One is a powerful number, and the power of “One” could be felt reverberating within the walls of Trinity Episcopal Church during last Sunday’s U2charist in Iowa City. Inspired by music from the band U2, Trinity teamed up with the ONE Campaign to raise awareness of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to help make poverty history.

A ONE Campaign banner wraps around Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City

ONE, a nonpartisan group, has made its presence known on the campaign trail in Iowa, in particular, events attended by presidential candidates such as the Harkin Steak Fry and the Johnson County Democrats’ Barbeque. ONE, a non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organization, has enlisted 2.4 million people thus far to help accomplish its goal of making poverty history.

Although the ONE campaign has made fighting global poverty one of its primary goals, it has also dedicated itself to raising awareness about AIDS and believes that more of the U.S. budget needs to be allocated toward providing basic needs, such as health, education and clean water, to the world’s poorest countries. ONE, moreover, has been advocating for legislation on debt cancellation, increasing effective international assistance, making trade fair and fighting corruption.

The U2charist event, followed by a chili supper, was attended by 175 people and raised more than  $1,300, half of which went toward Episcopal Relief and Development’s MDG-related projects. The remaining half of the proceeds will help fund the work of St. Augustine’s School and Feeding Program for orphans and vulnerable children in Mpaka, Swaziland.Initiated by the Episcopal Church, the U2charist was conceived by Sarah Dylan Breuer in 2003, with the first public service held in Baltimore, Md. The music of U2 and its front man Bono, the MDG’s global ambassador, helped add to the Trinity event, which was replete with the message of global reconciliation, justice for the poor and oppressed, and the importance of caring for one’s neighbor, particularly the most vulnerable and needy.

A myriad of flashing multi-colored lights lit up the evening’s service and accompanied U2’s songs, which pumped out of the speakers to the accompaniment of a multimedia presentation featuring song lyrics and a plethora of images projected on a big screen. The sermon, delivered by Episcopal Campus Minister the Rev. Raisin Horn, fed off the U2 lyrics and intertwined them with the teachings of Jesus to inspire hope, change and action.

“One is a powerful number,” Rev. Horn preached. “The ONE campaign rallies us, one by one, to raise our voices to those who represent us and make decisions for our country, so that they, too, hear the deafening cries of the millions of lives in poorer countries around the globe. More than two million people have signed the ONE Declaration in support of fighting what rightly is called the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.”

The choral response to Rev. Horn’s preaching was U2’s “One.” Members rose to their feet and sang along to the words as they appeared on the projector screen. U2’s lyrics emphasize the Spirit of One and call upon one and all to help each other:

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