A potential benefit of online church is that it can be a place to go for those who feel they do not belong in a traditional church, or they have been rejected by a traditional church. An online church can be the perfect place for like-minded individuals who do not want to be part of a mainstream culture to meet.
An example of this is the Ulfilas Project. According to their web site, the Ulfilas Project aims to translate the word of God for contemporary Gothic culture. They have set up a church in Second Life – an online 3D world that is created by those who use it – called St Hilda’s.
The project was started by a man named Craig Gilman, or Ulfilas Graves as he is known on Second Life. In real life, he works at Birmingham Cathedral reaching out to a younger generation. In an interview with the BBC News web site he said:
"Actually there are a lot of Christian Goths out there but sometimes they keep it quiet because they are often not accepted by the church. A lot of people who have joined our group say they feel it is a haven because it’s the first church service where its been accepted for them to be who they are – a goth and they felt it was somewhere they could call home as a church, which I was amazed at considering it’s a virtual service."
Although I am not sure the reasons why Goths may not be accepted into a church service I would hazard a guess that it is mainly due to appearance--the usual all black attire may not be deemed acceptable. Or perhaps Goths are often associated with Satanism?
The services that take place in the church would come under the definition of Goth liturgy – contemporary gothic music is played and specially adapted readings are performed (to read an example of Goth liturgy used at St Edward King and Martyr church in Cambridge click here).
It seems this online church has got a lot of online attention from users who reside in
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