“The Christian faith teaches that God crosses heaven and earth to find us where we are, not asking for a perfect faith or a sinless life before his love begins to work in our lives.”  

Pastor Bill Mayne of the Lincoln City and Nestucca Seventh-day Adventist churches was invited to be the speaker for this year’s Interfaith Association Easter Sunrise Service in Lincoln City.

“It was the first time I’ve ever done something like this, “says Pastor Bill, “but I figured it was a great opportunity to talk about how Jesus lives in the world through us!”

The resurrection celebrating service is held near Mo’s Seafood and Chowder at Taft Waterfront Park. This year, Easter morning was dry and 100 people came to the park’s picnic canopy, settled in next to a warming fire, watched a score of seagulls doing fly-bys, sang along with a small praise band, and listened as Pastor Bill used country music, scripture, and personal experiences to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

When Pastor Bill began to quote folk music icon Woodie Guthrie’s ballad, Jesus Christ, many of the folks chuckled. Several even sang along.

“He went to the sick, he went to the poor, and he went to the hungry and the lame;
Said that the poor would one day win this world, and so they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.”

Pastor Bill read several verses of Guthrie’s song, and then talked about how God’s Love challenges us to live as His ‘hands and feet’, letting our converted lives show his presence in a selfish world. “We will find our risen Messiah,” Pastor Bill said, “when we see the acts of healing, restoration, and mercy He is working in our world – however dark it can seem.”

The people listened, sang, and prayed together as the sun rose over the beach. Thinking new thoughts about the responsibilities of following a Risen Lord.

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As a local fundraising effort, the congregation that morning also contributed $1,651 to support ADRA’s work in the Ukraine.

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