Easter Sunday sunrise service delivers message of hope
The unchurched occasionally happen upon Kelowna’s Easter Sunday sunrise service and find their way to a life of faith and fellowship.
Most of those attending the 8 a.m. worship at Island Stage in Waterfront Park were members of the host church, First Lutheran, or already committed Christians.
But organizer Gary Brucker says it has often occured, in the 23-year history of the event, that people with no particularly religious inclinations wander by and are intrigued by what they see and hear.
“We always have people — and I’m sure we will again today — that just wander through, hopefully feel welcome, and come and join us,” Gary Brucker, the church’s director of family life, said before the service began.
“And yes, in the past, a number of those people have come later to check out our family at First Lutheran,” Brucker said.
For the first time, the Easter Sunday sunrise service was not held atop Knox Mountain.
The road up the downtown mountain is not yet open, so the City of Kelowna offered the Island Stage in Waterfront Park instead.
“I don’t mind that it’s not up there this year,” said service participant Gladys Todd, adding with a laugh: “Look at the snow up in the hills; you can bet it’s warmer down by a few degrees, anyway.”
But perhaps because of the chilly temperatures and grey skies, attendance looked to be about 200, slightly below that of recent years on Knox Mountain.
The hour-long service included songs, scripture readings about the Resurrection, prayers and a short light-hearted play referencing the day upon which Easter fell this year called “Pity the Fool!”
More seriously, Brucker said the message of Easter is a simple one. “We have hope, hope for something more than this life,” he said. “We believe that we have a God that loves us.”