PANAMA CITY BEACH — Songs of the death of an innocent man lingered in the open salty air early Sunday morning. And with raised hands, some of the man’s followers stood near a towering wooden cross while others buried their knees in the beach’s white sands.
“Jesus is risen from the dead,” said Rob Woodrum. The Eastgate Christian Fellowship pastor repeated the six-word-phrase throughout a devotional he led at Rick Seltzer Park at an Easter sunrise service Sunday.
Of thousands of words in the Bible, “not one of those words can actually lead us to hope without those six words,” he said. “Those six words have changed us.”
In the tradition of the church, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, a man believed by Christians to be the son of the God. According to their faith he died on a cross at the age of 33 and then rose from the grave on a Sunday morning, three days after his death and burial.
Small emerald waves moved across the water from the dark blue horizon, tapping the shores where shoeless families wrapped in blankets hugged each other as worship songs continued.
Holding a service at “God’s natural creation” is a minor perk of the day, according to 13-year-old Ian Bingham who read an Old Testament scripture during the church event.
He’s “thankful,” he said.
“It’s important to me to give the word of God,” Bingham said. “It prepares the people’s hearts.”
The sun began illuminating the sky behind rolls of white clouds about 6:10 a.m. and by the time the sun had completely rose, the service came to a close.
“As Mary came to check the grave of Christ it was early in the morning, before the sun had risen,” said Jody Miller, a local surfer and church member who attended the service with his wife and children. “And as the sun came up she actually encountered the risen Christ.”
“So that’s why we do it,” Miller said. “We set this time aside to marvel at the wonder of resurrection.”