Worshippers all over Orange County and Southern California gathered Sunday morning for Easter services, celebrating their faith in the resurrection of Christ and the most important holiday of the Christian calendar.

Many churches combined forces to hold large services, like Easter Together in San Clemente that hosted pastors, musicians and congregants from seven churches.

Easter at UC Irvine’s Bren Center Sunday was set to be a large Christian celebrationhosted by Aliso Viejo’s Compass Bible Church.

And mega-church juggernaut Saddleback is hosting multiple services all over Orange County in spots like Coto de Caza, Rancho Capistrano, Orange, Huntington Beach, San Clemente, Irvine and Lake Forest where the church’s main campus is located.

Saddleback services are also streaming on the internet.

To view entire article on San Clemente 365.

Churches all over Orange County and Southern California gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at sunrise Sunday.

Seven churches in and around San Clemente held their Easter Together sunrise service April 8, 2012. This was the first year the churches held their annual event at the new Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

Worshippers all over Orange County and Southern California gathered Sunday morning for Easter services, celebrating their faith in the resurrection of Christ and the most important holiday of the Christian calendar.

Many churches combined forces to hold large services, like Easter Together in San Clemente that hosted pastors, musicians and congregants from seven churches.

Easter at UC Irvine’s Bren Center Sunday was set to be a large Christian celebration hosted by Aliso Viejo’s Compass Bible Church.

And mega-church juggernaut Saddleback is hosting multiple services all over Orange County in spots like Coto de Caza, Rancho Capistrano, Orange, Huntington Beach, San Clemente, Irvine and Lake Forest where the church’s main campus is located.

Saddleback services are also streaming on the internet.

To see the complete article with photos visit the San Clemente Patch

Seven San Clemente churches will join together Sunday for a public Easter sunrise service that has become a local tradition the past 10 years.

The event, called Easter Together, will begin at 6:30 a.m. at Vista Hermosa Sports Park, 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa.

Pastor Ron Sukut of Cornerstone Community Church is a participant in the Easter Together sunrise service scheduled for Sunday at San Clemente's Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

Different worship teams and pastors will provide music and share sermons while church volunteers provide the hospitality.

Most of the participating churches are nondenominational. Their average weekend attendance ranges from 120 to 800.

This year’s churches are Cornerstone Community Church, Heritage Christian Fellowship, St. Michael’s Charismatic Episcopal Church, Living Hope Christian Fellowship,Pacific Coast Church, South Coast Church International and Worship Life Calvary Chapel.

“Our Easter Together sunrise service provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to gather as the citywide church,” Ron Sukut, pastor of Cornerstone Community Church, said in a statement. “Worshipping together like this is an awesome way to celebrate the life-changing event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Chris Smith, pastor of South Coast Church, said: “This is not a promotional idea for our churches. … Coming together as ‘the church’ on Easter is truly something of God and demonstrates to the world just how real he is.”

For more information, email Holland Davis at Holland@WorshipLifeCalvary.org.

Many Churches

Posted on the San Clemente Patch by Holland Davis

Local San Clemente Churches are joining together to celebrate Easter Together, a community Easter sunrise service that has become a South County tradition with over ten years of history.  Different worship teams and pastors provide music and share the sermons, while other church volunteers help with set up, tear down, hospitality and outreach.

Easter Together was recently featured in the national publication Outreach Magazine.  Outreach reports “churches in Orange County, California displayed Christian unity in their Easter Together service.”  All of the participating churches reside in San Clemente, most are non-denominational and the average weekend attendance at each church ranges from 120 to 800.

Outreach magazine reports

“For the unchurched, the event offers a safe venue to experience God’s redemption.”

This year’s participating churches include Cornerstone Community Church, Heritage Christian Fellowship, St. Michael’s Charismatic Episcopal Church, Living Hope Christian Fellowship, Pacific Coast Church, South Coast Church International and the newly started Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente.

Ron Sukut, Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship says…

“Our Easter Together Sunrise Service provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to gather as the city wide church. Worshiping together like this is an awesome way to celebrate the life changing event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We encourage everyone in San Clemente to join us for this glorious event.”

Mark Ambrose, Pastor of Pacific Coast Church says…

“Easter Together is like a glimpse of heaven when one day the church will be united in the presence of the Lord.”

Chris Smith, Pastor of South Coast Church International says…

“Coming together as ‘the Church’ on Easter is truly something of God and demonstrates to the world just how real He is.  This is not a promotional idea for our churches, but the laying down of all those things to simply, joyfully and in unity celebrate the most important thing in History!”

Holland Davis, Pastor of Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente says…

“Easter Together is such a public display of God’s love working through a group of pastors who simply want to unite for the purpose of preaching the Good News that Jesus is alive.  We are excited to be part of this historic event.”

Easter Together is being held 6:30 am April 8 at the new Vista Hermosa Sports Park located at 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente, CA.  For more information visit eastertogether.com.

Easter Together is a community event that reflects the values of diverse groups of people working together which makes San Clemente such a great place to live.

Friday, March 16, 2012

SAN CLEMENTE CHURCHES UNITE FOR EASTER TOGETHER 2012

Many Churches, One Easter Sunrise Celebration

By Holland Davis
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

Local San Clemente Churches are joining together to celebrate Easter Together, a community Easter sunrise service that has become a South County tradition with over ten years of history.  Different worship teams and pastors provide music and share the sermons, while other church volunteers help with set up, tear down, hospitality and outreach.

Easter Together was recently featured in the national publication Outreach Magazine.  Outreach reports “churches in Orange County, California displayed Christian unity in their Easter Together service.”  All of the participating churches reside in San Clemente, most are non-denominational and the average weekend attendance at each church ranges from 120 to 800.

Outreach magazine reports

“For the unchurched, the event offers a safe venue to experience God’s redemption.”

This year’s participating churches include Cornerstone Community Church, Heritage Christian Fellowship, St. Michael’s Charismatic Episcopal Church, Living Hope Christian Fellowship, Pacific Coast Church, South Coast Church International and the newly started Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente.

Ron Sukut, Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship says…

“Our Easter Together Sunrise Service provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to gather as the city wide church. Worshiping together like this is an awesome way to celebrate the life changing event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We encourage everyone in San Clemente to join us for this glorious event.”

Mark Ambrose, Pastor of Pacific Coast Church says…

“Easter Together is like a glimpse of heaven when one day the church will be united in the presence of the Lord.”

Chris Smith, Pastor of South Coast Church International says…

“Coming together as ‘the Church’ on Easter is truly something of God and demonstrates to the world just how real He is.  This is not a promotional idea for our churches, but the laying down of all those things to simply, joyfully and in unity celebrate the most important thing in History!”

Holland Davis, Pastor of Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente says…

“Easter Together is such a public display of God’s love working through a group of pastors who simply want to unite for the purpose of preaching the Good News that Jesus is alive.  We are excited to be part of this historic event.”

Easter Together is being held 6:30 am April 8 at the new Vista Hermosa Sports Park located at 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente, CA.  For more information visit eastertogether.com.

Easter Together is a community event that reflects the values of diverse groups of people working together which makes San Clemente such a great place to live.

Churches in Orange County, Calif., displayed Christian unity in their “Easter Together” service.

Once a month, more than a dozen pastors from churches across Orange County in Southern California meet for lunch at area parks. Seated at picnic tables, they share stories and joke together, then lift their voices to worship. They cap off the gathering in prayer, merged in a tight circle, heads bowed, hands rested on each other’s backs. Egos are set aside and congregation statistics forgotten at these lunches, where efforts to support one another’s ministries through prayer and camaraderie take center stage.

The pastoral solidarity makes it no surprise that this monthly meeting gave birth to “Easter Together,” a joint worship service in which local congregations celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as one body. Several pastors who meet monthly have organized a joint sunrise Easter service for more than a decade, so the larger, midmorning offering that launched in 2008 was a natural progression, they say. “‘Easter Together’ is the result of our unity,” says Boogie Rose, lead pastor of the Dana Point-based Branches Church. “It only works because we trust each other.”

Notwithstanding their support for one another, the pastors emphasize following God’s will each year—even if it leads them to not hold a unified service.

Five of the six churches involved in the April 2011 service reside in San Clemente, all are nondenominational, and the average weekend attendance at each church ranges from 120 to 800.

Last Easter, about 3,500 people came to the Easter Together service at a local park in San Clemente. The gathering allowed community residents to celebrate Easter with neighbors and afforded longtime friends who worship at different churches an opportunity to worship together.

Different worship teams and pastors handled music and shared the sermons, which included a children’s message, while other church volunteers took on various aspects of the event, such as setup or outreach. Responsibilities have rotated each year.

The celebration erased barriers and competitive spirits among various churchgoers, Rose says.

For the unchurched, the event offered a safe venue to experience God’s redemption. Advertised through door-to-door invitations, yard signs, bumper stickers, social media sites like Facebook—even a large banner hung on a busy San Clemente thoroughfare—the service attracted a fair number of newcomers, the pastors say.

“This was a highly approachable event for a person who wasn’t familiar with church,” says George Hulse, senior pastor of The Shoreline Church. “No churches were there to push their own agendas.”

Nor was the service just a gimmick to add more bodies to pews, the pastors say.

“It wasn’t like the stuff I’ve normally been involved with: How do we get new visitors? How do we maximize this opportunity?” says Holland Davis, senior pastor of Worship Life Calvary Chapel. “This was really about preaching Christ to people.”

The exact number of people making decisions for Jesus is unknown, Hulse says, but plenty of guests have responded to the altar call every year.

“We had people coming to Christ,” Davis says. “It was a huge encouragement.”

The event gave attendees at the various churches a good reason to invite others. Worship Life Calvary Chapel attendees Marco and Alma Olmos invited a friend to the Easter service, and she accepted Christ. Davis says Alma has felt more freedom to share the Gospel at work and recently led another co-worker to Christ.

“It’s amazing how God uses these kinds of events to ignite a passion for evangelism,” Davis says.

The churches designated “follow-up teams” to pray with new believers and give them Bibles, Hulse says. And regular churchgoers were encouraged to check on family and friends they’d invited to the service who don’t frequent a church.

A collection taken at each service was donated to a single cause. Last April, it went to Haiti relief, the year before, various Christian ministries, such as Young Life.

After four years, Easter Together will not take place in 2012. The pastors believe that this Easter God wants them to focus on their own neighborhoods. The joint Easter sunrise service will most likely continue, the pastors say, and while they are not sure how long the midmorning joint service will be shelved, they can definitely see it returning.

“God brought us together,” says Chris Smith, lead pastor of Southcoast Church International in San Clemente, “and we enjoy worshipping together.”

Sunrise and 9:30 a.m. services at Richard T. Steed Memorial Park in San Clemente hosted thousands to celebrate Easter.

Six San Clemente and South Orange County churches gathered their staff and congregants to celebrate Easter Services Sunday morning at Richard T. Steed Memorial Park at the crest of the Avenida La Pata.

The services featured a band made up of musicians and singers from the six churches–Branches, Cornerstone Community Church, Heritage Christian Fellowship, The Shoreline Church of San Clemente, Southcoast Church and Worship Life Calvary Church.

The offerings collected at the sunrise and 9:30 a.m. services will go to help the people of Haiti still devastated by last year’s earthquake.

Check out the photo slideshow from the early service.

Wondering where to take the kiddies for a sweet time this holiday? Well, search no more. Whether you’re a fan of the chocolate or the fluffy variety, South Orange County has bunnies galore. Gather up your good eggs and get crackin’…we’ve got a basket full of ideas to keep things hopping.

SAN CLEMENTE
The SENSATIONAL SPRINGTACULAR at San Gorgonio Park (2916 Via San Gorgonio) promises to be springier and more spectacular than ever! If you have eager early risers at home, start the day off right with the Kiwanis Club’s Annual Pancake Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 23rd. The fun stuff kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with crafts, games and entertainment. The Great Big Egg Hunt for newborns to kids ten years old starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. (bring your own basket!) and Peter Cottontail will be on hand to cheer on the egg-hunters and pose for photos. The Wildlife Company will exhibit exotic animals right after the hunt and the Springtime Puppet Parade will finish the morning with a performance from 10:30 to 11:00. Contact the Recreation Division at 949.361.8264 for more.

The City of San Clemente and the Family Assistance Ministries are teaming up again to sponsor the COMMUNITY EASTER BRUNCH at Ole Hanson Beach Club (105 West Avenida Pico) on Saturday, April 23rd from 10:00 a.m. to noon. This event is open to community individuals and families in need. A variety of donation and volunteer options are available. It’s a great opportunity to get involved with the community and show our children the spirit of Easter! Please email info@family-assistance.org for additional information.

Six local churches are collaborating this year to celebrate EASTER TOGETHER at Steed Memorial Park (247 La Pata). Services at 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday will include events for the whole family. Plenty of parking is available and a shuttle service will assist seniors or guests with small children. Seating will be provided, but feel free to bring blankets or beach chairs.

DANA POINT
Once again, the City of Dana Point Community Services and Recreation Department will host annual EASTER EGG HUNTS for kids up to age ten on Saturday, April 23rd. Pines Park (34941 Camino Capistrano) and Sea Canyon Park (33093 Santiago Drive) will feature children’s games, a petting zoo and face painting. The Bunny of Honor will stop by and make himself available for photo-ops, so remember to bring your cameras! The fun starts at 9:00 a.m. and the egg hunts begin at 10:00 a.m. sharp.

LAGUNA BEACH
One of Laguna Beach’s longest running holiday traditions, the American Legion and Women’s Auxiliary’s annual EASTER EGG HUNTwill be held at Laguna Beach High School’s baseball field (625 Park Avenue) on Easter Sunday at noon. The event welcomes children aged nine and younger and always has an impressive turnout. Rumor has it that a certain fuzzy rabbit will make an appearance for photos before the egg hunt starts.

LAGUNA NIGUEL
Jet over to Chapparosa Park (25191 Chapparosa Park Road) on Saturday, April 23rd from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for Laguna Niguel’sBUNNY BLAST. A petting zoo, crafts, face painting, games, a bounce house and a Spring Show will keep the kids well-entertained. Saddle up for a pony ride and visit the Easter Bunny who will be strolling around for photos. Admission to the event is $7 for children (ages 3-12) and $1 for adults (13 and older). Call the Recreation Hotline for event updates at 949.362.4351 extension 1.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
Hop on down to the Rotary Club’s annual EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA at Historic Town Center Park (31852 El Camino Real). The fun is free for all children aged 11 and under. Events this year will include egg-decorating, face-painting, house-bouncing and egg-hunting. Musical entertainment will keep things jumpin’ and the Easter Bunny will be on hand to shake tiny hands and pass out hugs. The morning fun starts at 9:00 a.m. and runs until noon on Saturday, April 23rd.

Easter in the Park on Sunday, April 24th will once again be a must-do on your weekend calendar. Calvary Chapel hosts a huge celebration in Town Center Park from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. featuring a barbeque, live music and an egg hunt. All ages are welcome. Don’t forget your blankets, chairs and sunscreen!

Sunday, April 24, 2011, 6:30 am  247 Avenida la Pata, San Clemente, CA

6 local churches coming together to celebrate Easter Together, instead of just doing our own thing.  There are 2 times to join in celebrating Easter Together, at sunrise 6:30am and then again at 9:30am. There will be plenty of parking and shuttles running 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after each meeting. There are plenty of seats available, but if you’d like to bring your own beach chair or blanket, please feel free. Great kids ministry and activities are provided as well, so please plan on bringing the whole family!