Wait for it... the Long Dash and Silence

Now, the National Research Council time signal. 
The beginning of the long dash following ten seconds of silence 
indicates exactly one o'clock...

Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of a Canadian institution, National Research Council's official time signal, broadcast on CBC radio every day just before 1:00 PM. It began in 1939 when the Second World War was just a few months old. In a day when accuracy of time pieces was more of a challenge, this was the standard for precision across the country. 

In earlier years it helped sailors properly set their instruments for navigation and allowed  railway companies to be punctual, along with assisting OCD Canadians set their watches every day.

I really hadn't considered that what is the oldest segment on CBC radio has changed through over time. In an interview with Laurence Wall, the current voice of the time signal, he noted that today's computerized broadcast equipment reads what was once ten seconds of silence in the lead-up as a system failure, so we beep our way to the long dash of 1:00.

Ten seconds of silence is an eternity any more. Humans are so adept at making noise and injecting it into every orifice of silence that we assume that silence is an enemy to be vanquished rather than a friend to be welcomed. 

Through the ages to the present day the mystics and holy ones have practiced silence and encouraged it in others as a way of listening for God. While I've appreciated periods of silence in worship in monastic settings we seem to be generally suspicious of it in Protestant worship. I once heard a church growth "expert" suggest that there should never be more than a few seconds -did he say three, or five/?- in a service in order to keep the energy level up. I wonder if he'd ever been informed that "energy" might be the work of the Holy Spirit? 

Today the time signal is incredibly accurate because of the use of an atomic clock, but who sets watches or clocks these days? We just pull out our phones and there the precise time is.Perhaps we all need the long dash as a reminder of the value of silence.