U2charist 2009 — A Worship Event
Hosted by Hyde Park United Methodist and Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church
On Oct. 4, 2009 for a special U2Charist worship event was held featuring the spiritually rich music of the Irish rock band U2, the liturgy of Holy Communion, and a powerful message to join the fight against extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Pastors and musicians from both churches, worship leaders Roger Sullins of Palma Ceia, and Sherlyn Burnham-Kuehn of Hyde Park led the worship service. Local jazz singer and worship leader Belinda Womack performed U2’s classic hit “One.”
The offering from the 2009 U2charist continues to support Come Back Missions in Johannesburg, South Africa, which provides information, nutritional help and resources to help residents fight HIV/AIDS. When possible, this includes transportation to clinics for anti-retroviral (ARV) treatments. Most residents are too sick to walk, or too poor to pay for transportation for the 20 kilometers they must travel to receive treatment. We praise God that the U2charist service raised the necessary funds needed to purchase a reliable vehicle for Come Back Missions to transport residents to the clinics for ARV treatment.
You can make an online donation by clicking here. Please enter the amount of your contribution in the Other Donation section and be sure to include “U2charist” in the Comments text box.
The U2charist was conceived in 2003 by Sarah Dylan Breuer, and the first U2charist was held on April 23, 2004, designed with the help of Rev. Ken Phelps and Kathleen Capcara. The event was hosted by the Without Walls emerging worship team of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. The service spread from there, including regular U2charists in Baltimore, where the first service was held, as well as across the U.S. and Canada. Paige Blair consulted with Ms. Breuer and thereafter held her first U2charist in June 2005. Both women have worked together to expand and extend the blessings provided by the worship service.
The U2charist format is offered on an open source basis, allowing people to use and adapt it for their communities. The only requirement is that the free will offering collected must go toward the eradication of extreme poverty and the scourge of HIV/AIDS on the African continent.
The first ecumenical U2Charist worship service, hosted in Tampa by Hyde Park United Methodist and Palm Ceia Presbyterian Church in October 2006, drew an overflow crowd to the Hyde Park Sanctuary and raised an offering of over $5,000 to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa. Our second service, held in Oct. 2009, raised $24,000 to purchase a van to transporting HIV/AIDS patients to a clinic where they receive life-saving medications.
U2's lead singer, Bono, has been a driving force in the fight against extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Bono is also a founder of the ONE campaign toward that effort. Says Bono, “Where you live should no longer determine whether you live.”
Links:
Directions to Hyde Park United Methodist
Email Eric Johnson, Worship Director