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Online Benediction and Online Church
Apr. 27th, 2021 09:52 pmAs part of the online On Fire Mission, I've just watched online Benediction and I want to record some thoughts. It was pre-recorded not live which I wasn't sure about in the first place, and I watched it an hour later than the premier because of my theology class.
For more of the time the Blessed Sacrament was there as a photograph on screen not a video. I found this strange. I'm trying to articulate why but staring at a photograph of the Blessed Sacrament felt to me a lot less contemplative and connected than watching a video of it. I think it's to do with time. Sue Wallace did an FB benediction at some point last year and that was live streamed. Ok, so there's a delay on FB (about the length of the Sanctus I found last week when livestreaming a Eucharist and checking in on the sound levels), but there is more of a connection to the contemplation. But even a video disconnected in time would to me be better because there is the time of the camera staring at the sacrament on my behalf. If I were to go back on find the video of Sue's Benediction it would feel better than looking at a photo embedded in a video.
A couple of times during the video, the monstrance was picked up and moved around by unseen hands. This was just distracting to me. I ended up saying to myself - I can't focus on the sacrament if it keeps moving. This is was in fact a prompt to a theological reflection in that God doesn't stay still and calls us onward, so maybe I need to learn to able to focus.
I was also distracted in the Tantum Ergo by thumpy chords which just stressed me out. It probably worked for some people, but it just pressurised and an assault on my ears.
For the actual moment of benediction we did see the priest picking up the monstrance which did help.
Then this morning, the key note was given by the priest who'd done the Benediction. He is convinced of the need to be online and has deepened in his understanding of Spiritual Communion which he sees as underlying all sacraments but interestingly he comes to the conclusion that it is not possible to consecrate the elements digitally.
In response to a question from me, he did not seem to distinguish between different ways of being online whereas I experience Zoom, Livestreaming and prerecorded in very different ways. I can see them all having their place, though on the whole I personally don't find prerecorded particularly helpful (but recognise that it can work for others, especially those who may have responsibilities which mean engaging at a set time might be hard). But when it comes to discussions of online consecration, I can see a stronger argument for doing this via Zoom than via the other two because it is happening at synchronous gathering with two way interaction. So those present could hold their bread and wine up to their cameras so the priest could see what they were consecrating which is something which doesn't happen even with livestream and the lack of interaction on prerecord makes it very differnt.
For more of the time the Blessed Sacrament was there as a photograph on screen not a video. I found this strange. I'm trying to articulate why but staring at a photograph of the Blessed Sacrament felt to me a lot less contemplative and connected than watching a video of it. I think it's to do with time. Sue Wallace did an FB benediction at some point last year and that was live streamed. Ok, so there's a delay on FB (about the length of the Sanctus I found last week when livestreaming a Eucharist and checking in on the sound levels), but there is more of a connection to the contemplation. But even a video disconnected in time would to me be better because there is the time of the camera staring at the sacrament on my behalf. If I were to go back on find the video of Sue's Benediction it would feel better than looking at a photo embedded in a video.
A couple of times during the video, the monstrance was picked up and moved around by unseen hands. This was just distracting to me. I ended up saying to myself - I can't focus on the sacrament if it keeps moving. This is was in fact a prompt to a theological reflection in that God doesn't stay still and calls us onward, so maybe I need to learn to able to focus.
I was also distracted in the Tantum Ergo by thumpy chords which just stressed me out. It probably worked for some people, but it just pressurised and an assault on my ears.
For the actual moment of benediction we did see the priest picking up the monstrance which did help.
Then this morning, the key note was given by the priest who'd done the Benediction. He is convinced of the need to be online and has deepened in his understanding of Spiritual Communion which he sees as underlying all sacraments but interestingly he comes to the conclusion that it is not possible to consecrate the elements digitally.
In response to a question from me, he did not seem to distinguish between different ways of being online whereas I experience Zoom, Livestreaming and prerecorded in very different ways. I can see them all having their place, though on the whole I personally don't find prerecorded particularly helpful (but recognise that it can work for others, especially those who may have responsibilities which mean engaging at a set time might be hard). But when it comes to discussions of online consecration, I can see a stronger argument for doing this via Zoom than via the other two because it is happening at synchronous gathering with two way interaction. So those present could hold their bread and wine up to their cameras so the priest could see what they were consecrating which is something which doesn't happen even with livestream and the lack of interaction on prerecord makes it very differnt.
