NEWBURYPORT — Central Congregational Church of Newburyport, an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, will hold a special contemporary worship service and fundraising event, called a U2 Eucharist, on Thursday, Aug. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the church at 14 Titcomb St.
Light refreshments will be served in front of the church from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Central Church's goal for the service is to raise awareness and funds to combat extreme poverty, as outlined by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the ONE Campaign (an organization co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono and others). This theme is carried throughout all of the elements of the U2 Eucharist service: prayer, communion, sermon and music. There will be a lot of music, and it is all based on songs written by the Irish rock band U2.
The Rev. Christopher Ney said, "This is a lively, interactive service where a multimedia presentation will accompany the music; people can sing along and get up to move to the music. Some of the songs will be actual U2 recordings, and the rest will be performed by local musicians and church members, which will add jazz, classical, rock, gospel and African stylizations to U2's music."
One hundred percent of the offerings collected that night will be given to Heifer International, a nonprofit, humanitarian organization that provides livestock, trees, seeds and training in environmentally sound agriculture to families in more than 50 countries, including the U.S.
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