To make matters that much more interesting, most years I did a liturgical dance with a few other brave souls on the beach before we huddled back under our blankets.
When worship is inside, we go to every effort to make things comfortable, though some straight-backed pews may not give one that impression. We have heat or air-conditioning in our sanctuaries, sound systems that allow people to hear and often a raised chancel or pulpit in order to see the worship leaders.
The Sunrise service is none of these things. Bleary-eyed worshipers gather in the cold, often the very cold, with no sound system and their programs flapping in the wind. Sometimes it rains heavily or is so cloudy that the service is completely in the dark from beginning to end.
Yet, there's something about the Easter Sunrise service.
On Easter morning, we are completely out of our element, we 21st century Northern Hemisphere Christians who like to be in control. This worship service is purposefully not about our comfort level but about the message and the experience.
Celtic Christians, like the ones who lived on the island of Iona in the 6th century, worshiped outside. Note, the weather on Iona is not like Southern California - always mild with a cool sea breeze. In Iona the wind comes tumbling off the Atlantic bringing violent storms and cold temperatures.
Maybe they knew something we have forgotten: that worship is not about us, that the Gospel is uncomfortable, that God does not dwell in a building.
May the Sunrise service dwell in us this Easter season!