I AM WITH YOU:
PRESENCE IN A DIGITAL AGE
BY MICHAEL SCHUTZ
W
hen I write the words “video call”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? The joy of hearing and seeing people who are far away? Dread at having to remind someone that he’s muted on yet another business call that could have been an email? Being exhausted from trying to stay engaged in the middle of a screen full of distractions? Over the past couple of years, the whole idea of presence has been thrown onto the world stage. Questions about the idea certainly existed before March 2020, but now it seems
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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN November/December 2021
like everyone is grappling with what it means to be present. Office staff are wrestling with how work can (and can’t) be done remotely. Families and friends who can’t travel to be in-person rely on digital means like video calls to stay connected. Even Christian congregations have struggled to figure out what it means to be present with one another. This isn’t just a COVID issue, though. As with so many challenges, this issue existed well before the pandemic; it’s simply been amplified by it. Telecommuting, video calls with grandparents, and online meetings with Lutheran
