The Rev. Calvin Kurtz gave the invocation during the Easter dawn service Sunday atop Mount Penn with a twinkle in his eye not entirely caused by the rising sun.
The former head of the Reading Berks Council of Churches prayed with the over 250 worshipers gathered at the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower for the 110th annual service, bundled up against the just-above-freezing temperature.
“We want to give you glory and praise,” he said, “and thank you for each one here. There would be only one nicer thing than being here, and that would to be in Jerusalem where it’s 65 degrees and be where Jesus was.”
That outpouring of simple joy was contagious and spontaneous among the congregants as cries of “Amen” and “Hallelujah” arose.
But a moment of solemnity was also observed by Pastor Jose Pagan of the Jesu Christo Es El Rey church during the Easter prayer, as he called for a remembrance of the victims and the families of the explosion March 24 at the R.M. Palmer Co. in West Reading.
“As we lift our eyes to you,” he prayed, “we also remember our brothers and sisters at the Palmer factory, praying that God will continue to strengthen all the ones affected by the accident as well as the community that he serves. As the sun rises, so beautiful sun, may this moment stay with us, reminding us to look for the beautiful, beautiful colors of promise.”
Mike Reinert, the emcee for the service, noted that back in 1914, it was the youth of First Baptist Church in Reading that began the tradition of the annual dawn service.
The youth group of the sister congregation at First Baptist, the Unstoppable Youth of the Jesu Christo Es El Rey, continued that tradition of participation with a colorful, swirling liturgical dance depicting the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Pastor David Turley of First Baptist delivered the Easter message of “Who is He?” with a translation in Spanish by Pagan.
Turley took his listeners on a journey through the prophets and the Psalms of the Hebrew Scriptures to comfort those suffering with any physical or emotional affliction, reassuring them that Jesus through his own suffering on the cross understood their turmoil and would be with them in their crises.
It was a message that resonated with Bob Wegener of Fleetwood.
“I just enjoyed how the pastor tied all the different parts of the Bible together to get to today,” he said. “That was pretty impactful.”
David and Barbara Prine of Exeter Township, members of First Baptist, have been coming to the service since their youth almost 50 years ago and were happy to see that the young people in the shared congregation performed so well.
“I’m so glad to see that the youth are coming forward and meeting in our church and helping bring the message here on Easter morning,” Barbara said.
David was appreciative of the clear, albeit chilly, weather.
“A little brisk, but nice sun, no rain, no wind,” he said. “And a wonderful message of hope for all of us.”
Barbara Mills of Laureldale was entranced listening to the sermon and the translation of the phrasing in Spanish, almost like a call and response.
“That was very interesting,” she said. “I just find it quite amazing how we can go from one language to the other, back and forth.”
And indeed, when Turley had declared to those gathered on the mountaintop bathed in the warming glow of the rising sun that Jesus is the light of life, Pagan to cries of “Hallelujah” heartily responded, “La luz de la vida!”
Source: Berkshire mont