Virtual Church

I woke up this morning thinking about communion, the Eucharist kind of communion.  I was thinking about how we might do communion when it's safe to assemble again, but when, I assume, we will still have to keep our physical distance from each other.  Will we distribute with masks and gloves on?  Will we have people bring their own elements from home, so that they are the only ones who have touched the items?  If we can consecrate from a distance, then how far a distance is too far?

I am not going to wade into the fierce battles being waged over whether or not we can consecrate virtually--not right now.  I can see both sides, as I often can.  I do miss the sacrament--but I try to live in a sacramental frame of mind, where I see God as present in all sorts of every day elements and/or when I look at every day elements of life and let them point me to God's presence.

Many of us lead lives stripped of sacrament, stripped of mystery, stripped of meaning.  And now we've had one more thing taken from us.  One of my Mepkin journaling friends called this time a "Eucharistic fast."  I like that way of thinking.  I like the word fast--we've given up the Eucharist for a larger good.

And yes, I realize we can argue for the rest of our lives about whether or not it is a larger good.

This morning, in my Internet ramblings, I came across this wonderful interview with Phyllis Tickle in 2014.  At about minute 14, she starts to talk about Internet church--there's an Anglican community of 8000 who meets every Sunday to worship in the online world of Second Life.  I wonder if it still exists?  I'm guessing that if it had 8000 members in 2014, then it's still fairly strong.

Phyllis Tickle sees it all as a wonderful development, a tributary in the river that is Christianity, which is part of an even larger river of spirituality.  I get the idea that she would approve of virtual Eucharist--but she would also be supportive of those who are horrified by the idea.

I am wondering if we will continue to see a flowering of online opportunities of all sorts, the flowering that has been forced by this pandemic.  I suspect that we will.

My dad asked me the other day if I would keep doing my online version of Morning Watch (you can view this morning's version here).  I found myself completely unable to answer because of so many unknowns.  Will spin class resume again?  Will day old bread/treats be available if I'm willing to get them from Publix?  Will people still view the recording?  Will I be too exhausted to get up early enough to do it?

I will likely keep doing it, but the time might change.  I like that it forces me to do it.  And it's free to do it on Facebook, so there's no down side at this point.

That approach may be how many of us exist virtually as church, once this pandemic allows us to gather in person.  If it's free to continue to offer a virtual version, many of us will likely do it.  If it's easy, like streaming what we'll do in person, many of us will likely do it--and I do want to acknowledge that most of us are not finding it easy to do the technology for all sorts of reasons.

Will we keep doing it when the reasons for doing it aren't as compelling?  For the sake of those who find it a lifeline, for the sake of those who have always needed a virtual church, I hope so.