Beyond Belief: Prayer as Communication

It is -12 degrees celsius outside, but I'm already planning for the summer. Conference season is coming soon and I have a few choices to make: CSIR conference at Kent State, CAIS at the Learneds in Freddie, or CLA in Halifax. I did send off one conference paper proposal; a paper on prayer as communication in information seeking. Prayer in the Christian tradition (Catholic and Protestant) is personal and relational; God hears our prayers and He responds.

So what does this have to do with information seeking? Canadian sociologist Reg Bibby has proposed that “…many Canadians…in the course of coping with life and death, reach out to a higher power – because it seems like the appropriate thing to do. Prayer seems to be our default mode.” (2002, Restless God, 158) We seek solace, encouragement, forgiveness and answers. So how does an information scientist investigate prayer? He cannot listen it on prayer's answer. She cannot empirically verify divine leading. Yet prayer is real to those praying. As real as reading books. As real as searching the internet. As real as talking to friends. Praying can be information seeking.

How then do we investigate prayer? By taking a sociological viewpoint; listening to our informants, and taking their experiences at face value. It doesn't mean that the researcher has to believe in prayer (I personally do). It means I will respect the beliefs of those who pray, and the answers they receive. Lots and lots of interesting information to consider! In the meantime I did discover the researcher's prayer. ;-)

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This Very Night!

Christmas Concerts...Holiday Events...Seasonal Band Performances. Our gifted children have been busy over the past two weeks, and by extension their parents. For our second event today however we were just spectators for Stoneridge Fellowship Church's annual performance of their Christmas Musical "This Very Night!" As the title suggests, this is the Christmas story from the perspective of Mary and Joseph. The acting and singing was wonderful. My son was particularly impressed with the real farm animals.

Mounting a production like this is no small feat. Six performances. 3000 spectators. 240 cast and performers (many of whom were children. Baby "Jesus", no crying he made!) 7500 hours of practice. Did I mention the sheep and chickens? It was also a highly technical performance, with complex lighting and video production. There were three large screen monitors in the sanctuary, so we wouldn't miss an angle. We are very much a media generation, and people expect that kind of technical wizardry.

What touched me though wasn't the sophisticated performance. It was the timeless story; part of my faith and upbringing. I sang in a few Sunday School Christmas concerts myself; and like thousands of others, I've been the shepherd (and probably even the sheep though I can't remember.) Years ago I spent a Christmas in Kenya. I was visiting a small church near Kisumu on Lake Victoria. I didn't speak Luo, I was hot, and I didn't feel Christmasy. Then the children came in and processed to the front. They wore bathrobes, with towels on their heads. A young lady with a baby doll. A boy watching over her. Shepherds and kings. I didn't understand one word; yet I knew them all: "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus...." This is the power of storytelling at its finest.

I appreciated the polish and professionalism of Stoneridge's "This Very Night." But the power remains in the storytelling: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

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Learning Zone- A way cool job!

OCAD recently posted an ad for a Learning Zone Librarian. The Learning Zone appears to be a collaborative workspace that integrates a variety of services, including library support. The focus is on creating learning space that is driven by student needs. The job ad stresses the importance of student input in the design of the space and its services. I wonder what a school of design students might come up with given the opportunity. Or any student groups, if we really listened.

OCAD isn't the first place to try something like this; Guelph has had its own intriguing ideas. Most attempts however remind me of cube farms without the walls, straight out of Dilbert. Maybe because the focus is on the space (i.e. number of computer connections we have), and not on the services that transform the space into an engaging place, where learning happens. OCAD's Learning Zone is offering a workshop on CREATive Fund$: Develop a Positive Relationship with Money. So what does that have to do with libraries? Nothing. But it has everything to do with students. Dalhousie's Killam Library recently launched a multifunctional space for graduate students. It is a great space, but unfortunately, it is disengaged from the services graduates need.

The Learning Zone (though not by this title) is one I've advocated for our library; a place with project rooms, writing and research support, and web and video conference facilities. A place where students meet, and work and learn. But creating a place like this takes an unconventional vision.

OCAD's ad reminds me of what I am yearning; to be part of something audacious, risky, and unconventional. We don't need to rethink libraries any more; we know what is wrong with them. But change only comes with changing; and if we are changing for our students, we may make mistakes, but we won't be wrong. Hmm...when was OCAD's submission date.

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Back to the Sanctuary...

The problem with research is that it can be addictive. One project suggests another, and soon, its data, data, data.

I'm still working on my dissertation research on information seeking by church leaders, and some interesting religion and media research with my supervisor. I was also recently invited to contribute a chapter to a book on Ecclesiastic Sanctuary. This will be a fascinating international study of how churches have responded to the plight of refugees. The proposed chapter will explore the ways churches justify their acts of civil disobedience.

How does this fit into my other research? Actually, this is where it all began. Back in time, 4 years ago, I was invited to coauthor a paper with David Blaikie for the SoDRUS conference at the University of Sherbrooke, QC. We explored one of the theological claims around Sanctuary in Canada/United States. The SoDRUS paper (.doc preprint) was eventually published as conference proceedings. Through this study I became fascinated by how these church leaders made their decisions to offer sanctuary. It was a faith matter, but also an information seeking activity. What information did they access, how did they interpret it and then how did they apply it? Whether one likes it or not, church decisions play a role in shaping our communities, and have a voice in the public square. Perhaps not to the same degree as in the past, but more than many realize. That is just asking to be investigated.

So here I am, four years later exploring church leaders' information seeking as they seek God's will for their churches. No I'm not just exploring sanctuary (but if your church decides to shelter refugees illegally, I would like the opportunity to take notes.)

I've come full circle perhaps, and I'm excited to be working on this chapter. David Blaikie will be joining me as we explore more legal as well as theological questions. It is due next October; so if any of you remember, you might want to give me a poke, maybe next June, and say "So David, got that sanctuary chapter done yet?"

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