BELGRADE — As the skies brightened Sunday morning, a small group of worshipers gathered on a hilltop overlooking the Belgrade Lakes for a traditional sunrise service to celebrate Easter.

Wearing warm coats and hats to ward off the early morning chill, the congregation sang hymns and offered communal prayers against the backdrop of the Kennebec Highlands shrouded in low clouds and the dark water of Great Pond.

Grey clouds obscured bright sunlight, but gradually lightening skies and twittering songbirds heralded the new day.

The small congregation of about 20 gathered in a circle near the club house at the Belgrade Lakes Golf Club for the service led by The Rev. Joseph Chamberland, pastor at the United Methodist Union Church of Belgrade Lakes.

“This time of year, it is common for the hardness of winter to give way to spring,” Chamberland said. The earth would soon come alive again, he said, as flowers and plants were reborn as soil thawed and days grew warmer and longer.

“There’s lots to be said about the natural order of things, but what God did was unnatural,” he said, referring to the Christian belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead three days after he was executed and sealed in a tomb.

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Outdoor sunrise services have traditionally been held by Protestant churches on Easter as a way to connect with the experience of Jesus’ followers when they awoke on the third day and found his tomb empty, according to the accounts in the New Testament of the Bible, Chamberland said.

Celebrating at sunrise also provides a metaphor for rebirth and new chances to overcome obstacles in one’s life or realize the opportunities a new day brings, Chamberland added.

“We are here on a golf course, and God has given us a mulligan,” he said, comparing the dawn of a new day to the practice of giving a golfer an extra swing after a poor shot.

Most of the congregation piled into their vehicles and drove off immediately after the service. Some were planning on attending one of Chamberland’s other Easter services planned for that morning, he said.

Don Petersen, from Rome, was one of the few who stuck around to offer other worshipers hugs and wish them a happy holiday. He doesn’t typically attend the sunrise service, but something compelled him this year, Petersen said.

“The spirit moved me,” he professed with a smile.

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For Kathy Gerard, of Augusta, worshiping at sunrise is an annual tradition. The practice makes her feel connected to the holiday, she said.

“It’s just to experience the day Christ rose in the morning and be part of it,” Gerard said. “It makes my faith grow.”

Kelly Webster, who lives in Belgrade, added that holding the service outside instead of in a church gave her a different perspective.

“It is less structured, only governed by God,” she said.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @PeteL_McGuire


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