On Screens in the Sanctuary
As we get ready to move away from using the screens to lead the congregation in worship, a question that has naturally come up is "Why?". That's a good question to ask, and one that I have been happy to answer. As I've done so, it's been expressed that there would be value in having a written explanation of the "Why" behind this decision. So, that is what I intend to do here in a relatively brief but comprehensive way. The reasons for moving away from using screens to lead the congregation in worship could be categorized by the limitations of screens, the personal effects of screens, and the unintended consequences of screens, with all of these areas being related to one another.
Limitations of Screens
Content & Context
Digital display screens, whether TVs like we use or even a large projector screen, are limited in the amount of usable information they display. "Usable" is a key word here. If the information on the screens is going to be useful for participating in worship, it needs to be legible. That means the text needs to be large enough to be, at least in theory, seen and read from anywhere in the sanctuary. That limits the amount of text that can be displayed on a given slide. Additionally, despite best efforts, the point at which text must break off between slides can often be awkward.
The degree to which screens are limited in this way is perhaps best demonstrated by comparing them to what they are intended to replace—printed worship resources like the hymnal and bulletin. Let's use a few common elements from the service as examples. In the hymnal/bulletin, the full Confession & Absolution fits on one page. The same content is split across six PowerPoint slides on the screens. If we compare slide transitions to turning pages, it takes five page turns to accomplish what otherwise takes zero. The Creeds likewise fit on one page each, but are split across six (Nicene) or four (Apostles') slides.
This limitation in content also limits context. With more content on a page, worshippers can see in a moment what is coming up and, just as critically, what has come before. Larger portions of the service are in view at one time, allowing worshippers to perceive the service more easily as a cohesive whole than as many segmented chunks. There is also the simple ability for each worshipper to turn pages at will in a hymnal or bulletin. A person might flip back to the readings for context during the sermon. Children whose minds are starting to wander (and, let's be honest, adults too) can page through the hymnal or bulletin and benefit from the Scriptural content found in these printed resources rather than just letting their minds drift off entirely.
Reliability
Technology is great when it works... until it doesn't. There are many things that can go wrong with using screens to lead a congregation in worship, and we've experienced just about all of them in the few years we've had screens. Even minor technical glitches can significantly distract and detract from worshipers' ability to participate, especially when it comes to singing. These are problems that simply do not exist with printed resources.
Singing from Screens
Singing hymns and other songs is perhaps the part of the service in which the limitations of screens are most obvious. For one thing, our screens are not nearly big enough to display music in a usable way. We would probably need to cover the whole chancel with a giant screen to realistically achieve that. So, we are left only with text, but even that runs into limitations. Hymns, generally, have a consistent meter; there is a certain number of syllables per line in a stanza. But the words that make up those syllables are not always the same. Hymns sometimes have stanzas that are then split inconsistently; one stanza might need one slide while the very next requires two.
Even for those who cannot read music, following a hymn along with printed music is still much more helpful than just using the words. It does not take long to learn how to connect what you are hearing from the organ or piano in a general way with the printed notes, following whether the music is going up or down in pitch and what the rhythm of the melody is. The printed music also helps you see how the words line up with the melody. You can see a whole hymn at once, rather than just a stanza or part of a stanza at a time. The context helps give confidence to participate in singing, context that is not available through screens.
Personal Effects of Screens
The limitations of screens also lead to effects on us personally as we seek to participate in worship.
When we do not know what is coming next, participation can turn into an anxiety-inducing experience. That is why, while we have used the screens, I've made an effort to make sure that a slide never begins with words spoken by the congregation. But there are certain parts of the service in which that is unavoidable (e.g. the Confession and Creeds, as noted above). Again, congregational singing very much suffers from lack of context, which can lead to anxiety or confusion, which can in turn lead to lack of participation. With the context that hymnals and bulletins provide, this is much less of a problem, if it is one at all.
The anxiety and uncertainty that can come from screens is only heightened when something goes wrong. A person can get used to having the text of a hymn or prayer split awkwardly between slides, especially when it is a part of the service that repeats consistently week to week. But when technical glitches occur, it is often much easier to simply give up on participating altogether than to find a solution quickly. A worshipper relying on the screens is unlikely to have their bulletin or hymnal open at the same time so that they could quickly shift where they are reading or singing from. Even if they did, the potential to get lost and become frustrated is much higher than using one source throughout.
The uncertainty and frustration that screens can produce is, again, most obvious with singing. On the whole, we don't sing many new hymns, though on any given Sunday we may sing a hymn or psalm or service setting that is new or at least unfamiliar to some. It may be an unfamiliar tune or even a familiar tune with different words. In theory, a person who does not recognize a hymn could then open up the hymnal to follow along with the music. In practice, this does not seem to be happening. As people in the pews, the organists, and I have observed, it has become very common that if a person cannot sing along just using the screen, they simply will not sing, even if they otherwise normally would.
Unintended Consequences of Screens
When the screens were introduced, it was certainly with the best of intentions. Nevertheless, there are other consequences of using screens to lead the congregation in worship that might not have been obvious or otherwise weren't considered when screens were introduced.
Screens Can Foster a Sense of Helplessness
This is simply a culmination of the limitations and personal effects noted above. With printed resources, each worshipper has control over the medium they are using to participate, or at most are sharing that medium with those seated right next to them. With screens, that control is held by one person in the sanctuary—and in the case of a technical glitch, even the person running the slides loses control. The sense of helplessness this has the potential to produce is very discouraging for participation. If I do not know what is coming next, if I lose track of where we are, and if I cannot be certain the words I need to follow will actually be available to me, I am more easily tempted to simply disengage. The use of screens makes us susceptible to falling back into the worship practices of the late middle ages—disengaged worshippers simply observing the actions of the professionals.
Screens Can Make It Harder to Teach Children to Participate
A valid case can be made that screens are helpful for those with very young children to participate. However, these benefits soon drop off after infancy, especially for the children themselves. Trying to get a restless or easily distracted child to focus on a screen far away introduces many more challenges than guiding them through the service with a hymnal or bulletin right in front of them. Even before they can read on their own, having a child follow along on the page can help them connect the sounds they hear to the words on the page. Since one of the benefits of the historic liturgy is repetition of certain parts of the service each week, even very young children can learn by imitation to participate in elements like the Kyrie or Gloria, participation that becomes more tangible when the child holds a bulletin in their own hands or follows along with their parents pointing out where we are on the page.
Screens Can Produce a Sense of Impermanence
Words on a screen are inherently fleeting and distant. They are there one moment and gone the next. What does this imply about the eternal truths displayed there? Admittedly, a bulletin is not nearly as long-lasting as a hardcover hymnal, and even hymnals won't last forever. But they are tangible. You hold them in your hands. You can take bulletins home and reference them throughout the week. You can share them with others for encouragement and evangelism. A PowerPoint presentation simply does not have these benefits.
Screens Disorient Our Worship Space
The chancel serves as the central focal point in the sanctuary, the place from which the gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments are administered. Screens shift our focus off to the sides, again detracting from the tangible nature of what is happening as the body of Christ comes together. Screens also impact our posture in worship, as we are compelled to always be looking up. This is often cited as an advantage to singing, but there's only so far you can crane your neck back before it actually hinders full-throated singing. Bowing our heads in prayer is a natural action, demonstrating our humility as we come before God. Screens hinder this physical aspect of participating in worship. It is also worth considering the ubiquitous nature of screens in our society. Do we want our sacred spaces to be just another place we go to get bombarded by digital displays?
Screens Are a Distraction
We have hymnals. We have bulletins. Why not let them just coexist with screens, and everyone can use what they prefer? The problem is that screens demand attention. They are essentially big flashing lights on the wall. Even for someone intent on using the bulletin or hymnal, every slide change is a potential distraction. Our corporate worship is exactly that—corporate, done together as one body. Participation in worship is more cohesive when we are literally all on the same page. Printed resources provide a more consistent means of achieving this than screens.
My hope is that I have been able here to flesh out the rationale for the move away from using the screens to lead the congregation in worship. This is not a decision that was made spur of the moment. It is a step being taken for the good of our congregation now and in the generations to come. I would be more than happy to talk about this more and address any concerns that still need to be answered. If you're interested in an even deeper dive into the matter of digital displays in the worship space, I've linked some helpful resources below.
A brief article on the continuing value of printed resources in worship, as well as the value of a hymnal in other areas of life.
An article by Pastor Caleb Bassett, who served as the chairman of the Technology Committee for the WELS Hymnal Project, which analyzes the use of digital displays.
Screens In Worship: Dos and Don'ts—But Mostly Don'ts
A presentation given by Pastor Bassett at the 2017 WELS National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts, based on his article above.
Encouragement on Worship Coming Out of a Pandemic
An essay by Pastor Philip Moldenhauer, presented at the 2022 Western Wisconsin District Convention. The third section offers a variety of thoughts on technology in worship.