The third of Luther's three church missions is preparing congregants who are of sound mind: reconciliation of the penitent and (perhaps and perhaps not extreme) unction to the sick. We are in the realm of the individual, or as we say in internet-speak, one-to-one marketing. Magic happens in individual exchanges.
The same rules detailed previously for simultaneous communication effectiveness apply to individual meetings as they were described above in the context of hybrid virtual/physical gatherings. Save for COVID, we have mastered these criteria with the technology of physical proximity. Covid is a cold, but our communication can stay warm in a Marshall McLuhan sense. The habits resulting in regular use and mastery over technology acquired partially as a result this Covid experience are able to span space (transmission) and time (recording and reconstitution) and with probable persistence.
There is a delicate line between pastoral care and lay care. Ministry exists between every congregant, ordained or not. Times of separation increase the need for ministry. Online, as in person, our churches prefer congregants to seek pastoral care from ordained clergy or under the supervision of ordained clergy. New technological media do not require a new relationship. Online and in-person go hand-in-hand.
It is now useful for you, dear reader, to perhaps pay close attention to on-line interviews in contrast to in-person interviews. How do the preparations for the meetings differ? As discussed in the sacrament of communion, who renders visit to whom? How does each participant discover the shared virtual space? I may someday enrich this article with your observations.