Hopefully NOT Coming to a Catholic Parish Near You, But You Never Know!

Is this a picture of people at a bank hold up? No. Are they at some kind of a rally? Nope. Give up? They are Episcopalians in Framingham, Massachusetts, at a U2 rock concert. No wait, they are at a U2charist service! Just because they were waving their arms frantically in the air and gyrating their bodies to the beat of popular songs like "Pride," One," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," doesn't mean it can't happen in the realm and confines of a traditional Church worship service does it? Sadly, the answer is yes.

It's all about bringing social justice to the community, and what better way to do it than to incorporate it into the Sunday liturgy by designing a worship service around a rock concert? They even remove some of the pews to make room for dancing, creating a "mosh pit." After all, they want people to be able to cut loose and dance. The U2 songs take the place of hymns, and the goal is to raise money for social justice in third world countries.

The brainstorm of Rev. Dr. Paige Blair, a U2 fan who began designing a service around U2 music because she liked it, is growing in popularity. Blair says it seems natural to her to want worshipers to connect with the band's music and bring attention to her church's work.

Thank God that He is not really present in their "U2charist" is all I can say, and in the words of my friend Manfred who sent this to me:
"Let's hope that neither the Canadian nor US bishops think this is a cool idea worth considering!"