By Carol Walker
Every year since 1945, people have gathered at Mount Rushmore early on Easter morning to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the most important holiday of Christianity, and it was no different this year on the 70th anniversary of the event.
The service was hosted by the congregations of the Hills Parish: Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ and the Hermosa United Church of Christ. They were joined by representation from the Little White Church of Hill City.
The weather on Sunday morning was cool, but not frigid as it has been on some years. However, the visitors to the mountain came prepared with blankets and warm coats and staff members from Xanterra, concessionaire for Mount Rushmore, were present to offer hot chocolate and coffee to those who came early and needed a little boost of warmth.
Neal Svenson set the tone for the service with the prelude — a guitar instrumental, “In Christ Alone,” followed by traditional resurrection hymns, bringing together hundreds of voices in songs of the season. Pastor Ron Walker of the Little White Church of Hill City offered prayer and read scripture, followed by Pastor John DeGroff from the host church in Keystone, who shared a message about the power of the resurrection.
As in the past, the Sunrise Choir, comprised of a collection of local folks of all ages from area churches, sang several songs under the direction of Heidi Long-Lind and they led the congregational singing. Each vocalist attended practice sessions held a couple weeks prior to the event to rehearse the songs they would sing on Easter morning.
A new addition this year included some of the younger folks from the area as a bell choir, performing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Color-coded bells were enthusiastically rung by the young people as they watched for their color to appear on cards held by director Joy McCluure Mueller.
Karen Kruse and Lois Halley were the accompanists for the special Easter service. Loren Lintz and Ryan Mitchell were sound engineers for the event. An offering was taken with 100 percent of the proceeds to be donated to both local and global needs.
Following prayer and a benediction offered by the Rev. Dr. Diane Janssen Hemmen of the Hermosa host church, the crowd was asked to stand and listen to one stanza of “God Bless America” performed by the bell choir and then join in singing the patriotic song in the patriotic setting.