U2charist and working up a sweat in worship from Lee Shaw

When was the last time you worked up a sweat in worship and clapped til your hands hurt?

Well, that was the experience of several hundred folks who crowded into the Renaissance Hotel ballroom for the "U2charist" tonight. The Holy Eucharist presided over by the Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen, Bishop of Main with the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Bishop of North Carolina, as the preacher. And the music: by U2 of course! (Recorded, not live.)

Lots of music that had the standing room only - and standing in the hallways as well - clapping and swaying and singing along to the words and images projected on two large screens in the front of the hall. I had a short plump older bishop and his wife in front of me and a tall, thin teenager behind me all caught up in the spirit of the evening. Lots of energy, both of the rock and roll kind and the Holy Spirit kind, in that very warm ballroom.

The spirit was kicked up several notches by Bishop Curry in his sermon. His preaching style is out of the black preaching tradition with high energy, high volume and powerful images of God working in the world and in our lives. His sermon was interrupted numerous times with "AMEN," applause and one lengthy standing ovation. (This was not your standard Sunday morning sung Rite 2 service in the parish.) He totally won over the crowd with his energy and story telling and powerful witness for the need to renew our commitment to justice in the world.

The U2charist was sponsored by Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (http://www.e4gr.org/). Their goal is to have individuals, groups, parishes, dioceses and the national church commit 0.7% for world relief.

The "Millennium Development Goal" (MDG) of 0.7% is what is heard a lot through out convention. The Diocese of Utah is also working to make the MDG part of our budget reality as well.

And tonight's U2charist was a fitting and powerful reminder of our connection with the broader world of poverty, disease and hunger. A world where every year 10.7 million children die before their fifth birthdays and more than one billion people survive in abject poverty on less than $1 a day. Tonight was a time to clap hands, sway to the music of U2, sing along, be moved by an incredibly powerful sermon and recommit ourselves to be a witness for Christ in the world by serving - and giving money for - others in His name.