Easter

For as long as I can remember, EBCI has always had a sunrise Easter service. The weekends in Dubai are Friday/Saturday, Friday being the holy day. So, churches meet on Friday. A sunrise service allows those who work to celebrate Easter and still get to work on time.


I've always been a little nervous worshipping as a group on a public beach. After all, technically, it is against the law. In the late 90's I remember praying for safety for I feared being arrested - nothing to base that fear on, just me being weird I guess. But God, being rich in mercy, love and compassion, caused a fog to roll in and we could barely see in front of us. I knew we couldn't be seen by patrols from the road and I could worship in peace (in MY mind).


This Easter weekend was a little different. The police patrols I once feared were now protecting us. Rumor had it that Christians had been threatened specific to Dubai. So, for some churches, on Friday, cars were parked away from the building and people were bussed in. For us, meeting in temp facilities, we had undercover policemen in the parking lot. Now I no longer feared the police as something greater had taken their place. I guess the next loogical question is was I more nervous with a threat against Christians in Dubai - could I actually focus to worship? Well, as I sat down to begin to prepare myself to worship, I asked God to help me relax and give wisdom to the leaders and cops to spot any bad guys. As I was thumbing through my Bible, it fell open to Psalm 37. 'Do not fret because of evil men'....I really didn't have to read any further (although I did and I was most comforted) and was able to concentrate on who God is and praise His glorious, holy name. The comfort from Psalm 37 carried over to Easter Sunday and I was able to worship without any distraction, the slight fog bringing a little smile to my face. Hallelujah - we serve a risen Savior!!!


Anyway, here are some pics Steve took at the Sunrise service.