I initially attend the AltspaceVR service using my laptop every day, but when I put on the glasses for the VRChat version, I am immersed back in the Church of Scotland of my childhood. The feeling of other people sitting on all sides of me, hands clasped, is amazing. Even stranger when the prayer ends without that collective murmur of ‘Amen’: the other parishioners must have their microphones muted.

In the middle of Alina’s sermon, two people start causing trouble, wearing demonic avatars. “We all have the power to mute and block,” Alina tells the herd, “and I encourage you to use this.”

Alina, now 49, attended church regularly growing up, but her career as a flight attendant left her little time for worship. She then contracted a vascular disorder that left her fatigued and…