Mike Plunkett
Mike Plunkett is a graduate student in the Communication Management program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
Anyone who has been to a U2 concert knows that the zenith of the show is "Where the Streets Have No Name." When the lights rise and The Edge cranks out the Infinity Guitar and Bono runs around the stage so that his love won't turn to rust, fans often describe the experience in religious terms. What if that experience could be transferred (converted might be a better word) to a church? Would there still be that same sense of transcendence? Would it be sacrilegious to sing something other than "There is Power in the Blood?"
These are questions that arise with the advent of the U2charist. As the name implies, it's the Eucharist, except there's less "Eu" and more "U2." A U2charist is a liturgical service that substitutes the Irish band's songs for hymns. It's the same prayers and the same communion; just the singing is a bit more POP-ish.
The U2charist dates back to 2003, in response to the book Get Up Off Your Knees, a collection of sermons that used U2 songs. Reverend Paige Blair, an Episcopal priest in York Harbor, Maine, is often credited with giving the U2charist wings when her congregation began holding U2charists in 2005. Impressed with the spirituality of the band and its appeal for Christians, particularly Gen X Christians who are more in touch with pop culture, Blair wanted to see how the secular and the sacred could meld. As she stated in a 2006 USA Today article, "Bach and Handel were the popular music of their day, and they had trouble getting played in church. The Methodist hymn writers once wrote contemporary music. Are we worshiping Bono? Absolutely not. No more so than we worship Martin Luther when we sing 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.'"
Blair is currently working on the book Blessings Aren't Just for the Ones Who Kneel, (a line from "City of Blinding Lights" from the last U2 album), a book on the history of the U2charist and how churches can incorporate the services in their congregations.
U2's appeal flows not only from its great shows and music, but also from its activism. The liturgical prayers in the U2charist focus on issues of justice, poverty and the well being of humans, in line with the ONE Campaign, DATA and most of the issues that Bono champions. Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation are using the U2charist to push for awareness of and action on issues relating to social justice.
All this leads to a simple question: what place does pop culture and entertainment have in religion? The convergence is nothing new. The adage for one to be in the world, but not of the world still confounds the faithful. Does it seem odd to say that spiritual meaning can be found in secular music? Maybe not. Value and meaning can be found in any place and capacity. It squarely depends on those that seek it.
In any case, the U2charist is a sign of the times. Religious songs that have stood the test of time, such as "Amazing Grace," still show the way of meaning, value and truth for those that seek. Keep in mind when those songs were originally written, they spoke to the culture of the day. John Newton, writer of "Amazing Grace," used it to comment about the mid-18th century slave trade. This hymn has transcended its cultural genesis and become a grand statement about divine grace.
Who knows, maybe churches will be singing "Yahweh," another U2 song, during a Eucharist in 20 years. Perhaps it'll follow "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley, or Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Will that diminish the service, the religious meaning? Hardly. If anything, it could bring the service, and quite possibly, religion, into modern times.
