I performed by second wedding yesterday. It went well but I was struck by how many people asked me the same question with a concerned look on their face.
“You’ll remember to tell people to silence their cell phones, right?”
We had gathered to take part in one of humanity’s oldest traditions yet, before the wedding could really get going, we had to take part in one of humanity’s newest traditions: silencing cell phones.
I’m very mindful of when my cell phone should be on vibrate; I often double and triple check my phone to make sure it’s on silent. This definitely should take place at weddings but it should also take place in class, at the movies and during church.
But, just in case you forget to turn off your cell phone in church, here are some ways to avoid embarrassment.
Know How to Turn Off the Ringer
When a phone starts ringing in church it usually gets shut off after the first or the second ring. In some cases, though, the phone keeps ringing. This usually happens because the owner of the phone doesn’t know how to stop his or her phone from ringing. This actually happened at my church a few weeks after Christmas. Someone had gotten a new Android phone and, when it started ringing, the culprit had no idea how to turn off the ringer. So read the owner’s manual or talk to the nerdy neighbor kid. When you forget to put your phone on silent in church, you need to know how to turn off the ringer.
Get a Common Ringtone
Having a common ringtone will force other people to check their cell phones if your phone starts ringing in the middle of service. The key is to remain calm when this happens. If your phone starts ringing in your pocket or purse you need to stay calm. Because you have a common ringtone someone else around you will think that their phone is ringing. When that person starts to freak out and fumble around for their phone, that’s when you calmly and cooly turn off your ringer. The person freaking out whose ringtone you stole will draw attention to themselves and you can continue listening to the sermon inconspicuously.
Get a Church Response Ringtone
If you forget to put your phone on silent and “Like a G6” is your ringtone, you’re gonna have a bad time. Instead of Far East Movement or Katy Perry, avoid some embarrassment by getting a church response ringtone. How awesome would it be if your ringtone was someone shouting out “Amen!” If that was your ringtone then there wouldn’t be any need to be embarrassed. The people sitting around you would nod at you approvingly, excited to see someone so engaged with the sermon. The only problem could come when the speaker was sharing a personal story about his or her own failures. If the speaker was opening up about his or her sinful past, it would not only be embarrassing but also inconsiderate to shout out “Amen!” Those nods of approval would quickly turn to wags of the finger.
Those are some ways to avoid embarrassment if you forget to turn off your cell phone before church. While those do seem practical and entertaining, it’s probably best to just remember to put your phone on silent, in any setting where it would be inappropriate. Unless God calls you on your cell phone like Zoolander, there’s no need to answer it in church
How have you felt when your phone rang when it was supposed to be on silent?
The Amen ringtone, genius!