Ministry to the Avatars: Building a Real Church in a Virtual World

By Jerold A. Garber

The world is changing rapidly, and perhaps the most compelling evidence of this change is found in the way people use technology to access services that formerly required an in-person visit. Now, for the first time, a real church with denominational standing is as close as ones computer.

In Ministry to the Avatars: Building a Real Church in a Virtual World, author and reverend Dr. Jerold A. Garber shares the transcendent story of First United Church of Christ Second Lifea virtual church designed and built in Second Life, a 3-D virtual world with over thirty-six million individual accounts and over one million active users each month. While it began as an experiment in faith and inclusivity, First UCC SL today has full standing in the Eastern Association of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, and it is the first church in a mainline denomination to achieve full standing while owning no physical property.

Since its founding, First United Church of Christ Second Life has grown into a multifaceted, vibrant ministry with a 365-day-a-year presence in Second Life, and it is also a member of the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC, an association of churches affirming the full inclusions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in the churchs life and ministry. Come and witness the wonderful things that can be achieved when service to others transcends the boundaries of reality! Visit the First United Church of Christ Second Life website at http://www.firstuccsl.org and Second Lifes 3D virtual world created by Linden Lab at http://www.secondlife.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781480852242

Jerold A. Garber

Jerold A. Garber has served real-world UCC churches as both an interim and settled minister. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, he founded First United Church of Christ Second Life in recognition of the needs of marginalized groups who are in Second Life to find places of faith that are genuinely welcoming of everyone. Garber is a former teacher, public broadcasting executive, and radio newsman, and he lives and works in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.

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Copyright © 2017 Jerold A. Garber.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-5225-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-5226-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-5224-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954842

Archway Publishing rev. date: 09/14/2017

Contents

1: Why a Virtual Church

2: Real and Second Life

3: Discovery

4: Second Life

5: Community

6: Worship

7: Special Needs

8: Mission

9: Community Events

10: Migration

11: Standing

12: Looking Ahead

Glossary

1: Why a Virtual Church

I arrived several minutes before the service began. I like to do that. It gives me time to center myself a bit, look around, and get a feel for the environment. I had passed through lovely landscaped grounds as I made my way to the entrance. The church was beautifully designed outside.

As I wandered in, I saw it was indeed a very traditional kind of architecture. There were high ceilings and some stained glass windows. I thought perhaps classic, neo-Gothic church architecture had influenced the designer. I heard music. I couldn’t identify a hymn, but the largely string composition was very nice. Other worshippers were already sitting, and still more were coming in as the time for the service drew near. No one had greeted me, but sometimes that happens in a big, busy church. I sat in a pew by myself.

I visit many churches. As an ordained minister with full ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ, I try to visit churches that are not part of my denomination, particularly when I am in a place far from home. I hear several sermons, some inspiring, others thought-provoking, and a few that go on a bit too long. Occasionally I hear sermons that make me cringe or worse. This service turned out to be one of those times.

Why did I come here? I ask myself.

Usually I sit and bide my time. The service would end soon, and I could make an escape before I had to see the minister. I could not bear that. People are entitled to their own beliefs, but I come from a progressive denomination, and a sermon full of hate for persons who are not self-identified as strictly heterosexual goes against everything I believe about God and those God created.

It was an unfortunate experience, one that could result from a visit to any number of congregations in the United States. But that is not where I went to worship. I was not in the United States, and yet I was. I went to worship at a church in the virtual reality universe of Second Life. I was sitting at home in Southern California, but I could have been anywhere on the planet where the Internet is available.

For some people, the virtual and real worlds have merged. If you doubt that, you need only look at the success of the video gaming industry or note the rise in popularity of virtual reality devices. The virtual world is already part of the life experience of many. What was once the province of video gamers and technical sophisticates has gone mainstream. And neither the real world nor the virtual world will be the same again.

This book is about an effort to create an alternative to counter what I experienced in that virtual church and more. It is a chronicle of one attempt to carry the good news of Jesus Christ into still relatively uncharted territory.

The academic community has undertaken well-conceived efforts to understand what is happening in virtual reality universes and the relationship of virtual worlds to the real world. I have read books by anthropologists and futurists who delve into the intricacies of the relationships between the experiences of an avatar and the impact on the life of the person behind that avatar.

The body of relevant literature is growing steadily. I have read accounts of navigating the virtual worlds and even how to make money doing so. I have perused manuals and guides written to teach me how to build and create wonderful things made up of nothing more than electronic ones and zeroes. I have even found the occasional reference to the presence of God in all the frenetic activity of virtual universes. Much has been learned; much more remains to be attained.

My personal background is multifaceted. I have owned businesses, been a teacher (secondary and collegiate levels), and earned four degrees: a bachelor of science in education (speech/theatre), a master of arts in radio-television-film, a master of divinity, and a doctorate of ministry. I understand the need to examine potential solutions rigorously. I have done that over a period of years spent in experiencing virtual reality myself.

In another sphere of my life, I have experience as part of the marginalized as one born intersex. I have researched gender dysphoria extensively in an effort to understand others’ experiences and my own. I have come to celebrate what may be unfettered by dogmatic bigotry. I have learned that a church in the virtual world of Second Life can be a first step toward self-acceptance, healing, and discovering that there are people who, like my late friend Fred Rogers once said, like us just the way we are.

In this book, I describe one step that led to the creation of a church that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds. I say one step, but actually it is many taken with friends, colleagues, those reluctant to believe a church could exist without a physical address the post office could find, and those who found us, perhaps especially those individuals.

Shortly after I came into Second Life, I happened to find a group of Second life residents, all represented by female avatars, who were transgendered in real life or wondering if they might be. I became a friend to many. I spent countless hours listening to stories of real-life exclusion, discrimination, and outright cruelty.

One resident avatar I knew as Stacey said that life at work had become intolerable. Alcoholic parents had retreated from really being in touch at home, and life seemed utterly bleak. I listened. Listening is what ministers do. I am not a therapist. I could not treat a disorder. But I could listen.

At the end of a long evening, as our two avatars were sitting in a virtual hot tub to chat, I simply asked, So what decisions are you postponing?

Weeks went by. When next I heard from my friend Stacey, she had news. She had made plans to move out of her parents’ home into a place of her own. She had found ways to cope with the pressures at work and not let them get her down by being resolute about who she was.

I asked her, What happened to help you make the real-life changes?

The answer came back in two words, You listened.

I heard that. I came to understand that, in that simple answer, perhaps I was hearing something else. I became convinced that I really was meant to keep on listening with a purpose.

I have never felt so called to anything in my life as I have felt called to found First United Church of Christ Second Life (First UCC SL). You are about to read about how that call, the love and support of friends and colleagues, and God’s grace have established a real church in a virtual place.

Our journey into the formation of First UCC SL will take us in several directions. It is important to understand at the outset that what I provide in these pages is a snapshot in time. I also share what led to that snapshot. But I cannot predict all that will happen in the future. I have some ideas, and I will share those, but ultimately I know that this virtual world church is a very dynamic thing. Those who love it and have chosen to be part of it will shape it. God will be in that journey, step by step, wherever it may lead.

First UCC SL is founded on two United Church of Christ maxims: No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. We take that very seriously. We also believe in the concept of extravagant welcome. If you visit us in Second Life, you will find that folks will warmly greet you and do what they can to make you feel absolutely welcome. You will find gentle curiosity about who you are and encouragement for your individual journey if you need some that day. In other words, you will find a caring community.

In the context of that community, I will describe our ways of worship and how we celebrate God’s presence. I will show you that mission means more than one thing. I will invite you to witness the wonderful things that can be achieved when service to others transcends the real/virtual boundary. You will see how we take time to celebrate laughter, the joy of companionship, and dancing with our friends. And I will describe the necessities of economics and organization that have also shaped First UCC SL. Finally, virtual crystal ball firmly in hand, I will peer into the future.

The worship service I described at the beginning of this chapter horrified me. Others have been more than appalled at what they found in that church. They have been wounded, cast out of a so-called church they had attended in prayerful hope, rejected as sinners, and condemned to hell unless they would give up being what a loving God created. I set out to see if building a church and community of love and acceptance in a virtual world could yield benefits for persons wounded in both the virtual and real worlds. It can, it does, and this book is in part about how that came to be.

The service I attended that made me so uncomfortable—even angry—is over. The service ended long ago. The virtual church where I attended that service still exists. The forces that use their narrow view of religion to denigrate, marginalize, and condemn are still present. At First UCC SL, we have become a sanctuary in the truest sense of the word. We pray that will be our future. So welcome! You are about to discover a church—a very real church—in a virtual world known as Second Life.

2: Real and Second Life

F or the past several years, there has been a lot of discussion about the decline in membership in mainline denominations. This is particularly noticeable viewed over a period of fifty years, starting in 1965. Following what has been described as a clear and unequivocal trendline, liberal denominations have declined sharply while conservative denominations have increased or remained the same. ¹

There is a glimmer of good news. More persons identify as Protestant in