Glimpse inside the virtual worship of a 3D church

[krsna]

Glimpse inside the virtual church

 

Haribol,it's time for Kirtana!

 

The preacher, congregation and prayers will be real enough. Only the building will be virtual - but this 3D church could be a taste of things to come.

Virtual worship

This is the view inside what's believed to be the first virtual church, due to be launched next month as part of a scheme to reach people who would not normally step inside an actual church.

 

The rafters, pulpit, altar and pews look real enough, in a cartoon-ish way. But the preacher and members of the congregation will actually be real, connecting via the web to each other to take part in real services.

 

The church, to be known as the Church of Fools, is being created for the Christian website Ship of Fools, which last year ran a virtual reality gameshow based on Noah's Ark.

 

People will choose a pew to sit in, introduce themselves to other worshippers through speech bubbles, sing a hymn, listen to the sermon...

 

Simon Jenkins

Website editor Simon Jenkins says: "Some websites help people meditate and pray, but no one has built an interactive 3D church environment before - complete with gothic arches and hard wooden pews."

 

A real-life vicar will control the actions of a cartoon double, including welcoming the flock, announcing hymns and preaching.

 

"In different parts of the world, the congregation, too, will log on and become cartoon characters - and see each other on-screen," says Mr Jenkins.

 

"They will choose a pew to sit in, introduce themselves to other worshippers through speech bubbles, 'sing' a hymn, listen to the sermon, chat to each other afterwards, perhaps pray together. "

 

The congregation will also be invited to donate - a collection will be taken via SMS billing.

 

Although an unofficial move, the virtual church may well receive approval in the church hierarchy. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has called for the church to become more "mission-shaped" by adopting new forms of worship, which could include new ventures such as "café churches".

 

Real parish

 

But the Church of Fools could be an indication of how churches could develop. For instance, the diocese of Oxford is currently recruiting a "web pastor" to establish its own virtual church - "i-Church" - which will be considered a parish church in its own right.

 

A congregation of online volunteers

Its intention is to appeal to people who cannot get to church, people who do not want to go to a church building, or those for whom going to church on a Sunday is not enough.

 

The format of the i-Church has not yet been decided, but the Reverend Richard Thomas, director of communications for the Oxford diocese, says unlike the Church of Fools, it will not have cartoon graphics.

 

"We don't want any animated bells and whistles," he says. "We want to focus on real human relationships that are based in a real community, rather than media-driven interactivity."

 

When the Oxford church is functioning, members will probably communicate with each other through web chat or instant messaging. Services may be held in video, but the details are yet to be decided.

 

[theist]

 

>>"In different parts of the world, the congregation, too, will log on and become cartoon characters - and see each other on-screen," says Mr Jenkins. <<

 

We already do this. We log-on(take birth) and become cartoon like characters.

 

None of us can see each other even if we are in the same temple room so taken on another virtual form over this present virtual form shouldn't be a problem. Unless we start to identify it as ourselves. Then things would get even more weird.

 

[krsna]

http://www.thevirtualchurch.com/home.html

[theist]

I had some problem getting it to maximize. So I'll take the full tour later.

[krsna]

First web-pastor appointed

 

The Church of England has appointed its first web pastor to oversee a new parish that will exist only on the net.

 

Alyson Leslie, the net pastor

Alyson Leslie, a lay pastor, will run i-Church, a community of worshippers from all over the world who will congregate at the website for prayers in chatrooms, webcast services and e-mail socialising.

 

It is the first time a web community will be a fully recognised Anglican church. Although parishioners from many countries are taking part, the church will nominally be part of the Diocese of Oxford, which is funding the £15,000-a-year venture - a fraction of the cost of maintaining many physical churches.

 

Ms Leslie, whose appointment was announced at the Christian Resource Exhibition on Tuesday, said more than 700 people had already joined ahead of its proper launch in July.

 

"They're a wide range of people. Some are working abroad, some are in countries where they find it difficult to express a Christian faith openly, and some are in residential care and can't get about. Some are disaffected by the church and want to find new ways to belong."

 

The website would for some be their main church; others would take part only occasionally, she said. But her hope was that there would be a sense of belonging.

 

She said: "My experience of online communities is that they can be loving and generous and supportive."

 

Virtual parish

 

The website is part of the Church of England's response to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams' call for a "mission-shaped" church.

 

 

 

Glimpse inside the virtual church

The Rev Richard Thomas, spokesman for the Diocese of Oxford, said he hoped it would appeal to people who preferred modern ways of doing things, such as dealing directly with organisations over the web.

 

A separate online church, called Church of Fools, was also launched at the exhibition by the Christian website Ship of Fools and the Methodist Church.

 

Unlike i-Church, it has a virtual reality representation on screen, much like an online game.

 

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, launched the Church of Fools by preaching on the potential for the web to be used for good.

 

 

[krsna]

[internet] Cyber-church forced to close e-pulpit

 

 

 

 

U.tv (UK), May 19, 2004

http://u.tv

 

 

 

The world's first cyber church has had to close its pulpit to ordinary worshippers after people logged in and used swear words on the site.

 

The Church of Fools said it had tightened security, including withdrawing the ``preach button`` and putting in more wardens to stop people using abusive language.

Church of Fools?

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. {19} For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; {20} and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 NIV

One person logged in as "Satan" before entering the pulpit and started to blaspheme.

 

The three-dimensional establishment, complete with a stained glass window, gothic arches, pews, and a crypt was launched last week at the Christian Resources Exhibition

in Surrey in the UK.

 

Members of the congregation - represented by cartoon ``avatars`` or 3D cartoons - are able to cross themselves, bless and hallelujah as well as walk and kneel in the church.

 

`Wardens` struggled to oversee 60,000 visits to the church during the first two days of opening. It has attracted an average of between 5000 and 10,000 visits a day since then.

 

A ``smite`` button is used to eliminate troublemakers but the UK-based wardens have encountered particular difficulties at night when they are asleep and people have logged on from the US and Australia.

 

Stephen Goddard, spokesman for the church, said the abuse was ``disappointing`` but was a sign the establishment was reaching thousands of people who had no normal contact with the church.

 

He compared the difficulties with the problems faced by John Wesley, the 18th century founder of Methodism.

 

``When Wesley started off all those years ago preaching to the unconverted, he was shouted at, spat at and abused and people brayed like donkeys to put him off preaching,`` he said.

 

``When you go out into a different culture first you are going to suffer abuse. We are not worried about it and it does not offend us.

 

``We have to do what we can to prevent it.``

[krsna]

Online church blocks Satan visits

 

 

The pulpit and altar have been closed to the public

The world's first three-dimensional internet church has faced an attack from cyber demons who have been logging on as Satan.

The church has now been forced to restrict areas within the virtual world, including the altar and pulpit.

 

Cyber wardens can also instantly log out anyone who swears and blasphemes, consigning them to virtual hell.

 

But the cyber wardens are struggling to develop new security to rid the blasphemers from their midst.

 

 

A spokesman said they were looking for more money so they can employ wardens around the clock.

 

He insisted the church would carry on and added that John Wesley, the 18th century founder of Methodism, which sponsors the site, faced similar abuse.

 

The site was launched as a unique chance for Christians to worship interactively.

 

It attracts up to 10,000 visitors a day who can log on and choose a 3-D character which can kneel, sing hymns, hear a sermon and even shout "Hallelujah"!

 

However, the less pious - particularly from Australia and the US - have logged in as Satan, ranted from the virtual pulpit and shouted expletives in the aisles.

 

The church is run by a campaigning Christian online magazine, Ship of Fools, which takes a light-hearted approach to religion.