The 2023 Easter Sunrise Service will be a hybrid of
in-person and online worship!
Gates open at 4:45 a.m.
Pre-worship service music begins at 5:30 a.m.
The worship service begins at 6:00 a.m.
This worship service is FREE and open to the public.
General seating and parking are available on a first-come basis. The same applies to the free, but limited seating and parking that we have for ASL interpretation and wheelchair access. Find out more HERE.
The reserved seating and parking sponsorships are SOLD OUT. There’s still plenty of free seating and parking for those who want to attend in person.
We’re NOT collecting food donations this year.
Can’t Attend in Person? Watch the Easter Sunrise Service LIVE or LATER on these platforms:
The Colorado Council of Churches website
The Colorado Council of Churches Facebook page
The Colorado Council of Churches YouTube channel
Worship Leaders
The Most Reverend Pablo Burson serves as the Presiding Bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. He has had the joy and privilege of being connected to the Church of the Beloved as co-founder since 2004. Located in Northglenn, it is one of five ECC communities on the Front Range. Bishop Burson received his MDiv in 1985 and has since worked in the Hispanic Community for over 20 years. Paul or Pablo (depending on the world he is in) began with the Center for Service Learning in 2004 and has been working in the area of transformational education since 1990. As a former Vincentian, he has served in many communities in Guatemala and California in pastoral ministry before working as the director of and a professor within a semester abroad program in the Dominican Republic for Creighton University. Two of his three children were born in the DR. and continue to grow in being bicultural and bilingual. Pablo has been very involved with the development of the Romero House Program as well-being their professor for the past 17 years which involves a community-based learning experience each year in El Salvador and Guatemala. He has the joy of working with his wife, Rosa Maria in the innovative Community Based Spanish/English Exchange Program. Transformational Education is what drives his motor at Regis University.
Rev. Tamara Boynton is an ordained United Church of Christ clergy serving as the Minister for Spiritual Diversity at Regis University in Denver. In addition, she serves the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence there as the Interim Assistant Director. She has served as a local church pastor in Denver and has guided outdoor ministry programs for decades at La Foret CRC. She has worked in interfaith spaces, advocacy, and politics. She finds the dawn at Red Rocks to be a powerful location to contemplate the stone being rolled away from the tomb and is grateful to be in prayer with each of you this morning!
Rev. Stan Adamson is a retired pastor in the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks. He is the current chair of the Colorado Council of Churches Board of Directors.
Worship Music Leaders
Blood Brothers
Meeting through the reach of their local church, members of the mountain band Blood Brothers have collaborated to build a community-based ensemble that provides top notch musical performances at outdoor festivals, private parties and area venues. Building from humble beginnings as a duo, Blood Brothers continues to grow and presents up to a six piece band based on venue and request. Armed with a diverse set list of originals, classic rock, folk, country, blues, smoky pop, and worship music that spans over five decades of timeless songs audiences of all ages and walks of life love singing together.
Lance Swearengin-Guitar and Vocals
Josh Harwood-Guitar and Vocals
Bob Brown-Bass
Troy Steinbach-Keys and Vocals
Jay Genender-Fiddle
Taylor Mead-Drums
Instagram and Facebook @bloodbrothers303
Sharon L. Hicks
Vocalist/Worship Leader/Actress
Sharon first began singing in church as a very young child. Her musical talent, her worship ministry and her love for the arts grew from there. A Ministry Worship Leader for over 25 years, Sharon is an original background singer for a world-renowned gospel recording artist and she has had an opportunity to sing with many well-known international gospel artists throughout her career. An acclaimed vocalist who has performed the National Anthem for multiple sports venues, Sharon is also an actress whose resume extends from theater to national commercials and international print work.
Fr. Michael Nicosia is a priest of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC) living in Aurora CO with his husband Marc. A member of the St. Paul Catholic Community in Denver, he currently serves the ECC’s Rocky Mountain Region as Vicar of Ecumenical Engagement and as a member of the Colorado Council of
Churches (CCC) Board of Directors. A regular contributor to Council events, Exec. Director Adrian Miller refers to him as “the CCC’s house band.” A singer and Native American flute musician, he is also a member of a local Broadway Cabaret troupe.
It was with the Xavier Company, a Christian performing arts troupe in NYC, that Michael found his gifts meeting the needs of the world. Art and faith now combine in planning worship services of all kinds. With a particular focus on our baptismal charge to be “the Body of Christ incarnate, the Blood of Christ poured out for the life of the world,” he is an advocate for social justice, providing clergy support for Capitol Hill United Ministries, the Women’s Homelessness Initiative, and Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence. After years of service as a chaplain in eldercare, then hospice ministry, he currently works as a PRN Chaplain at Highlands Ranch Hospital.
Before his religious calling, Fr. Michael received his BFA in Art and Art Education from Syracuse University; it was in an Interior Design class that watercolors became his preferred medium. His company Spirit songs exhibits his postage-stamp-size paintings at the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys’ annual shows, and offers them with larger works on-line. An award-winning member of the Aurora Arts Guild, his talents continue to be used in service of the Church, having designed logos for the ECC as well as for the CCC Easter Sunrise Services.
THANK YOU to our Stage Rock Sponsors!
Chris Bullard
Holley Dixon-Gordon
Tammy Gumpert
Vicky Hudson
Jina McDaniel
Janice Mossberg
Michael Schwalm
Carl Stuber
Christine Tabor
Shannon Tankelsey
Stacy Taylor
Roy Thompson
Karen Vining
Erik Wendel
Theresa Zawalski
The Worship Service Bulletin
| Now in its 76th year, the Colorado Council of Churches (“CCC”) is once again proud to sponsor the annual Easter Sunrise Service held in the dramatic and spectacular setting of the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. |
| DIRECTIONS TO RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE |
| Coming from Downtown: take I-70 west to exit 259, turn left at the bottom of the Morrison exit ramp, cruise on downhill 1.5 miles to the Red Rocks Park entrance. Coming from south Denver: take C-470 to the Morrison exit, turn west and follow the signs to the Park entrances. |
This is an outdoor service — dress warmly!
Please Support This, and Future, Easter Sunrise Services at Red Rocks
Thousands of people gather for this annual and joyful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For many of them, this is their only exposure to The Gospel. It takes considerable resources to do this free community event, and we primarily rely on donations to cover our costs. Some of the expenses include: Renting the Red Rocks Amphitheatre venue; Hiring the wonderful Red Rocks staff who do innumerable things to make this worship service happen; Professional audiovisual equipment; Law enforcement to handle traffic control and keep us safe; Providing the livestream seen by people around the world; and Providing the doves we release at the end of the service These often total between $25,000 to $30,000. Even if you don't attend the service, please make a donation to this wonderful way to share The Gospel. Click HERE to donate via PayPal. CashApp to $colochurches. Support our Facebook fundraiser. Support our Instagram fundraiser. Mailing a check payable to the “Colorado Council of Churches” to: Easter Sunrise Service Colorado Council of Churches 1140 W. 5th Avenue Denver, CO 80204 Thank you in advance for blessing us!
