Christ is Really Present, Even in Holy Communion via Online Worship

• Published in: Liturgy (Washington) Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 18 - 24
• Main Author: Thompson, Deanna A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.10.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: body of Christ; COVID-19; Covid-19 pandemic; Holy Communion; Pandemics; real presence; Social networks; Virtual; Virtual reality; United States > US
• ISSN: 0458-063X; 1557-3001
• DOI: 10.1080/0458063X.2020.1832847

Thinking of virtual reality as diametrically opposed to embodied reality belies the ways in which our engagement with virtual reality is always done by those of us with bodies, living in a material world. Digital scholar T.V. Reid writes: "It is important to take that illusion of virtuality [of the virtual world) seriously; it is to some degree a new kind of experience. But it is also not wholly new (whenever we read a novel we also enter a virtual world, just not a digitally delivered one). Part of studying virtual worlds should be to remind users that they are never just in a virtual world, but always in a real one too."" While those virtual worlds cannot be seen or felt in the same way as aspects of the physical world can, they nevertheless impact us deeply, shaping our embodied living in the physical world. In debates around whether or not to offer holy communion in the context of online worship, those who oppose the practice have stated that "the gathering of people is not possible" during this time of Covid-19. Such phrasing suggests, of course, that all of us gathering around our devices for online worship are not really gathering with one another. For many people, using the language of "virtual worship" simply reinforces that such experiences are mere facsimiles of the real thing.