"He is life! He is love! He has a bejeweled codpiece!"

And so, from Sansara, the oldest of the ten main continents, we travel today to Zindra, the newest. "Oh, Zindra!," I hear you thinking, "now THAT should be interesting!" Sorry to disappoint you, folks, but we're going to church. The First Church of Rosedale (Immersionist), to be exact. Samantha Poindexter, pastor, met me in front of the chapel to give me the Good News about Philip.

Dedicated to the worship of Second Life founder Philip Rosedale (Philip Linden), the tiny chapel is perched on a hill on a charming parcel in Rhianna, and according to Samantha, has been there "since the Rapture brought us to Zindra in July of 2009. Before that," she goes on to say, "we spent a couple months at the top of a mountain on the mainland; before that, Caledon Penzance. The Penzance founder's plaque above the doors on the inside may well be the only one on Zindra." ("The Rapture" is how Samantha refers to the removal of all adult parcels from other mainland locations to Zindra upon its creation.)

The building is adorned with beautiful stained glass windows (see picture, below), alternating images of Philip (no bejeweled codpiece in sight, sadly) with images of stacked prims, the original building block of Second Life. While Samantha no longer holds regular services in the chapel, people still visit to pay their respects. "Awhile back I found a photo on Snapzilla of a wedding that apparently took place here, which I wouldn't otherwise have known about," she said. In addition, several St. Torley's Day celebrations have been held at this location, during which the stained glass windows are changed out to reflect Torley's image in pink and green splendor.

When asked what gave her the idea for the church, Samantha said, "The T-shirts came first. I started with a couple based on the premise that, in SL, Philip Linden was God, and then I got ideas for more, and then the joke totally ran away with me. Or the spirit moved me; take your choice." The t-shirts she is referring to can be found at Samantha's Shirts in Vicina (see my favorite, below). The shirts are all pay-what-you-want sharewear, and although they are old-school system shirts, Samantha mentioned that she was looking into updating them with applier kits.

"Philip Himself once put a few L$ in the collection plate when I was offline, and I was rendered speechless for about 20 minutes when I saw the notification," recalls Samantha. If you enjoy your visit, and wish to support the chapel as well, the collection plate is located on the front step.

Samantha's disclaimer: "The First Church of Rosedale is not affiliated with or endorsed by Philip Rosedale, Philip Linden, Linden Lab, Second Life, or any other person or entity you might care to name, excepting Samantha Poindexter and Samantha's Shirts. Any reference to living, dead, fictional, or nonfictional persons or avatars, without satiric purpose, is unintentional. (But, hoo boy, do we ever indulge in the satire.) All rights reserved, don't take any wooden nickels, and may Phil be with you."