Unitarian Universalist Community on Second Life

My deepest experience of virtual Unitarian Universalist community has been at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Second Life. Second Life is a program that you can download onto your computer for free. The program requires a computer with significant graphics and sound capabilities and an internet connection. One you are in Second Life, you can create a virtual character and walk around a virtual world. This virtual world has shopping centers, natural landscapes, and most importantly — a Unitarian Universalist church!

It may seem like I am going to extremes here. Only a few days ago I was posting about the church down the street, and now I’m recommending a church in a virtual world. But I find that going to church in Second Life feels more “real” than I expected.

A month or two ago, I e-mailed George Byrd, the founder of the church in Second Life, and offered to lead worship services if needed. George normally leads the worships (which take place on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings), but sometimes needs someone to fill in. I thought, “how hard could it be?”

George took me up on my offer, and asked me to lead a worship service on a Thursday night. I set aside an hour during the day to practice with him. We met-up in Second Life, and he started to walk me through the process. I moved my character up to the pulpit, hoping I would not fall into the virtual water surrounding it. Then I started typing the words I wanted to say. That I could do. But there was a lot more to it!

As we got started practicing, George explained to me that I had to place a flaming chalice (which is like a candle) into the water in front of the pulpit. I had no idea how to do that. First I set my virtual self on fire by accident. Then I produced a chalice (as intended), and dropped it into the water upside down (again, an accident). The blunders continued all afternoon. There were chimes going off at random times, bells ringing when there were supposed to be chimes, and a deafening Second Life silence during what was supposed to be a hymn. I became tense sitting behind the computer, as one hour turned to two and then three hours of practicing.

I was very embarrassed. But the whole time, George was supportive. He would type “you’re doing well” or “yes, that was much better.” At one point I said, “maybe I shouldn’t try to do the whole service?” but he did not take the bait, and we kept practicing. When I made a nervous joke about how badly things were going, he gave me a virtual laugh and joke in return. The embarrassment I felt at making mistakes was quite real, as was the relief at George’s encouraging responses.

The worship service was a success. When, at the beginning of the service, the chalice landed right-side up and I had not set fire to myself, I had a sense things might be ok. As the service continued, I found I had the same swelling sense of wonder that I have when leading a real-life worship service. The services at Second Life are very participatory, and we had a rich discussion that evening during worship about the role other people can play in furthering our spiritual development. Following the service, many congregants told me how much they had enjoyed the worship, and I felt a deep sense of gratitude.

I don’t have a video of the actual service, but I do have a video George made about the church, which features clips from that evening. The video can help you get a feel for what the church is like, and the church website has more information about you can get involved.
(That’s me.)