While the world reels under the weight of this devastating pandemic and explores means to meet the challenge at hand, the emergence of creative ways to continue the normal life through the ‘new-normal’ via the use of technology seem to be here to stay. The church has been no mute spectator to this phenomenon. Willingly, hesitantly or acknowledging the present circumstances, it has adopted technology to maintain communal bonds and foster worship. It is a simple educated guess to predict that the virus is not going away any time soon and victory over it will involve a long battle, undoubtedly with collateral damage. As to what will be accounted as the collateral damage is a question that remains to be answered in time.
The ‘Bricks and Clicks’ model has been a prominent feature of the 21st century. It simply points towards the presence of an organization catering to its patrons through bricks, i.e., physical space of a building; and through ‘Clicks’, the online means. We have certainly observed a surge in the latter with a boom in the online market space and through the preference shown by the patrons which allows them the privilege of saving time and cost otherwise lost in transit. There is a growing tendency of patrons to resist visiting stores which has diminished the need of physical merchant structures with many facing closures. Time and tide seem to be taking giant leaps towards this direction.
The present pandemic has also implicitly pushed this model onto the religious realm more forcefully. The need to bridge the gulf between the need to isolate and the desire of the faithful to pray communally has steered the church to make its presence available not only in ‘bricks’ but also through ‘clicks’. This is buttressed by the fact that more and more parishes have been offering their faithful an opportunity to participate in the liturgies through online means via Livestream and YouTube channels. This has certainly facilitated in keeping the faithful connected and offering them at least a semblance of a sense of community in these difficult times. With the restrictions in place preventing larger gatherings of people, where families lack the opportunity even to bid farewell to their near and dear ones, technology has enabled individuals to render their adieu even if it’s from a distance and through virtual means.
This technological bridge which presently offers a ‘way-in’ also threatens to be a ‘way-out’. The importance of traditional [physical] communal worship can hardly be stressed. The adage ‘the family that prays together, stays together’ undoubtedly applies to the worshipping community as well. The ‘being together’ or the physical dimension of being present has its value and in many ways could be considered indispensable. The ‘Click’ model has certainly been a saviour for many who remain connected with their community while being physically isolated from one another. It has enabled many who were formerly not connected in worship, on account of several reasons, to establish or re-establish this bond, thus providing a ‘way-in’ to them. Worship and fellowship have certainly become conveniently available at the click of a button. However, this very ‘way-in’ could threaten to be a ‘way-out’ for many in the future. The relaxations, usage and [endorsement] promotion of communal worship encouraged through clicks could saliently develop into a culture. This may cause a gradual amnesia towards the need and significance of the dimension of the physical presence of a community. In time, convenience, habit and practical utility may lead the faithful into a preference of a virtual communal worship, resulting in a gradual decline in the need for physical structures of worship places.
Obviously, in the hybrid world of today, one cannot afford to stick to the archaic means of the past and afford to sustain itself. Marching on step by step with the tide of time is imperative. The ‘clicks’ along with ‘bricks’ is the fact of today. The pandemic has transformed the world in so many ways and ushered in new ways of being a society and community. Jargons like the ‘new-normal’ affirm this fact. The church and any community which acknowledges the importance of a community in its physical form will have to deal with the predicament of giving in to the ‘new-normal’ of the ‘clicks’ or sticking to the former model of the ‘bricks’ or drawing a healthy balance between the ‘bricks and the clicks’. As the church works its way to cope up with the current situation, it will have to foresee the future and plan for the same, lest the remedial measures of the future may be too little and too late.
While we still struggle to deal with this pandemic and attempt to return to our old normal lives, the present form/style threatens to be the new future of our lives and society at large. The question as to whether we will ever return to our former way of being or not is an answer only time will be able to answer. Meanwhile, as we wait and live the course of our lives in the present pandemic, we pose these questions, ponder over them and prepare for the future.
(Published on The Examiner, Vol 65, No. 25, June 19-25, 2021)