In times of Corona and quarantine, many churches are going online and offering video broadcasting. But one particular church is experiencing a particular boom at this time: the church of virtual reality.
The pastor of the VR Church Europe is a computer-animated figure, and so are the churchgoers standing around: the Virtual Church is a new kind of online worship service for those at home. The pastor preaches, the participants sing, some even raise their hands. Everyone talks to each other as if they were there. Behind each figure, a so-called avatar, there is a real person, except that he or she may be many thousands of kilometres away from the others. You can meet real Christians here, pray and actually do everything that is usual in a normal church service. Baptisms, the Lord's Prayer together, sermons, praise - the Christian religion has arrived in virtual reality.
Jesus loves VR
"People who are looking for Jesus should not only find him in normal reality, but also in virtual reality," says Markus Neher, director of the Virtual Reality Church Europe. He takes a pair of data glasses in his hand and explains: "Thanks to the 3D glasses, which are equipped with a monitor for each eye, the brain thinks after a short time that it is really in the place generated by the computer.
The service is currently experiencing enormous growth. "We currently have around 60 visitors at a service," says Neher, "and the trend is rising sharply." There are now several services every Sunday: very early in the day the Australians start, at 7 p.m. it's the Europeans' turn, and finally at 1 a.m. there is a service for the Americans. There are now several hundred visitors at all the services together, says Neher. So far, the services are held exclusively in English, but the initiators are currently planning translations into other languages.
If you prefer to visit a church without all the fuss and interaction, you can also visit Notre-Dame, for example, as our Report shows.
Source: pro-medienmagazin
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