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The recent COVID pandemic has changed the ways in which churches have performed ritual and liturgy, provoking questions about whether on-line worship is “real” or the equal of Face-to-Face Worship. These questions are not new. The church addressed questions of absence and presence in considering how the worshipping community relates to God, Christ, and Spirit from its earliest days. Previous answers might assist the current discussion, if a missional hermeneutic is adopted, which recognises the need to identify “a manner, a style, a spirit” (Boff). Such “translations” bring significant change and deny theological antiquarianism. Reflection on how sacramental theology was shaped by Judaic patterns of anamnēsis and sacrificialisation, as well as later debates about the real Presence, indicate significant engagement with these themes. These reflections were rooted in the changing environments around the church as they brought fresh materials and questions within the purview of theologians. The digital environment provides fresh contexts for revisiting matters of absence and presence. One approach is outlined in the description of the opportunities for online ritual and worship offered by the My Pilgrims’ Way [MPW]materials which have been developed. Consideration of their role within missional church life reveals that digital platforms are no mere substitute for embodied presence. Rather it is through a digitally mediated gathering that new forms faithful to old patterns may be established.