Hope Church Sunrise Service #15

At 7am on Easter morning, I drove up to Hope Church for their outdoor sunrise service. Interestingly enough, the sun had already risen about 20 minutes before. But that didn't bother me any. Especially since I had only woken up at 6:50, wiped the sleep out of my eyes and hopped in the car. For a brief moment, since I had overslept I considered staying home and having my own intimate sunrise service on my back deck but something about it just didn't feel right.

While driving to the church, I couldn't help but recognize the rainbow of colors that blanketed the morning sky. Shades of pink, purple, orange, blue, white and yellow created the most amazing picture. I found myself mesmerized by it. So much so that I had to remind myself to keep an eye on the road, not the sky. As I looked up at it's vastness, I realized that there is so much I don't understand about God and our existence. And I felt such gratitude for all I did not know because if I did, and my human understanding was enough to capture all of it, the Spirit of God would lose so much of it's luster, so much of it's magnificent mystery.

When I arrived, about 100 people, all looking equally sleepy-eyed gathered around the church's band and Pastor as we listened to worship music and silently prayed to Jesus Christ. I found myself this morning in particular feeling so grateful for what God does for me. For the blessings he's given my family. For the blessings he's given me with this project. And thankful for the opportunity to just know him. I was particularly thankful for my new found desire to know God with all my heart.

The service only lasted 30 minutes. An outdoor band played a few worship songs, read a few bible verses from the gospels, and it ended with communion. The pastor had told us that anyone wanting to partake could form a line to eat of the bread and wine in remembrance of Christ. Even though I would be attending the 8:45 service at the Episcopalian church where I knew I'd do it then, I did feel compelled to get in line. I walked up to the front and the kind pastor wished me a happy Easter, and handed me what he called "the bread of life". I put it in my mouth only after dunking it in the glass of wine which represented the blood of the Lamb. As soon as it crossed my lips I immediately regretted that decision. Ashamed to say, I just couldn't swallow it, regardless of what it represented. I knew if I did swallow this soggy piece of cardboard, it would not be good....for anyone. So it sat, for the next 10 minutes atop my tongue until I I finally got to my car and managed to slyly spit it out. When I was finally alone, I laughed to myself at how ridiculous I can sometimes be. I told God that I hoped I hadn't offended him but this cardboardy bread was just too much to bare. I then requested that at the 8:45 service, he serve maybe a nice honey wheat....and actually, thank GOD....he answered my prayer.

To learn more about Hope Church (whose incredibly awesome tagline is Hope Church: A Good place to Find Life) you can take a look at their website here: http://www.hopecentral.com I'll certainly be attending a traditional service there soon.