A “U2charist” is a Holy Eucharist service using the music of the Irish rock group U2. We are having one here at Reconcilication on Saturday, September 30 at 5:00 p.m.

“U2charist” is a term coined by Episcopal priest and U2 fan Rev. Paige Blair, rector of St. George’s Church in York, Maine. As she says:

My parishioners and I noticed that U2 was popping up in conversation at the church in many different settings: adult education classes, meetings, coffee hour… And we kept finding ourselves talking about how U2 had been important on our spiritual journeys. I had just read Get Up Off Your Knees, a collection of sermons based on U2 lyrics, and floated the idea of a service in which all the music, from hymns to “service music” (like the Gloria or Kyrie) would be by U2, and a number of people in different generations were really excited.

A key element of the U2charist is the focus on global poverty and the Millenium Development Goals. Any congregation may use the materials Rev. Blair’s team developed as well as the U2 recordings free of charge, provided that all proceeds from the collection are given to an organization working toward the MDGs.

Watch a story on St. George’s U2charist that aired on WMTW in Portland, ME.

Listen to a U2charist recorded at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Learn More from Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation.

Part 2: Who Are U2? Are they a Christian Band?
Part 3: So what are these Millenium Development Goals?

written by AmyGee