By Greg Garrett
Thursday, July 16th, toward the end of the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, people gathered to experience a U2charist, a communion service held to the music of the Irish rock band U2. At first, the idea of a secular rock band providing the soundtrack for an Episcopal service might seem sacrilegious-or just silly-since, after all, rock ‘n’ roll has been “the devil’s music” for the past fifty years. But where U2 is concerned, the rock preconceptions about
rebellion, anarchy, and ego gratification go out the window. Here is a band in which three of four members are professing Christians, one (lead singer Bono) has been deputized by the band to become the world’s leading advocate for the poor and vulnerable, and their faith has shaped
their music and lives in powerful and obvious ways.
U2charists have been put on around the world and have become hugely popular, attracting many people from outside the Church. But just as importantly, they focus the Church on what we are called to be doing, putting attention on the poor through music, preaching, and the
offering, which always goes to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a United Nations initiative to end world hunger, combat HIV/AIDS, and achieve other vital goals. Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation is the clearing house for information on U2charists in the Episcopal Church. It’s a natural fit, since the EGR is also our clearing house for information on the MDGs.
But it’s also a natural fit because Bono himself has been a huge advocate for the MDGs. In an interview with the Financial Times last fall, he explained that the MDGs came about back in 2000 because people of compassion made a “commitment to eight goals that would change the
planet and demonstrate to the developing world how we might, through a combination of know-how and resources, partner with them in efforts to help millions out of desperate poverty. We gave ourselves 15 years, [and] we’re halfway there.” Since 2000, as Bono has noted, nations have contributed or pledged hundreds of millions in debt relief , aid, and trade, but of course much still remains to be done.
Unlike stereotypical rock stars, who are supposed to devote their free time to substance abuse and conspicuous consumption, Bono and U2 have made the MDGs a top priority. After years of advocacy for trade, debt relief, and AIDS drugs for Africa, Bono himself co-founded the ONE
movement, a coalition that describes itself as “a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.” The band also speaks out on behalf of the ONE movement, dedicating their classic song “One” (with its repeated refrain “we get to carry each other”) to enlisting new members of the coalition. On their last tour, before they played “One” Bono would deliver a fiery and heartfelt speech about how this generation’s moon launch could and should be putting an end to world hunger.
Likewise, on U2’s 2009 tour, now in Europe before coming to the States this fall, Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivers a taped message at the beginning of the concert to each arena full of people, inviting their participation in the ONE movement. After invoking a litany of victories in the struggle for peace, justice, and economic equity in the past decades-the end of apartheid, peace in Ireland, crackdowns on human trafficking and slavery-Tutu explains what is at stake. Because of the work and the voices of people of compassion, he says, “millions more of our brothers and sisters are alive.” And still, again, much more remains to be done.
At General Convention this year-a convention dedicated to exploring the South African concept of “ubuntu,” the idea that we are made to be in relationship with each other-the Episcopal Church rededicated itself to the Millennium Development Goals, which were declared a top missions priority at the 2006 General Convention. Even though delegates were forced to cut the Church’s overall budget, the convention retained a line item for the MDGs, pledging to keep it a major focus.
Bono would be pleased. In “One,” he sings
Love is the temple
Love the higher law
and he has long said that if faith is not committed to helping the poor and vulnerable, then it is a fraud. To see our Church re-committing itself in the middle of hard economic times to those who are much worse off is both an inspiration and a reminder that we get to carry each other.
Not have to; get to. We are made for each other, and when we forget that, we forget one of the truths about who we are-and whose we are.
Greg Garrett is the author of the new We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2 and many other books. He is Professor of English at Baylor University, Writer in Residence at the Seminary of the Southwest, and a licensed lay preacher based at St. David’s, Austin.
He blogs at theotherjesus.com. This article will appear in the September issue of Texas Episcopalian.