Mrs. Angus and I went to church this morning. People all around us texting, playing with iPads, kids screaming and crying, people talking, not whispering, but talking all through the sermon. People getting up to go the bathroom, going get a drink of water, etc. What a zoo.

It's quite sad actually. Little reverence and respect. At my church we actually talked about increasing reverence and what we can be done. One big issue is electronic devices. It's not just kids and teens that are the problem, grown adults playing games and texting during our sacrament service. I think we've got a good plan in place and look forward to the results on how to combat this.

How about the pastor, priest, etc simply telling them all to put their play toys away while the service is in progress!!

I know a number of preachers who would quite clearly told them if they want to have their faces stuck in some smart phone, to take it outside.

I was head usher in our church, long ago, and part of my job was to see that the usher staff, and I, maintained the proper attitude while the service was in progress.

Unfortunately, it seems as if far too many people go to church nowadays simply to be seen there. Have little/no interest in the sermon or the real purpose of the service.

Today was First Communion Day for the 2nd Grade kids, so that made it chaotic unto itself what with families and all. Our pastor-priest's sermon frequently consists of Social Justice Warrior lecturing and requests for more money, so that's a big tune-out right there.

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Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
How about the pastor, priest, etc simply telling them all to put their play toys away while the service is in progress!!

I know a number of preachers who would quite clearly told them if they want to have their faces stuck in some smart phone, to take it outside.

I understand what you're saying, but some of us are paying attention. However, our Bible is on our smart phone and prefer it to paper as there is about 50 translations and Strong's Concordance at our fingertips.

Wow, that's messed up. Thankfully our service isn't like that.

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However, our Bible is on our smart phone

Yea never thought of this. Any particular links or apps you would like to share?

And yea...if my mom caught me doing anything except paying attention during mass, well....it wouldn't be a particularly glorious Sunday for me.

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Originally posted by mbinky:

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However, our Bible is on our smart phone

Yea never thought of this. Any particular links or apps you would like to share?

I use YouVersion as my Bible app on my phone and iPad.

Bible Hub is the one I use.

I use Bible Gateway on my iPads and iPhone. It has references, ability to speak the scripture, etc.

Yeah, our church is a small church where the biggest problem are the two screamers in the pew in front of us. The parents do nothing.

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Originally posted by mbinky:

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However, our Bible is on our smart phone

Yea never thought of this. Any particular links or apps you would like to share?

Bible Gateway is the main iPhone app with 50 translations. This is my most used app in church and Sunday school. I can match translation to preacher/teacher then flip to another translation (e.g. I prefer accuracy of NASB).

I also bought a NASB w/ Strong's iPhone App from Tecarta. If you like Strong's this is a great App for finding where else that exact word was used.

I was looking around to see if this existed this morning. As of today, I'm helping my father find a new church. The one our family has attended for just under 50 years had its final service yesterday.

Dad wants a church within his comfortable driving radius. We went to the contemporary service today - might go back on another day for the earlier traditional one. I was glad to see the younger ones without electronic baby-sitters showing. We have a couple of other churches we will visit to see if any just speaks to him.

My church invites people to follow along the sermon in pew bibles or on their bible ap on their phones. Texting and talking and crying is another level of rude though

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
I understand what you're saying, but some of us are paying attention. However, our Bible is on our smart phone and prefer it to paper as there is about 50 translations and Strong's Concordance at our fingertips.

That's me, too. I take seriously the idea of Sunday being a day of rest but sometimes when I'm woken from my nap during the sermon, a bible verse captures my attention and I want to look it up on my youversion app.

I saw an elderly woman one time insisting to the younger couple sitting in front of her to put away his phone, he tried unsuccessfully to explain he had his bible on his phone open.

We have separate services for youths and those ages that need it, get baby sat. We have some special needs people that are a part of the singing and worship but before the sermon starts, they are led out. During the singing, they sometimes whoop and holler but, at least, it's not something they can help.

I guess I'm lucky, we seldom have any issues with anything like that. There is quite chatter and some moving around before Mass starts but not during the service. But when Mass is over don't stand around to long or you will get run over!

I like my church. It's very "modern," compared to Mom and Dad's church. That took a while to get used to, honestly, but once the pastor starts his talk, the texting and chattering seems to stop.

Right now, I think the only thing that bugs me about my church is the young adults (and some not-so-young) who don't seem to have a handle on taking their hats off. My inside-the-head voice says, "One, you're indoors. Take off your hat. Two, you're in church! Take off your hat!!"

But maybe I'm just an old fart.

Our church has an app with sermon highlight and it lets you take notes so you do see many people with their phones on that are engaged, but you also see a few that are doing anything but paying attention. For a few weeks in a row, we had a family of 3 sit in front of us and the husband was playing games, checking Facebook, messaging people that while the two women were taking notes in the margins of their Bibles. I was upset but my wife made a good point when she said that at least he’s in church. Maybe the women had a deal with him, I don’t know. Maybe something was able to slip into his mind and maybe crack open the door to a relationship with Christ for that man. So, I’ve had to change my thinking on the matter a little bit.

I still can’t stand it when parents allow their kids to check out during service and dick around on the phones.

I wonder if your experience has anything to do with the reason more and more people are choosing the church of hoops, goal posts and ball diamonds .

30% more adoration, half as much preaching, all the yelling you want and of course all the wine you want.

My church does everything through the YouVersion Bible app and it’s not unusual to see half the place or more with their phone out following the sermon. We don’t have hymnals or bibles in the seatbacks like in the church I grew up going to. They are pretty good about steering people to put their children into the kids ministry and moms with infants have their own room with the service streamed right in via ROKU, so disruption is minimal.

We recently left a church that was like what the OP described. People constantly on their cell phones, talking, letting the kids run wild, and the music was more akin to a rock concert than a worship service.
We went back to her family's church which is a 35 minute drive for us, but it's a small church with 30-40 people on Sunday morning and the music consists of a piano player and the congregation singing.
It's old timey, but then again so am I.