How exactly do you bring in a connection?  Can it be something like this:  "Pete remembers some advice Father Joe gave him.  Flashback to Pete and Father Joe discussing..."  Or would Father Joe have to be present in the scene somehow? 

Sorry if this is in the book somewhere; I don't have it with me.

In our medical drama show we had the same problem. How do you use a connection when you're in an operating theatre.

We ended up doing exactly what you suggest and well as ringing them up on the cell phone.
One player had his father as a connection, although he hated his father. He used the connection to spur him on is actions to prove how he wasn't like his father.

Basically, as Producer, I say if you can justify it, you can use it.

Chris wrote:
How exactly do you bring in a connection?  Can it be something like this:  "Pete remembers some advice Father Joe gave him.  Flashback to Pete and Father Joe discussing..."  Or would Father Joe have to be present in the scene somehow? 

Matt wrote:
You can have the connection apply however the heck you want. Flashback scene, remembering advice, connection suddenly shows up, turns out connection was there the whole time, protagonist thinks about connection, has a hallucination of the connection, etc. Whatever works.

A good example of the above would be Kaine's master from Kung Fu, right? He was (presumably) long dead (or just back at the monastery) but he always pospped up in Kaine's memories with an appropriate bit of advice to the young "Grasshopper" when it was needed. Ergo, Connection.