Covenant News
U2's Bono Addresses Poverty, AIDS
NEW YORK, NY (September 10, 2004) - U2 lead singer Bono shared the platform with Bethesda Covenant Church pastors Amy and Adam Rohler Tuesday of last week (August 31) as the couple helped lead worship during "Grace at the Table – a Service of Prayers for Hungry People" that was celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Church.
The afternoon service was designed to bring heightened visibility to the
plight of hungry people, and the timing and location couldn't have been
better. Just across the street, at Madison Square Garden, hundreds of
delegates were participating in the Republican National Convention with
millions of Americans back home watching the televised activities.
A highlight of the service was a time of reflection by Bono, who also serves as spokesperson for the ONE campaign, an effort to rally Americans to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty. (To learn more about that campaign, visit www.theONEcampaign.org.) The non-partisan worship service was sponsored by Bread for the World, an organization devoted to seeking justice for hungry people (to learn more about this organization, visit www.bread.org).
Other New York area churches and organizations participating in planning and leading the service included Saint Peters Lutheran Church, Park Avenue United Methodist Church, Plan USA, Rutgers Presbyterian Church, Judson Memorial Church, St. Bartholomews Episcopal Church and St. Francis of Assisi Church. The Rohlers led a dialogue and sung meditation segment during the service with Rev. David Beckman bringing the sermon.
Amy and Adam recently arrived in Manhattan to serve as pastors of Bethesda Covenant Church. Both earned their M.Div. degrees in May from North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, graduating with honors. They previously co-pastored at Harris Covenant Church in Minnesota as part of their internships after receiving M.A. in Religion degrees from Yale Divinity School.
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