Virtual communities

In response to my posting, “Say one for me,” a reader of this blog responded with two comments:

> Online communities suffer many drawbacks, mostly related to the absence of shared physical presence.

Yes, but virtual world technology like Second Life is gradually reducing those drawbacks. Check out the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life at http://slangcath.wordpress.com. I have seen some next-gen virtual world demos that are very powerful.

> Eucharistic sharing is impossible.

A Methodist church whose services were televised made sure that their shut-in's were supplied with bread and grape juice. On Sundays of Holy Communion, the pastor encouraged shut-in's to arrange bread and grape juice before the service began and then to tune in. During the prayer of consecration, the pastor alluded to the elements elsewhere. During administration, the pastor encouraged the shut-in's to partake while those in physical attendance made their way to the altar rail.

Catholics/Episcopalians would say, that's what the ministry of Eucharistic Visitors is for. But, I found the Methodist practice interesting and also reconcilable with a memorialist or receptionist theology of the Eucharist.

The limiting difficulty with both of those expressed views is their incompleteness given the Anglican tradition’s emphasis on a sacramental theology in which physical items become visible symbols of an inner grace. In the Eucharist, the celebrant to place her or his hands on the vessels that contain the bread and wine expressing the action of the Holy Spirit in transforming the elements or the experience into something more than a memorial remembrance. In human contact, the laying on of hands has similar sacramental efficacy in ordination and healing; the exchange of the peace is a more generalized practice that physically incarnates our love for neighbor.

Virtual communities have taken great developmental steps in recent years and certainly have an important role in ecclesial life. However, those communities will always be inadequate substitutes for participating in an actual community of God's people who gather on a regular basis (preferably weekly, in accordance with scriptural teaching). Reducing the mystery of the Eucharist to a memorial guts one of the important Anglican distinctives.

Of course, one of the potential difficulties with the Anglican emphasis on sacramental and incarnational theology is that such a theology can easily appear more akin to magic than reason in view of scientific insights. In time, the Church will need to develop new and more profound rationales for the importance of actual community and participation in the sacraments, find itself in the paradoxical position of supporting the compatibility of science and religion while proclaiming a message contrary to good science, or develop a new understanding and acceptance of virtual communities and religion.