WATCH: A celebration on top of Knox Mountain

• Church goers were given access to drive up Knox
• Service offers a sense of community
• Live music and hundreds in attendance

Hot chocolate, live music, and a whole lot of smiles were part of the Easter Sunday church service on Knox Mountain, as the community gathered together to soak in the sunrise.

The event was back in full swing after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

“I think if anything, the last two years has taught us there's a lot of things out of our control,” Director of Worship, Gary Brucker told Kelowna10.

“One of the things we know from a mental health point of view is people long to be in community, they long to be together.”

Brucker is thankful everyone can gather in one place again, as it wasn’t quite the same online.

“It was a different kind of togetherness, but to be in the same place, to see people’s smiles, to wish people a happy Easter, to enjoy a hot chocolate and a coffee, and to say hello to somebody face-to-face is pretty special and important,” he said.

Brucker’s favourite part of the day is the tradition of being up on the mountain at 5:30 a.m. to set up for the sunrise service.

“It’s become a really special thing in our community,” he said. “We have lots of people that come up here that are not part of our church family.”

According to Brucker, there are many people who see the event as a gift to the community.

“They come up to celebrate and enjoy a beautiful place, on a beautiful morning, and a message of hope,” he said.

Though the weather was sunny for this year's event, Brucker said many elements can come into play when hosting an event outside.

“In terms of the cold weather, and the rain, we’ve had it all over [the] years - almost 28 years doing it up on the mountain now,” he added. “But the majesty of this place, matched with the good news of the morning, is pretty powerful.”

Brucker is grateful for the community support, as well as the city, who allowed them to drive to the peak of the mountain for the service.

“We believe we are just stewards of all this anyway, so we’re glad to be able to enjoy it,” he said.