U2 Eucharist This Sunday!

From today's Holy Covenant E-Newsletter:

This coming Sunday is Holy Covenant's celebration of the U2 Eucharist, and you won't want to miss it. I hope that you'll email friends, blog about it, tell your colleagues about it, so that the whole city will feel invited.

The U2 Eucharist is very cool. If you don't believe me, you can see pictures here. But our reason for doing it goes beyond being moved by the intersection of "secular" and "sacred." The U2 Eucharist is about ending poverty--joining our hearts and voices and resources to erase the economic injustices that keep a huge percentage of our world's population living in below-human conditions.

At Holy Covenant, we've begun thinking about poverty. Dignity Diner and our work through the Night Ministry have taken us a few steps. But what if? What if this was just the beginning of a revolution of love? What if we walked further, giving ourselves to a restoration of the world? What if our very being were about bringing hope and justice to our neighbors?

What if we dreamed that Holy Covenant Church could be a leader in making a measurable difference in the ending of poverty in the city of Chicago? What if we helped to figure out a way for the poorest of Chicago to find shelter and a way to earn a living? Not sure how it would happen. But what if?

When the Holy Spirit came upon the Christians in the first century, people said "those folks are turning the world upside down." Could that happen again? Join us this Sunday to think about it. You never know what a little rock music could do.

In hope for peace with justice,
Pastor Trey Hall

U2 Eucharist
Sunday, April 29, 10:30 am
In response to the movement to Make Poverty History, Holy Covenant will celebrate a special U2 Eucharist at 10:30 am on Sunday, April 29. Featuring the Celebration Choir and special guest rock band, this worship service will feature music from U2's catalog, including such favorites as "One" and "Beautiful Day."

The U2 Eucharist has recently received international media attention, from newspapers to BBC World Service presentations, for its innovative use of the band's biblically rich lyrics and social justice message, for its ability to bring together people of many different generations in a context of worship, and as a tool for raising awareness and empowering communities to respond to the Millennium Development Goals.

Every nation in the world has endorsed the Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and global AIDS, and many churches, including The United Methodist Church, have endorsed them as well. Accordingly, an offering will benefit Dignity Diner, which through its local work is also engaged helping to make poverty history.