Easter at the Beach : Service Draws All Kinds, With Water a Symbol of Jesus’ Works

Easter worship began ahead of the sun Sunday for dozens of families who participated in a six-year tradition of joyous dawn services at Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Gathering in the predawn light, they were among the first of hundreds of thousands of people throughout Orange County and countless others around the world who went to church Easter Sunday, the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

Despite a temperature in the 40s and a stiff breeze off the Pacific Ocean, worshipers didn’t dwell on the cold as they sang hymns, took communion and listened to the Rev. John B. Toay deliver his message of redemption through belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God.

The faithful formed an eclectic congregation--a true collection of Southern California characters--from a couple in full biker leather to a committed Christian family to other sometime worshipers who arrived in a stretch limousine.

Toay, the pastor of Saint Peter’s By-The-Sea Presbyterian Church in Huntington Beach, reminded everyone of the faith’s central tenet, that Christianity is a religion of affirmation and that all a Christian needs to do to be assured eternal life is to personally affirm that Jesus Christ “has given his life for us.”

The worshipers assembled around a 12-foot-high wooden cross erected on a small grassy patch in the beach parking lot at Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue. Some sat in beach chairs wrapped in blankets, while others stood on the pavement or cuddled together. Many wore woolen hats against the chill.

“Never again will this particular family get together,” said the pastor, who said he saw many new faces in the group.

During a break in the hourlong service, the pastor described the setting as most appropriate for the holiday celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. The tradition of dawn services on Easter stems “from sunrise as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection,” and the choice of the beach-side setting is a reminder that so much of what Jesus did occurred near water, Toay said.

“He actually appeared [after his death] to Peter by the Sea of Galilee,” he said. “It is wonderful to be able to worship on Easter this way.”

During the service, the sky went from lavender to pink to blue, while a gibbous moon shone in the western sky as the sun rose above a cloud bank that shrouded Saddleback and the surrounding foothills.

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Chris McFadden and Patti Edwards of Huntington Beach, who came on McFadden’s motorcycle, decided to attend the dawn service several weeks ago. It was McFadden’s idea, Edwards said.

“That’s why,” McFadden declared, pointing first to the moon and then to the sun emerging in the east.

It was their first sunrise service. Despite the early hour and the sleep deprivation due to daylight saving time, “it’s worth it,” Edwards said.

Others attended as part of their continuing fellowship with the church. Sharman and David Bingham of Huntington Beach brought their sons, Alex and Andrew.

“We came to praise Jesus,” said David Bingham.

“It’s the best service of the year,” said Sharman Bingham. “It is not a problem getting up for this. Every year it gets bigger and bigger.”

As the service drew to a close with the singing of “Amazing Grace” and a hymn that begins “Shine, Jesus, Shine,” the Hams of Huntington Beach joined friends and relatives around a white, ultra-stretch limousine.

Rick Ham, a limousine driver from Huntington Beach, had worked till 3 a.m. While not particularly steady churchgoers, the family has been coming to this Easter service for four years.

“We love it,” he said, dressed for warmth in a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Michelle Ham, who carried daughter Cailey, 2, called the service “uplifting” as she gestured out toward the ocean and the crashing waves.

“It is more fulfilling than being inside a church. It is a joy,” she said, adding that for those who don’t regularly go to church, “it’s the perfect place to start getting on the right path.”