Two Days on Second Life

I created a Second Life avatar yesterday and have been exploring the virtual world a bit. I think I'll post a longer evaluation of what I've experienced so far, some ethical meanderings on how navigating virtual life with others requires some re-tooling and learning, and philosophical musings on the nature of life in a second world, plus some theological/liturgical reflections on worship in SL.

I thought a list of what I've done so far might intrigue readers. So:

1. I've prayed Compline at St. Matthew's two evenings in a row.
2. I participated in mid-day prayer at the Anglican Cathedral.
3. I discovered an outreach ministry led by an LCMS pastor.
4. I accidentally landed in a strangely spiritualist Jeshua-God theme park. I really have no idea.
5. Also ended up in various and sundry dance clubs.
6. One of my favorite places so far is a coffee shop, very friendly host and interesting conversations. Last time I was there they were listening to The National.
7. I created an avatar that looks like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix.
8. Made some new friends who host worship or help new people connect in world.
9. Attended a live indie rock concert.
10. Practiced flying. And did you know you can do live text chat and audio?

You need not spend any money to do this, and there's an entire universe you can explore. I really had no idea. I can chock everything up to part of my study and preparation for an upcoming d.min. class on Church in the Age of Facebook, but I admit it's just plain fun as well as learning.

I also still believe it is a frontier, and as a frontier, the church totally needs to step up and figure out how to have a more active presence in it. It is a mission field.