Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

U2-charist
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

That's hip hop for the new age of Christianity: U2-charist replaces the Eucharist.

Rock stars with the messiah complex are nothing new. During my time in Nashville, I watched Garth Brooks transform himself from a humble country singer into his vision of a sacrificial lamb. Dreaming Out Loud, my book about the two years I spent with him and other stars, ends with Garth having himself photographed in the shape of the crucifixion. He sacrificed himself and was reborn as Chris Gaines, a weird, rock singer with a full head of dyed hair. That persona bombed.

Bono doesn't have to perform such a transfiguration: The Church has done it for him! U2's music is suddenly all the rage in churches in a vain attempt to draw in younger worshipers. (Is this a good idea?! Don't U2 fans know how to illegally download their music and don't need to go to church to hear it!) Here's a report:

BEFORE he became the pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI once said that rock music was an 'instrument of the Devil'.

But chances are, he might give Irish supergroup U2 the benefit of the doubt.

That's because traditional churches all over the world are starting to replace hymns with the songs by the rock band in a bid to attract younger worshippers.

Informally dubbed the 'U2-charist', after the rite of eucharist, it is an adapted version of the Holy Communion service where worshippers sing along to U2 hits like Beautiful Day and Mysterious Ways instead of traditional hymns.

The idea for U2-charists was started by Reverend Paige Blair, an Episcopal priest in York Harbor, Maine, in 2005.

Since then, she has advised about 150 churches on U2-charists in 15 states and seven countries, with churches even in New Zealand and Hong Kong embracing U2's songs.

The Church of England is the latest church to join the trend. It will be staging its first U2-charist in the town of Lincoln in May. 'Rock music can be a vehicle of immense spirituality,' Bishop of Grantham Timothy Ellis told Reuters.

This seems like a pretty silly idea to me. After all, don't U2 fans know how to illegally download their music and don't need to go to church to hear it?

Labels: Christianity, Pop Culture

Posted by B Feiler at 8:15 AM
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