Today is the tenth anniversary of the Iphone.

With the Iphone we carry the digital revolution around in our pocket.

By now the Iphone has competitors. They all do the same thing. They connect us to the internet. They put a powerful computer in our pockets. The way we live and work is being changed.

 

How has your life changed because of the cell phone?

The phone becomes more important in our private lives every day.

When we travel our boarding passes are scanned from our phones. When we arrive we call Uber or Lyft. A car arrives, the bill already paid, and our destination programed into the phone’s GPS. We text message our kids to let them know that we have safely arrived. We go out to eat and pay for our meal with our phone connecting to the payment method of our choice. On our way home we see a beautiful sunset. We pause to take a picture with our phone. We we arrive home we use the phone to turn off our security system and reset it to secure our home for the night. We check our email, and facebook and discover a delightful video of our third great grandchild taking his first steps. We fall asleep to soft music being played on our phone. The phone shuts itself off. In the morning it wakes us with gentle tones.

The phone is also important in our public lives.

We have decided to engage one another as Just Elders. We are internet savvy people 50 years of age or older. We are connecting with each other because we believe we can continue to make a difference for justice. Our website is being designed to work well with our mobile phones. We are engaging with one another on Facebook and Twitter. Using our phones, our whole group can see and hear each other on a GoToMeeting call. We have only begun to imagine what we can do with this digital tool. Here are a few of our learnings:

• Because of screen sharing, we can edit documents and other presentations together online.
• We can record our meeting and share it with people who could not be there.
• We can make video recordings of information giving, mentoring, training, and reflections that inspire. The presenter can be on the east coast, the videographer on the west coast. The video can be combined with other content and produced for delivery via YouTube on our website.

What will happen because we have access to a tool like this? Will we create a faith and values bases organizing library that becomes the center of an online training center for new organizers, clergy and other leaders where Elders share what they have learned in life times of striving for Justice and the common good? Can you see it?

A new organizer is on her way to work on the train. Today she is organizing her first holy ground campaign. On the way to work she is listening to an organizer who has done this over and over again. She arrives at her meeting prepared!

What can you imagine doing because you have the internet in your hands today?

Happy Birthday Iphone!