“Welcome! Today’s service will be generated by artificial intelligence!”
It may not be the most common way to greet a congregation, but that’s precisely how one United Methodist church in Texas kicked off its AI-generated Sunday service last month.
Jay Cooper, pastor of Violet Crown City Church, a congregation of about 125 people in the North Austin area, said he decided to switch things up with the church’s worship to reconnect and re-engage.
“The idea to create an admittedly unorthodox AI-generated worship service came from my belief that the church should not only be aware of the most pressing issues of our world, but also to actively engage in them,” Cooper told CP via email Tuesday.