{"id":266,"date":"2006-04-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-04-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2006\/04\/welcome-to-church-heres-your-e.html"},"modified":"2006-04-17T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-04-17T12:00:00","slug":"welcome-to-church-heres-your-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/04\/welcome-to-church-heres-your-e.html","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Church: Here’s Your Earplugs!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Several news outlets reported this weekend that Episcopal churches are piping in U2 music as part of their services–even their liturgy–in an effort to preach the message of ending global poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the electric guitar in the U2 anthem \u2018Pride (In the Name of Love)\u2019 faded from four speakers, the Rev. Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers to Grace Episcopal Church with an unusual suggestion,\u201d said an AP story. \u201cHe warned them to protect their hearing. \u2018If the sound’s an issue, we do have earplugs available,\u2019 he said.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story went on to highlight how U2\u2019s tunes are woven into the liturgy and how something called \u201cguerilla marketing\u201d was utilized weeks in advance to ensure high attendance. Members and visitors are able to take communion while listening to popular U2 anthems.<\/p>\n

For churches to include the music of secular musicians is not a new thing; the Vineyard movement, seeker churches, and the growing number Emergent Church communities have long been among those that feature house bands playing popular and classic songs. But piping in music from one of the biggest bands in the world is a signal of what may become a new trend, as pastors and other church leaders realize they can leverage the music of name-brand musicians and bands to communicate their message to the faithful army of church-goers, making it easier for ministers, pastors, rectors, and priests to get it across themselves.<\/p>\n

And for bands–or their business managers or labels–this may signal a new realization that churches can be an effective venue for reaching new listeners.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several news outlets reported this weekend that Episcopal churches are piping in U2 music as part of their services–even their liturgy–in an effort to preach the message of ending global poverty. \u201cAs the electric guitar in the U2 anthem \u2018Pride (In the Name of Love)\u2019 faded from four speakers, the Rev. Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":279,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWelcome to Church: Here's Your Earplugs!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/04\/welcome-to-church-heres-your-e.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to Church: Here's Your Earplugs!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several news outlets reported this weekend that Episcopal churches are piping in U2 music as part of their services–even their liturgy–in an effort to preach the message of ending global poverty. \u201cAs the electric guitar in the U2 anthem \u2018Pride (In the Name of Love)\u2019 faded from four speakers, the Rev. 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