It was a beautiful day at the GRACE Food Pantry and Community Health Clinic on Wednesday, July 18, and the songs of U2 rang throughout the neighborhood where the streets had names.

Grapevine’s First Presbyterian Church launched the “U2charist,” which combined the music of U2 with elements of a Eucharist communion service, at 7:30 p.m. to raise funds and awareness for GRACE’s “Feed Our Kids” program and non-perishable food donations for the pantry.

“The purpose of this event is global reconciliation and justice for the poor,” said Tom Riggs, director of outreach and youth ministries at First Presbyterian.  “Everyone should sing loud because this is a world that needs to hear our voices.”

Attendees were invited to sing along with the songs of one of Dublin’s most popular rock bands at the event.  Lead guitarist and singer Michael Slack took on the daunting task of playing both Bono and The Edge.

“Our band has been playing together acoustically for a while now,” said Slack.  “We’re happy to be here to help the ‘Feed Our Kids’ program.”

GRACE was also involved with a movie preview on Wednesday night.  Executive Director Shonda Schaefer was able to attend both events.

“I get to represent thousands of people who do great work everyday,” said Schaefer.  “I feel blessed to be a part of this event.”

“Feed Our Kids” provides lunches for needy area children during the summer when free school lunches and breakfasts are not available.  First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine has supported GRACE and the program for several years with volunteers, contributions and events like the U2charist.

For more information on GRACE’s community outreach, click here.