In May, I was able to attend the annual Anglican Editors’ Association Conference in Ottawa. The conference moves around the country: different dioceses host year by year. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic we met only online, as so many around the world did. While digital conference options are certainly cost-effective and offer convenience, there is no replacement for meeting with people face-to-face. Online meetings and gatherings come with screen fatigue and a lack of the depth that you can only get from really spending time with other humans.
Physical presence removes the digital filter. Discussions flow naturally, body language is clear, and the focus stays on the actual message rather than the tech driving it (or glitching, as the case may be). How many times have we faced poor connections, bad sound quality, and other problems? Here in Canada, we often struggle with time zones: what works in Vancouver isn’t necessarily a good time for anyone in the Atlantic time zone! Online gatherings are too often defined by technical issues of one kind or another, even if it’s just remembering to unmute yourself.
On the other hand, when you meet in person, you get to have more meaningful connections; you can continue discussions past the official end of the presentation or meeting, and keep talking in less formal spaces. Many of the best conversations happen in the margins: a follow-up question in the hallway, an idea shared over lunch, or a casual chat over a meal.
And this gets me thinking about the importance of attending church in person. Online services end with the click of a button. In-person church offers the casual moments at coffee hour, the parking lot chats, and other spontaneous check-ins that truly build community. Screens can make us visible (though many just watch church online and aren’t visible to the people in the building except as a number in a statistics report), but being visible is never the same as being known. When we only attend online, we lose the chance to spend time with other participants, making it much more difficult to form any real attachment or feeling of belonging. Watching worship online makes you a spectator; sharing space, singing side-by-side, and worshipping together is what makes you a part of a living community.
Of course, online worship has its place, and we have all invested a great deal of time and money into making our livestreams as good as they can be. There are those in our communities who cannot make it to church for any number of reasons, not least of which is weather (because winter is always just around the corner in our part of the world). Also, online worship allows us to check in with worship in communities that we used to be a part of, or those where friends of ours live or go to church. We can “travel” all over the world without ever leaving our couches. That can be a real gift, for sure.
But there is a big difference between being unable to attend local worship and just choosing not to. When we remove ourselves from the community, when we refuse to receive the sacraments, what does that say about our faith, about our commitment to Christ, and to his Church?
So by all means, tune in to online church services, especially when age, sickness, or poor weather make that the best and safest option for you. But also try to get out when you can, and if you can’t, then invite people over. Make sure that your priest visits you to bring you communion. Be a part of the Church community as much as you’re able to be, because we are called to be more than just spectators.