App-stinence for the Sake of our Souls

 We will often head out for a cycle before we drive to Trenton for worship on a Sunday or we might get out for a paddle on a nearby river or lake. This morning we decided that we would get out of the Bay of Quinte and forego the heat of the worship space. May the Creator and Rev. Isaac give us absolution. 

When we paddle/cycle/walk we rarely look at our phones and we figure this is good for body, mind and spirit. We attend to the environment in which we find ourselves and "find the quiet centre" of our being. We almost always return rejuvenated, and not being distracted or dragged into doom-scrolling is an undisguised blessing. 

Not long ago I heard about App-stinence, a movement begun by a Harvard student with a 5D Method

Appstinence founder Gabriela Nguyen developed the 5D method to guide people in their appstinence journey: Decrease, Deactivate, Delete, Downgrade, and Depart. 

• Decrease: Reducing the number of apps on your phone and spending less time on them. 
• Deactivate: Temporarily deactivating social media accounts. 
• Delete: Permanently deleting social media apps. 
• Downgrade: Switching to a simpler phone (like a "dumbphone") to minimize app usage. 
• Depart: Reconnecting with real-world activities and relationships. 
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Many children's camps are disconnecting from the digital world, requiring campers to arrive device free. I was delighted to hear that this is the case at Quin-mo-lac, the United Church camp where two of our grandchildren recently spent a happy week. 

There are groups of parents of public school kids who are pledging not to provide their children with cell phones to a certain age in the hope that this will help stave off the relentless pressure to have one.

There are also Digital Detox camps for adults who want to break what can be an addiction. I get this. I once attended a week-long seminar at a remote spiritual retreat centre in New Mexico. On the way to breakfast one early morning I looked up and around the glorious landscape to see colleagues dotted on trails. For a second I thought they were having an "unto the hills" moment, only to realize they were searching for a cell signal.

During the season of Lent Christians are often invited to abstain from activities and foods as a spiritual discipline. Should we app-stain during Creation Time in September to deepen our connection with the Creator. I know, crazy talk...

                                                 Camp Quin-mo-lac Tee-shirt...with thanks to Emma