Church of Fools now in 2D as pilot project ends
26 Sept 2004
Church of Fools went offline today – a day that saw an emotional farewell service (pictured above).
The church was initially conceived as a three-month experiment into online 3D church, to run from May until August 2004, but it remained open for an extra month.
That Church of Fools happened at all was something of a miracle on several counts. Firstly, nothing could have happened without our generous sponsors: the UK Methodist Church, the Bishop of London and the Christian Resources Exhibition. Secondly, we were very blessed to be working again with specialmoves, who designed and constructed the church and who went more than the extra mile (given our low budgets) in ideas and enthusiasm.
Thirdly, our wonderful team of highly motivated wardens saved the church from going under several times when we were being "raged" by trolls during the difficult middle weeks of the experiment. And finally, two members of the management team, known as Melon and Gwaelod, put in huge amounts of time and inventiveness to produce technical fixes which kept the trolls at bay. Without all these groups, Church of Fools would either not have happened at all, or would have died in week two.
Despite the setbacks, we completed our three-month experimental period, and learned a huge amount in the process. In fact, we haven't had time yet to fully reflect on all that happened. However, it's clear that to take the vision of Church of Fools forward, we need to make major changes to the software, which requires significant amounts of time and money. So while the church is offline, we'll be busy investigating and applying for funding from a variety of sources to help take the development of the church forward.
Ship of Fools, which is the "parent" of the project, remains absolutely committed to continuing and developing Church of Fools and finding a way to bringing it back online as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we have plans for developing the church's website, including an expanded forum and a new chat area, so there will be plenty of ways to keep in touch with friends and to see how the next version of Church of Fools is coming together.
We are excited about the clear potential of Church of Fools, and look forward to the next stage of the project. Please pray for us as we work through the various technical, theological and financial issues. And thanks to everyone who took part in the experiment!
