Easter in Newport-Mesa

Suzie Harrison

There is a lot happening at local churches to celebrate the Easter

holiday and the resurrection of Jesus Christ this weekend.

The Rev. Gary Collins at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport

Beach has been with the church for 13 years, and said that every year

he delivers a different sermon. This year, Collins will be delivering

“In the Early Darkness.”

“The grace of Easter message comes through after we’ve been

through the darkness,” Collins said. “The full appreciation of Easter

requires us to walk in darkness.”

“We can live together in peace,” Collins said. “We can hope

because of the resurrection there will be a transformation, a new

world.”

He said that as successful as the war has been, there has to be

another way to deal with terrorism.

The church will have services at 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. and will conclude the day with an invitation to the congregation to join the

choir to close the service. They will sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”

and trumpets will play to add to the celebration.

For the children, an Easter egg hunt will begin at 10:30 a.m. on

the church lawn. At the same time, refreshments will be served for

the rest of the congregation.

“The Easter Egg Hunt is a tradition for the little ones,” Collins

said. “There are usually about 40 kids and we send out the

preschooler’s first, then the kindergartners, and so on, so the

little one’s get a chance -- they have much tinier legs.”

During the hunt, children will be searching for plastic eggs that

have a message in them and treats. Usually there are several hundred

eggs to find, so there will be plenty of hunting and fun.

St. Mark Presbyterian Church is at 2100 Mar Vista Drive in Newport

Beach. For information, call (949) 644-1341.

The Newport Mesa Christian Center, which has been around since

1938, is looking forward to this year’s Easter celebration.

“There are so many things to look forward to this year,” DeAndra

Rich, program and communications coordinator said. “This year, we’ll

have a new approach about what Easter means. The thing we’re looking

forward to most is the creative way in which we are going to attempt

to convey this wonderful message, and the joy that is in the

message.”

There will be Easter services at 6 p.m. today and at 8, 9:30 and

11 a.m. Sunday.

“Our Easter Services will be a vibrant time of celebrating God’s

victory over death and his love for humanity, with special choral and

contemporary worship performances, and an inspirational message from

Pastor Scott Rachels,” Matt Akey said.

Pastor Scott’s message for Easter is called “The Heartbeat of

God.”

There will be a high-energy program for the children, infants to

fifth grade, on what Easter means, said Gabriel Gaeta, assistant

director of children’s ministries.

The Newport Mesa Christian Center is at 2599 Newport Blvd. in

Costa Mesa. For information, call (714) 966-0454.