an infant, or teach a toddler sanctuary manners.)

I just got a reply from the publisher from the Pacific Union recorder and I sent him the cartoon of the zapped user in the pew.

He had several suggestions to address the cell phone issue and mentioned about me writing a letter to the editor when reverence or worship service articles come up

By permission:

Hmmm. Interesting idea for the Recorder. I don't know if it would fit
one of Tom Mostert's columns or an ethics column. Probably neither, and
it wouldn't be a News story. Maybe you should just address the subject
of cell phones in church in a letter to the editor when you see an
article about worship services or reverance in church -- or anything
that you might tie it to.

It is probably a subject that local church leadership should address.
The problem is that people don't think about their cell phones when they
enter a church. They (we) don't even remember that we have a cell phone
until something reminds us of it -- my phone ringing, someone else's
phone ringing, or a reminder from a worship leader.

There are probably several options for solving the problem:

1. A sign at the entrance to the parking lot, or at a place most people
pass when walking from the parking lot to the sanctuary.
2. A sign by the front door of the church.
3. A sign in the foyer of the church.
4. A sign in the front of the church -- perhaps a lighted sign that is
only illuminated occasionally.
5. A verbal announcement from a worship leader to turn off or silence
your cell phone. In one church I attend often, a worship leader
humorously reminds worshippers to set their phones to "stun," meaning, I
suppose, that if someone calls, the recipient will get an electric
shock.
6. Put a notice in the bulletin, perhaps at the top of the worship page.

I have read that in Europe and Asia it is common for restaurants,
courthouses and other places of assembly to have machines that block all
cell phone signals inside the building. This has not been adopted in the
US because of fears of liability in case a physician, for example,
missed an emergency call and someone died as a result.

Then there is the question how to respond when a cell phone silently
vibrates during the worship service.

Personally, I have solved this by leaving my phone in the car -- when I
think of it.

Thanks for the idea.

Gerry Chudleigh, publisher
Pacific Union Recorder

The publisher loved the cartoon Amelia