Community Corner

U2 Eucharist to Raise Funds for Glen Ellyn Food Pantry

A special worship service will be held Sunday at the First United Methodist Church.

Music with a mission will be on tap Sunday at a special religious service that will incorporate the music of the band U2 with worship. The outcome will benefit local and global food programs. 

The U2 Eucharist will be held at the First United Methodist Church. The hunger relief concert will include songs from the band throughout the religious service. Everyone is invited to attend the special service and worship.

All donations collected during the service will go toward the fight against hunger, said Rev. Kristen Larsen. Locally, the funds will go to the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry. Funds will also be donated to the World Food Program.

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The church has held free concerts in the past, but this is the first time it has held the U2 Eucharist, which Bono and the band believe in. The band and its publishing house approved the use of the music without payment, provided the daily offering is used to advance good in the world, Larsen said. 

“We are going to bring in a band. We are going to stand up and sing and dance if they want,” Larsen said. “We will sing all of these U2 songs that we know, in this context, they replace the hymns. U2 music is very spiritual and speaks in a language, the vernacular of the day.” 

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Some of the songs to be sung during the service include: “Beautiful Day,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” 

“It is a service of worship. We will have a testimony from someone from the food pantry and what it is doing and how it is making a difference. We will have prayers and scripture and holy communion,” Larsen said.

Everyone is welcome to attend the worship service regardless of faith, she said.

The U2 Eucharist will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the First United Methodist Church, 424 Forest Ave. For more information visit the website.


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