There
are so many hurting folks. If we can
just help people see that this takes church to people rather than relying on
people coming to church, I think that would be something that can be seen.
Jerome
Newstart, Pastor of First UCC in Second Life
As many of
my readers who follow me regularly know (My thanks to both of you!) I’ve been
spending some time with the First UCC congregation in Second Life (SL) since I
encountered them when I went looking
for God inworld. (BTW She’s there,
you just have to know where to look and be quiet about it.)
Despite
Significant Other’s view that the only reason I hang around at First UCC is
that they’re too nice to toss me out (They really are nice people but if I
acted out I’m sure they’d toss me out.) I do hang out at First UCC a fair bit
because of one major reason.
The reason
is that First UCC is the convergence of both Second Life and Real Life. (RL)
First UCC is
an officially recognized congregation in the United Church of Christ (UCC.)
The programs
at First UCC help
children and many
others with their day-to-day issues.
SL has become a portal for those who can’t access a faith community in
RL.
All are
welcome here. (Significant Other does
admit that if they’re letting me stick around for that reason then they really
must be nice people.)
Their recent
recognition as an Open and Affirming
(ONA) ministry is proof of that.
(C’mon
now! Did you really think a church group
was going to go to Las Vegas?)
I met
recently with Jer and Bec in his offices to talk about the General Synod and
what it means for First UCC.
(Unfortunately, Luci had a last minute RL scheduling conflict and
couldn’t attend.)
My first
question to them was what were Jer’s goals at General Synod 2015?
Jer replied
that there are several.
First,
attracting new volunteers, especially clergy, and members.
Next
attaining additional funding for the ministry.
Finally,
raising the awareness of First UCC within UCC.
Jer
emphasized the need for new volunteers as the needs of the congregation exceed
the numbers of current staff. (Who work
very hard I can say from personal observation.)
He also hopes to meet a foundation willing to support First UCC’s work
with a donation.
I next ask
about Jer’s plans to interact with the First UCC congregation while at the
Synod.
He explained
that they will have two machines with which he will show the inworld campus to
attendees when he and Luci are exhibiting.
My third
question is what message will they be taking to the Synod from First UCC.
Jer replied
that the basic, underlying message is that this ministry is a baby step toward
new ways of thinking about and being the church in response to the way the
world is moving.
I ask if
there will be any scheduled events at First UCC for the Synod and Jer said that
given the Synod’s schedule there will only be informal ones. He hopes to do onsite training and
presentations.
Finally, I
ask if there is a final message before Jer and Luci leave for the Synod.
Bec answered
saying so this is a great time for Luci and Jer to “WOW” everyone with
the info
and hopefully inspire folks and then connect with the right people.
With that, I
thank Jer and Bec for their time, wish both he and Luci a safe and successful
trip, and look forward to meeting with them upon their return.
I would ask
all who read this story to drop by First UCC during the Synod and show your support
for the congregation.
If you’re
attending the congregation and can help by either volunteering or making a
donation please do!
If you’re
one of the folks in these foundations that support charitable work and can
influence decisions for the benefit of First UCC please do!
In RL, I’m
an errant Papist (Please no emails complaining about my use of this term! My parish priest says it’s OK although he does
wince every time that I do.) who is on the watch list of the Inquisition. (I’ll bet you didn’t know that they never
officially shut it down did you?)
But, I can
see the value that First UCC makes to a broad and diverse community.
Whatever you
can do to help will be enough and will help people in ways that you may never
know.
You just
have to do it!
I’d like to
thank Jer and Bec for their time and assistance in helping me to prepare this
story, given all that’s going on at First UCC these days, I appreciate their
taking the time to meet with me!
And,
please! If you’re at the Synod drop by
the First UCC exhibit booth and say hello to Jer and Luci. They’ll be at Booth 834 in the General Synod
Exhibit Hall.
Tell ‘em web sent you!
(BTW Bec will be inworld
during the Synod to meet visitors and to interact with Jer and Luci. I also plan to drop by and meet visitors as
well. Please don’t use that as an excuse
not to come!)
Or, if you can’t visit with us
during the Synod then please make a point to drop by
First UCC later to see the
beautiful
grounds and gardens.
As always, I’m grateful to all
inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was
passing through their lives
I can be found on Google+ as
webspelunker Ghostraven.
On Skype I’m webspelunker
Ghostraven.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Open roads
and kind fires!
No comments:
Post a Comment