Marine Corps Logistics Base ALBANY Ga. -- As the sun was rising on Sunday morning, a congregation of civilians and military members gathered for an outdoor Easter Sunrise Service at Covella Pond, here.
The Easter Sunrise Service was hosted by Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany’s Base Chapel with the purpose of creating a traditional service for those individuals who could not be with their families.
“The Easter Sunrise Service is just one of the annual events sponsored by the Base Chapel,” Navy Lt. Kenneth Miller, base chaplain, MCLB Albany, said. “We seek to provide meaningful spiritual experiences for service mebers, their families, retirees and civilian-Marines alike.”
The Cross, the rising of the sun, the sereneness of the hour all enhanced a spectacular event for the Easter Sunrise Service.
“(The service) set the tone for the breakfast at the Conference Center and the morning worship service as well,” Earnestine Jones, inventory management specialist, Marine Corps Logistics Command, said.
The service consisted of the base choir and those in attendance singing hymns. During the ceremony, Miller gave a message of hope and renewal.
“It’s always good to get up early in the morning and worship God in this time of spring where everything is new and blossoming,” Miller said. “I was telling them about renewal and rejoicing. There are so many things that happen in our lives, and it’s good to know things can and will get better.”
Participants sat in the amphitheater adjacent to a large white cross with a purple drape brought in for just the occasion. The Base Chapel traditionally hosts this type of ceremony on Easter Sunday as well as a corresponding Good Friday service.
The ceremony was followed by a breakfast, also hosted by the Base Chapel, at the Base Conference Center.
The Chapel also hosted its regularly scheduled service at 10:30 a.m. Congregants, mainly young children, participated in an Easter egg hunt immediately following the service.