I will tell you something candidly. As a priest standing before a congregation, it is quite an experience to be mindful not only of those gathered in Trinity Church, but also of those watching from afar: England, Kenya, Australia, Germany, and in towns and cities across the United States…
This is true for people in the pews as well. It is challenging to maintain the intimacy of an in-person parish setting when the world is watching. Part of the story of Trinity’s near ten years of webcasting its 11:15 a.m. Sunday service is this congregation’s ability to say of its liturgical tradition, yes, this is worth sharing. On the other hand, there are times when our connectivity creates intimacy that would not have existed otherwise, or enhances that which was already there.
I’m thinking now of the time recently when the Very Rev. Robert Osborne, Dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, read the Prayers of the People for the opening Eucharist of Trinity Institute. There he was with his flock, in Winnipeg, and here he was as a presence in Trinity Church, connecting two congregations in the same spiritual place.