The intimacy of Zoom
“Over Zoom, there is a new intimacy to the gatherings. Faces and expressions are on full display. ‘I really see that they are deep in worship,’ Joan Malin said of her fellow Brooklyn Friends. ‘There’s a vulnerability when someone is doing that, and here they are putting it onscreen for us to witness,’ she said. ‘It helps me get there, too.’
Worshiping from home has affected the nature of ‘vocal ministry,’ the moments in meeting when a member feels compelled to speak. In a Brooklyn meeting, someone turned the camera toward the mustard seedlings in their garden. In Middlebury, Vt., Robert Wyatt pivoted to his piano and played a short song. In Westerly, R.I., one member forgot to re-mute themselves after a message, and for many minutes the sound of a single bird projected over the Zoom call. ‘I am grateful for this bird who has entered our meeting,’ said Debbie Dear, 86, from Mystic, Conn.”
— Bianca Giaever, 2020
Journalist
Today’s Invitation
Lean into the ways that video conferencing can be uniquely intimate.
This Week’s Query
What do you do differently during meeting for worship on Zoom compared to worshiping in person? What do you like about it?
Read the source of today’s quote
