U2 online is an independently owned and operated website. We are not in any way connected to U2 or any of its agents. The U2 logos, trademarks and copyrights are the ownership of their distinct private owners. Pictures, and information on this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only. Read the rest of the disclaimer below. Use of the website constitutes signing a contract of agreement to this Legal Disclaimer.
U2charist on BBC
YORK, Maine -- When the Rev. Dr. Paige Blair, rector of St. George's Episcopal Church in York Harbor, first began using the music of the Irish rock band U2 in her liturgical services, she never thought it would garner worldwide attention.
But the groundbreaking "U2charist," or U2 Eucharist, developed by Blair is going to be featured on the worldwide stage yet again.
A reporter from the BBC is in town this week to tape the U2charist scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at St. George's and featuring the "music of the spiritually rich and social justice-oriented rock group U2."
That service then will be part of a show that also will include a taping of a U2 service at a cathedral in Lincolnshire, England.
The final show will include interviews with congregants from York, as well as from England.
"It's really kind of wild,"‚¬Blair said. "It's amazing what the Internet has done and how it has allowed me to work as a consultant to churches all over the world."
Certainly media attention is nothing new for Blair.
She already has been interviewed by BBC World Radio, USA Today, Time and Rolling Stone magazines.
That's because, though other churches had been using the music of Bono and his U2 band in communion services, Blair was the first to tie in the music and a liturgy showcasing global poverty, AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals.
Those goals -- which include cutting extreme global poverty in half by 2015 -- were adopted by the leaders from 189 nations, including the United States.
Taking Blair's lead, hundreds of churches from Hong Kong to Kansas have hosted the U2charists in 15 states and seven countries.
In the service developed by Blair, "anywhere you would have music, it's from U2," she said.
The lyrics are displayed as part of a PowerPoint presentation on a screen by the altar.
Blair said U2's music, which has long been recognized for its Christian themes, as well as Bono's worldwide campaigns to eradicate extreme poverty and AIDS, lends itself to religious services.
"They always have been open about their spirituality,"‚¬Blair said. "Many of the lyrics come straight from the Scripture."
Blair said there are some people who have been drawn to the church because of the U2charists, but the services seem to be appealing to all ages.
"We see 70-year-olds and 7-year-olds -- and everyone in between -- dancing in the aisles," she said. "God reaches us in many different ways."
