CaringBridge is more than just a charitable organization. It is a place where professor of religion Deanna Thompson found love and support after her diagnosis of stage four breast cancer. In 2008, after her diagnosis, Thompson’s brother started a page for her on the CaringBridge site to keep family and friends updated about her condition. Using the site during her illness she was inspired to write her fourth book called, “The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World.”

On Nov. 6, she had a launch party for her new book at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Thompson was introduced with a video by her oldest daughter Linnea Peterson who is away at college. Her daughter helped her bring in a new perspective of social media and being virtual in today’s world when Peterson helped edit her mother’s entire draft of the manuscript.

After the introduction by her daughter, Thompson had the chance to talk over the key points of her book. The first main point she made was that “technology is a tool.”

She went on to explain that the Apostle Paul, though almost never physically with people, was the first person to spread the word of Christ by communicating through letters. This is how the virtual body of Christ originally started.

Thompson explained that this is how the Church Universal started as well, just like CaringBridge reaches people worldwide through the Internet.

Because of the CaringBridge website, she received six prayer shawls from all around the world and there was a Mass dedicated to her in “India, Sri Lanka, California, as well as closer to home in Minnesota,” according to her book.

She explained that being able to write and to just get words down was an easier way to communicate with the people rather than actually speaking to them in person.

“Online I could write full sentences without sounding like I was dying.” Thompson said.

Whether you are using email, blogs, the written word or social media websites, “the body of Christ is virtually happening all the time,” she said.

CaringBridge helped Thompson communicate to all friends, family and strangers about her illness. It was easier to do because then people wouldn’t come up to her in public and ask her a bunch of questions.

“It is the initial telling that is the hardest part. Once they know, it is easier to communicate with them.” Thompson said.

After Thompson was done speaking about her new book, she opened the lecture up to a Q&A.  Someone brought up that there can be a negative side of the virtual world. There can be bullying and name calling on social media websites.

Thompson explained that she had to take that into consideration and that people just need to be aware and know about the negatives that come from social media.

Some other negative things that came up were the limits to virtual communication, missing out on non-verbal communication and also that sometimes readers think that they know the writer well when they really don’t.

“There are certain times when you should communicate virtual and there are times when you should communicate non-virtually,” she explained.