Tweeting at a wedding: an Episcopal wedding, no less!  Two social media savvy people were married Saturday in a fully-media-integrated wedding.  Their plan, to heavily invest the event with all of their contacts, resides in that wonderful terrain in which we figure out what we consider “acceptable”.  The couple, blogging at #3xCharm, have made the entire lead-up to the event social and will have a live stream on their blog.  And a few days ago, they revealed here what would be in the worship bulletin:

Although we ask you to silence your phone,

do feel free to post whatever moves or inspires you!

#3xcharm

For me, that interesting paradox of silence and communication: that we must maintain the appropriate churchy decorum (don’t make any noise, any of you ruffians) while encouraging active (albeit virtual) engagement.  This is, let’s be honest, really sweet, and for most people, totally cool.  The die-hard “traditionalists” will no doubt detest it, but they still argue over the rubrics in the Prayer Book as if it were given to us by Jesus.

Let’s be honest.  This, though unorthodox, is relatively tame.  It is still WASPy with a 21st Century flavor.  If I were getting married today, I can’t say that I’d do it much differently.  Mostly because my wife is the more traditional one.  And we don’t mess with her.  But it is begging a really important question about community and participation.

Through social media, we have the opportunity to be so very participatory in events in a way that our real lives don’t allow.  We engage total strangers in dialogue that is intimate in the truest sense of the word: I mean that we discuss what is in our hearts about the most difficult questions facing humanity.  We find camaraderie with people we have come to know, without ever meeting.

And yet, our physical lives are still so restrained, so guarded.  As our minds and hearts crave participation, our bodies remain fixed in a mode of observation.  We hold ourselves as outsiders, even when we are inside the club.

I wonder what it would mean to let our guards down.  Just a little.  And encourage as full a participation in the worship as we dare.  Especially at weddings.