For centuries, Christians have met to celebrate Easter in all sorts of different ways; one of which is to meet at sunrise (or at least very early) on Easter Sunday. It was dawn when the first believers (the women) went to the tomb of Jesus, found the rock rolled away from the entrance and the body of Jesus gone. So, it makes sense that this that earth-shaking event would be celebrated as the sun comes up.
For many decades now, we at St John’s have faithfully held our own Sunrise Service at Martin Mere, surrounded by the peace and tranquillity of God’s creation. This year, around 50 of us, of all ages gathered together again, to worship the risen king on this amazing day. We sang, we prayed, and we explored God’s word together. It was a wonderful representation of ‘Church outside of Church’, with all ages making the effort to get out of bed early, put on their woolly hats and gloves and meet in Jesus’ name (and eat lots of chocolate of course!) Some really dedicated folk got up even earlier, to walk the 3 miles from church to Martin Mere, so that they could truly experience the beauty and peace of the sunrise!
If you haven’t been to an Easter Sunrise Service before, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try next year, either with St John’s, or any other church who is running one. It is an incredibly special time and really helps bring home the true meaning of Easter. Although I am writing this a couple of months after the event, this remarkable message of hope and joy that the day of resurrection brings, remains the same throughout the year and always. You just never know when you might need to hear it! ‘Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever!’ [Hebrews 13:8] Hallelujah!!!
