David Louder

Campus Pastor, Western Michigan University

RCCongress 2010 Workshop:

Virtual or Real: Faith in the Second Life Community

Rev. Dr. David Louder is the Lutheran (ELCA) Campus Pastor at Western Michigan University. He received his B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a Master of Divinity Degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, PA. His Ph. D. in New Testament Theology is from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. Louder has been a resident of Second Life since 2006 and is a participant in several faith communities in SL, including the widely known Anglican Cathedral of Second Life. Information on this ministry that may be helpful for the workshop can be found on the The Anglican Cathedral of Second Life blog.

Virtual or Real: Faith in the Second Life Community

Focusing on the virtual world of Second Life (SL), this workshop will offer examples of ways that faith communities are employing SL to share and communicate faith. We will then consider further possibilities for using SL as a platform in service to faith communities. Finally we will consider the pros and cons of virtual worlds as they may impact faith development, concentrating on the relationship between virtuality and reality.

More than simply reproducing an image of Anglican liturgy, our challenge is to consider the unique features that make SL appealing, and incorporate them into our worship, while being distinctly Anglican, and respecting principles that hold true in both worlds.

~ Mark Brown writing about Virtual Worship on the The Anglican Cathedral of Second Life blog.