SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Starting at 5 a.m., parishioners crowded the amphitheater at the top of Mount Helix. The same way they did last year and more than one hundred years ago.
“It’s an honor to be a part of something so longstanding that’s been here long before I've been here, and I hope will be here long after I’m gone," said Chris Hilken, senior pastor at College Avenue Church.
There’s been a sunrise service here every Easter since 1917.
“I’ve been coming since I was a baby,” said one parishioner named Wade Hamilton.
Hamilton says this event is especially personal to his family: they've been coming for four generations. In 2012, he and his wife made it even more special.
“We were married here on the stage,” Hamilton said.
College Avenue Church led this year’s service, but that changes every year.
“It’s been fun to break down some of those barriers that historically we’ve built up with churches and just say if you fly under the banner of Jesus, we’re all going to be part of this together,” Hilken said.
The event is non-denominational and welcomes anyone to join. This year, almost 2,000 parishioners came and got to head out early to enjoy the rest of their Easter Sunday.
“We’re going to have a group potluck and just a time to share and sing and worship together,” said one parishioner named Moses Kodur.
