U2charist resources

offertory hymns for U2charists

The first U2charist was held before the start of the ONE campaign, and therefore the song "One" wasn't used in the service; it wasn't connected in people's minds with social justice nearly so much as with bitter breakups. But since the ONE campaign, and especially since U2's Vertigo tour, in which "One" was the song played with the band's most explicit appeal to audiences to support the Millennium Development Goals, "One" has become a must for U2charists. I use it as the offertory; it seems appropriate to play the song while people are singing ONE campaign pledges in particular.

It takes a long time, though, for a good-sized congregation to fill out those cards, so it's a good idea to have at least one other offertory hymn on hand. My favorite for that purpose is "Yahweh," from How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. And "Yahweh" is a song that ANY congregation with one member who plays acoustic guitar (just playing D - G - Em - A throughout works) can do. U2 themselves do the song with acoustic guitar and minimal accompanying from other instruments when they do it live (leaving drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. standing in front of a little ten-key MIDI keyboard which he plays with one finger to generate synthesized cello tones -- but I digress). And the lyrics of "Yahweh" are explicitly about offering what we have, where we live, and who we are to God.

So those are my two top picks for offertory hymns, and they're such strong favorites of mine that I think I'll hold off on listing others for now. But have I forgotten any of your favorites? Give me a shout to let me know!

opening hymns for U2charists

I think it's important to have the opening hymn be a high-energy song. Especially if you're not going to be having the congregation singing preludes first, it's also good for it to be a song with an intro that starts relatively quietly and builds (e.g., "All Because of You" asks people to jump in too quickly, I think). Some songs that I've found work well as opening hymns for U2charists include:

• "Pride (In the Name of Love)" -- especially if you're doing it live and extend the chimey harmonic guitar intro
• "Elevation" -- especially if you start it with an extended call and response in which the lead singer sings, "the goal is ..." and everyone sings/shouts "SOUL!" (listen to the mix of "Elevation" playing as the band takes the stage in the Elevation: Live in Boston and U2 Go Home DVDs to get an idea of how the music would sound -- and, by the way, as long as you've got one person who can play a tamborine, you can do this without a band)
• "Where the Streets Have No Name" -- I prefer to use it as a communion hymn, but I've always wanted to do it as an opening hymn in a church with an organ, with the organ playing the opening chords before the guitar comes in for the intro
• "Beautiful Day" -- works well because it gives some time for energy to build before the chorus. Drawback: the verses are too low for a lot of people (especially women) to sing, and the chorus and bridge are too high for many men to sing (this is particularly true if you're going from recordings, and therefore can't change the key).
• "I Will Follow" -- fun because its opening riff is so iconic. I do like to use this one as a dismissal, though; I picture it as sending people forth like the angel at the end of the Gospel According to Mark, with "if you walk away, I walk away" as the congregational response.

Hancock UCC U2charist: playlist only

Preludes: "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (acoustic arrangement, with hand drums and bass coming in on the second verse); "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

Opening hymn: "Pride (In the Name of Love"

Song of confession: "When Love Comes To Town"

Song of assurance (absolution): "Mysterious Ways"

Song of intercession (prayers of the people): "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Psalm: "40"

Offertory: "One"

Prayer of Dedication: "Yahweh" (acoustic arrangement)

Communion hymns: "All I Want Is You"; "Where the Streets Have No Name"

Song of commissioning: "Walk On (the Hallelujah Mix)" (acoustic arrangement)

Walk On

"Walk On" is a fabulous song, and it's one that I particularly love to include in U2charists. It's also a particularly good one to do live.

One of the best reasons to do it live, I think, is that recorded versions tend to be out of the vocal range of most people in most congregations. People who can sing the chorus almost always find the verses too low. And the few of those who don't find the verses too low find the bridge ("Home ... hard to say where it is if you've never had one"), which is even lower, absolutely impossible to sing. People can always drop things down or put things up an octave, but most people find it difficult to do several times in a single song.

However, if you do "Walk On" live, you can change the key to anything you like, and can even tweak the melody, as I often do to make it easier for congregations to sing.

But is it hard?

Nope. "Walk On" can be done with a total of four chords: D, A, G, and Em (the same chords as "Yahweh," incidentally). Capo it where you like to change the key easily.

Do you need fancy guitar effects?

Nope. U2 themselves were doing it acoustic -- just Edge and Bono -- on the Vertigo tour. I've got fancy guitar effects, and I almost never use them for this song; I go back to my acoustic guitar and play it through a nice, clean (simulated -- I use Guitar Rig 3 and keyboard amps) jazz or acoustic amp.

And I particularly love doing "Walk On" live as a closing hymn -- you can end the song with "Hallelujahs" as U2 do in "Walk On (the Hallelujah Mix)" and on the live DVDs from the Elevation tour, then have the guitarist or band keep playing the song softly while a service leader offers a brief spoken dismissal, and then have the band or guitarist go back up to full volume again and resume singing the "Hallelujahs." It ends the service on a distinctly high note, sometimes with people still singing hallelujah as they spill out the door and toward their cars or the bus or subway stop.

"Walk On" works in all kinds of places in the service -- I think the lyrics fit for absolutions as well, for example -- but the very end of the service is still my favorite place to put it for that reason. It's quite a community feeling singing those "hallelujahs" with a couple of hundred people while walking together from the site of the U2charist. It's a feeling I don't get in many other places - except for when crowds spill out of arenas still singing the chorus of "40" after a U2 concert.

Good stuff.

Please

"Please," from the Pop album, is the song that gave us the title to the book Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog. It's a plea to people so convinced that they're in the right that they'll support or engage in violence for the cause they believe to be righteous.

It's not a big singalong song, but especially if you're doing a U2charist with live music and you're strongest in resources for acoustic (or solo acoustic) music, "Please" could work well as a confession of brokenness, though it does require, I think, the congregation to imagine themselves as the "you" in the song.

If you're curious as to how "Please" could be done acoustically, check out this version from Elvis Costello (on a classical guitar, no less -- be patient through the narration, which is in German, at the beginning) or this version from U2 on the Elevation tour in Miami.

Stay

"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" is a gorgeous song off of U2's all-too-frequently overlooked album Zooropa. It works very, very well with nothing but one guitar and one voice to lead it; indeed, U2 often do it acoustically with just The Edge and Bono, and I've found that congregations can with coaching do The Edge's vocal part fairly easily.

I think it works as a Confession of Need (as in need for healing), but thus far, I've placed it in U2charist services as a prelude -- something that does a bit of tone-setting as people are coming in. U2 fanatics sing along, and since it was never a big single, others tend to join in mostly when invited to do so explicitly by the usual concert cues -- the singer (and this is one reason to do it live!) can step away from the microphone or point the microphone toward the congregation and just sing loudly enough for the first 15 rows of people to hear singing without amplification. Ear-cupping works as well. It's not the orans position -- indeed, that gesture doesn't have a Latin name at all that I know -- but it's about leading worship in a way that invites full participation from everyone present. And "Stay" is brilliant as a prelude, not only because it's a very cool song that can be done solo and acoustic (and therefore won't steal thunder from an opening hymn), but also because there's this part, normally sung in U2 concerts by The Edge just before and during the final verse, that's just a series of soaring "ohs," and congregations do that almost instantly when invited.

So "Stay" is a potential tone-setter in multiple ways. It's one of U2's more explicitly "God-talky" songs among their recent material, while still being very grounded in everyday realities. And doing it as a prelude live -- and inviting the congregation to sing the "ohs" at least -- can introduce the congregation to your intention that this is a worship service, not a concert, and that everyone will be invited to participate.

Along those lines, I also have started offering to do a session before a U2charist (either a week before at the same time, or two to three hours beforehand, so I can rest my voice and hands before the service) in which people who are intrigued by the concept but don't actually know U2's songs very well (there are quite a few people who fit that description -- especially when it comes to U2 songs, such as "Yahweh," which are great for U2charists but have never been singles or gotten much radio play). It seems to do a great deal for the congregation's experience of the service. If you've got a worship leader in your congregation who can do that -- even if s/he's doing it to a backdrop of recorded music -- that pre-service opportunity can be very helpful.

prayer and playlist from the SOS Community

By way of Bob Carlton, a U2charist liturgy used by the SOS community in California, crafted by Catie Greene, using sources from the Wild Goose Worship Group and others:

U2charist

“I Want” and “How Long?” – Hunger and Hope

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

February 12, 2006

Gathering: (stationary slide – text over image - up before start of service. Background music playing as people arrive.)

Welcome. We come together to engage our minds, bodies and souls in the Spirit of God. Drawing on the spiritual and cultural messages of the music of U2, this worship directs us towards faith in God to give meaning to our human struggles. Through music, and word, and action we acknowledge our longing and celebrate our hope.

This U2charist is a creative work, just as we all are. You are encouraged to sing, and move, and participate as you feel comfortable. Just join in as you are, and bear with us as we are, and we will all be changed as we go.

(20 seconds silence/no music, greeters dim lights, before opening songs and slideshows)

Opening:

(songs and images. Lyrics printed on paper handout.)

“Where the Streets Have No Name” (images of natural disasters)

(music transitions)

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” (images of human disasters)

(slideshow goes to blank slide at end. Music transitions from song to just background. After a few moments, the leader steps out to open with prayer and prayer slide goes up.)

Prayer:

(leader stands)

(slide)

We gather here in your presence, God,

In our need and bringing with us the needs of the world.

We come with our faith and with our doubts;

We come with our hopes and our hunger.

We come as we are, because you invite us to come

And you have promised never to turn us away.

Open us, God, to experience you here.

All Respond: Amen.

(percussive rhythm starts, no background music)

Word: (interactive reading – mixture of scripture and text from “Still haven’t found.” Leader introduces by saying:

Our prayer for tonight is for transformation,

for help in redirecting our world from death into life.

Throughout history,

God has commissioned prophets to point our way towards transformation

– many and varied voices speaking words of both warning and promise to us.

On the screen behind me you will see such words displayed,

written by the evangelists, St. Mark and Bono.

I invite you to lend your own prophetic voice to these words,

speaking the parts assigned to you

– the left side and the right side.

In our speaking and in our listening,

may we begin to discern the way.

Slides are put up one at a time with the congregation reading their parts. Percussion as only background)

(Slide 1)

◄Left Side says together:

A leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees,

“If you want to, you can cleanse me.”

►Right Side say together:

Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said,

“I want to. Be clean.”

Then and there the leprosy was gone,

his skin smooth and healthy.

(Slide 2)

All say together:

I have climbed highest mountain

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

(Slide 3)

◄ Left Side says together:

The crowd brought a paraplegic to Jesus,

Carried by four men.

When they weren’t able to get in to him,

Because of the crowd,

They removed part of the roof

And lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher.

► Right Side say together:

Impressed by their bold belief,

Jesus said to the paraplegic,

“Son, I forgive your sins.

Get up.

Pick up your stretcher and go home.”

And the man did it.

(Slide 4)

All say together:

I have run

I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

These city walls

Only to be with you

(Slide 5)

◄ Left Side says together:

They came to Simon and Andrew’s house

With James and John.

Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed,

Burning up with fever.

They told Jesus.

► Right Side say together:

He went to her,

Took her hand,

And raised her up.

Then the fever left her

And she waited on them.

(Slide 6)

All say together:

I have kissed honey lips

Felt the healing in her fingertips

It burned like fire

This burning desire

(Slide 7)

◄ Left Side says together:

In their meeting place there was a man,

Deeply disturbed and yelling out

“What business do you have here with us,

Jesus of

Nazareth

!

I know what you’re up to!

You’re the Holy One of God,

And you’ve come to destroy us!”

► Right Side say together:

Jesus shut him up:

“Quiet! Get out of him!”

The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms,

Protesting loudly,

And got out.

(Slide 8)

All say together:

I have spoke with the tongue of angels

I have held the hand of the devil

It was warm in the night

I was cold as stone

(Slide 9)

◄ Left Side says together:

Jesus said, “How can we picture God’s kingdom?

What kind of story can we use?”

It is like a mustard seed,

when it lands on the ground.

► Right Side say together:

It is the smallest of all seeds,

Yet once it is planted it grows

Into a huge plant with large branches,

So that all the birds of the sky

Can nest in its shade.

(Slide 10)

All say together:

I believe in the kingdom come

Then all the colors will bleed into one

Bleed into one

Well yes I’m still running

(Slide 11)

◄ Left Side says together:

James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus.

“Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.”

► Right Side say together:

“What is it? What do you wish for me to do?

◄ Left Side says together:

“Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded

The highest places of honor

In your glory

► Right Side say together:

One of us on our right,

◄ Left Side says together:

The other on your left.”

►Right Side say together:

Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking.

Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink,

Of being baptized in the baptism

I’m about to be plunged into?”

(Slide 12)

All say together:

You broke the bonds and you

Loosed the chains

Carried the cross

Of my shame

Of my shame

You know I believed it.

(Slide 13)

All say together:

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

Reflection: (Matt – 7 mins. Max. Ryan playing chords of “Still” behind speaking, building up to the start of the song immediately following the sermon)

Reflection Song: (candle lighting during song)

Song: “I Still Haven’t found what I’m looking for” (slideshow images of candles and other images of light)

(background music)

Prayers:

(no slide - spoken by leader)

We light these candles as symbols of God’s light in a dark world,

Symbols of the light within us,

And symbols of hope.

Let us stand and pray,

And sing our response.

(Slide 1)

God, we share with you now all that we hunger for, in our lives, in our faith and in our world.

(You are invited to share your prayers either silently or aloud)

For all that we name, silently and aloud, fill us with your healing grace.

All Respond Be our light, be our light on the path.

(Slide 2)

God, we share with you now all that we hope for, in our lives, in our faith, and in our world.

(You are invited to share your prayers either silently or aloud)

For all that we name, silently and aloud, thank you for your faithful promise.

All Respond Be our light, be our light on the path.

(Slide 3)

God sometimes we can’t even find the door.

We stumble around in the dark.

We lose our way.

We can’t see even where to put our feet.

Let alone see the end of the journey.

All Respond Be our light, be our light on the path.

(Slide 4)

We will stop and take a deep breath.

We will open our eyes to the possibilities.

We will pray for light.

Show us the way, God.

Calm our minds and soothe our souls.

Show us the way, and we will go.

All Respond Be our light, be our light on the path.

(Slide 5)

All Say together: (speak “And now we say together”)

O God, lead us from death to life,

From falsehood to truth.

Lead us from despair to hope,

From fear to trust.

Lead us from hate to love,

From war to peace.

Let peace fill our hearts,

Our world, our universe.

All Respond Be our light, be our light on the path.

Please extinguish your candle.

Invitation:

(stationary blank slide. Silence, no music))

Celebrant says:

This is the table of God.

It is to be made ready

for those who trust in God’s incarnate love

and those who want to know it.

So, come,

You who have much faith

And you who have little

You who have been here often

And you who have not been for a long time,

You who have tried to follow

And you who have failed.

Come,

Not because it is I who invite you: But God.

God desires to meet you here.

During the song please come forward and gather around this table of thanksgiving.

(Slide) (Music kicks in)

During the song please come forward and gather around the altar – the table of thanksgiving – in concentric circles. Please help children and those in need to stand or sit where they can best participate. Please join in singing as you feel comfortable.

(Slide)

Song: “40” (Band only)

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long...how long...how long...
How long...to sing this song

He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see
Many will see and fear

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long...how long...how long...

Thanksgivings: (congregation is gathered around the altar. No music)

(no slide)

Celebrant:

As we approach sharing communion, let us express our gratitude to God for what is important to us at this time, whether that be ordinary or special. Please speak your thanksgivings, either silently or aloud. (people add petitions)

For this time and this place, and those around us. For our freedom to worship and name you, thank you God

(no slide)

Celebrant continues:

Gratitude, praise,

Hearts lifted high,

Voices full and joyful…

These you deserve

For you gave us the gift of your son, Jesus.

For us he was born,

For us he healed,

Preached, taught

And showed the way to heaven;

For us he was crucified,

And for us, after death,

He rose again.

Holy God,

Present with us now,

For all that you have done

And all that you have promised,

What have we to offer?

Our hands are empty,

Our hearts are sometimes full of wrong things.

We are not fit to gather up the crumbs

From under your table.

But with you is mercy

And the power to change us.

Among friends, gathered around a table,

Jesus took bread, broke it and said,

“This is my body, broken for you.”

And later he took the cup of wine and said,

“This is the new relationship with God,

Made possible because of my death.

Take this – all of you – to remember me.”

So as we do in this place

What he did in an upstairs room,

Send down your Holy spirit

On us

And on these gifts of bread and wine

That they may become for us your body,

Healing, forgiving,

And making us whole;

And that we may become,

For you,

Your body,

Loving and caring in the world

Until your kingdom comes. Amen.

(fraction)

Jesus Christ, be known to us in the breaking of the bread and in the sharing of the cup.

These are the gifts of God

For the people of God.

Communion:

(commune choir and band first.)

(slide)

All who seek Christ are invited to receive the blessed bread and wine, which are served at stations in front of the altar. After receiving communion, or if you do not wish to receive at this time, please return to your seat for the conclusion of the service.

Song: “One” (images of mission trip, families, people at their best. Band only))

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say...

One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it

Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's...

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One...life

One

Concluding Prayer: (said together)

(Slide – when leader starts)

All say together:

Holy God,

You have put your life into our hands;

Now we put our lives into yours.

Take us,

Renew and remake us.

What we have been is past;

What we shall be through you,

Still awaits us.

Lead us on.

Take us with you. Amen.

Blessing:

Announcements: (ONE movie followed by slide with offering information)

Song: “Elevation” (images of the spirit i.e. birds, bubbles, clouds, mountain tops, sunrises, light rays, fire, waterfalls)

Peace:

(Slide)

Not an easy peace,

Not an insignificant peace,

Not a half-hearted peace,

But the peace of God

Is with us now.

Let us share it with each other and go out in peace.

Peace be with you!

All respond: And also with you!

Where the Streets Have No Name

Personally, my top choice for a U2charist communion hymn is by far "Where the Streets Have No Name." Thematically, I think it's perfect for that point in the service as a reflection on eschatology, on reconciliation as the completion of our story and the world's story. And musically, I think it's got just the kind of feeling needed for a climactic moment in the service. I find the opening organ chords and guitar arpeggios followed by the rush as the bass and full drums come in to be an excellent fit for the transition from invitation to the table to the congregation's responding by coming forward. It's wonderful to see people surging forward at a point when at a U2 concert they'd start jumping up and down to the beat -- it seems appropriate to me to match music in this kind of way with the physical response the congregation is invited to make.

When I plan music for U2charists, I often find it helpful to look at where in their set lists U2 -- who are masters of crafting playlists that build momentum or provide more quiet moments of reflection at just the right points -- place songs that I'm considering for the service. "Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song the band has talked about as being a moment "when the Holy Ghost walks in the room," and in tours after the Joshua Tree tour (in which "Streets" was traditionally at the opening of the band's first set) "Streets" has tended to appear about three-quarters of the way through the total concert time, and I think that's an excellent guide to where the song fits best in a U2charist -- either as the processional hymn at the start of the service or as the first communion hymn.

And I know it's sometimes used as a prelude, but that doesn't work well for me personally. "Streets" is often the very peak of energy at a U2 concert, and it's a song that brings the crowd together like no other. Playing it while the congregation is just coming in strikes me as being a little like using Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" as a prelude. Your mileage may vary, of course, and what's important is that you do what works for your congregation, but for preludes I lean more toward quieter songs with a very gradual build-up of energy, such as "The First Time." "All I Want Is You" is another good one in terms of energy for a prelude, but I like it so much as part of the absolution -- an invitation to reunion after promises broken -- or as a final communion hymn that I usually don't use it as a prelude.

What do you think? Where has "Streets" worked best in U2charists you've been to?

when and how did the U2charist start?

Sarah Dylan Breuer contributed six meditations weaving themes from the music of U2 with biblical allusions and sources from St. John of the Cross to Desmond Tutu to the book Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog, which came out in 2003. The book both responded to widespread interest in the spirituality of U2's music and ignited a new wave of enthusiasm, and very quickly, Dylan was receiving queries, letters, and sometimes CDs from people who ad read her meditations from the book and found her via SarahLaughed.net.

Dylan, who had been a U2 fan since the early 1980s, had long wanted both to bring the kind of energy she experienced at U2 concerts to settings of explicit and intentional Christian worship and to help church leaders become more aware of places outside of church where people were experiencing God's presence and connecting that with work for social justice. With the success of Get Up Off Your Knees, Dylan found herself wondering whether the momentum generated by the book could be broadened and deepened in a way that could both energize worship and excite people with a vision of God's mission of justice and reconciliation in the world. She decided that a service of Eucharist using the music of U2 as service music (e.g., the Sanctus, the Gloria) as well as hymns might do both -- and in any case, as a U2 fan, she thought it would be a fun experiment. She decided to call it a 'U2charist.'

Dylan was a part of Without Walls, a network in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for sharing wisdom, resources, and encouragement for innovative liturgy and 'emerging church' styles of building communities of Christian worship and praxis. She took the idea of designing and hosting a U2charist to Without Walls, where it was received with immediate enthusiasm. The Rev. Ken Phelps, now rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Sunderland, Maryland, offered to officiate, write the Eucharistic prayers, and find a lead guitarist, bassist, and drummer for the music. Kathleen Capcara, well known throughout the church as a trainer for the Godly Play approach to children's formation and a genius with PowerPoint, offered to do the visuals and write the Prayers of the People. The Rev. Deacon Melissa Timmerman offered a fabulous and flexible worship space at the St. Mary's Outreach Center (SMOC) in Baltimore for the service. Dylan offered to choose the music, do lead vocals for the band, and preach, as well as write some prayers for the liturgy.

After months of rehearsal, the U2charist was ready for launch, and the first service was held on Saturday, April 17, 2004, starting at 8:00 p.m. Songs used in the service were:

"The First Time"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"With Or Without You" (instrumental -- used as background during prayers)
"40"
"Desire" (instrumental only -- used as background during the sermon)
"God Part II" (forming part of the creed, with some new lyrics written for the service by Sarah Dylan Breuer)
"MLK"
"When Love Comes To Town" (used in the Confession)
"Mysterious Ways" (used in the Absolution)
"Pride"
"Elevation" (used in the Sanctus)
"Where the Streets Have No Name" (hymn during Communion)
"All I Want Is You" (hymn during Communion)
"Beautiful Day"
"I Will Follow" (used in the Dismissal)