Every Easter in Lyford Cay, Bahamas, there is a sunrise service at 6 a.m., at the water’s edge.

The service is sponsored by the Parish Church of St. Christopher and the Lyford Cay Club. The Venerable Keith Cartwright, archdeacon of the Turks & Caicos and the Southern Bahamas, is celebrant. I am not Catholic but the service is open to all. It’s always a full house.

Like Christmas, the earliest Easters were celebrated to correspond with then-contemporary pagan festivals. The idea was to facilitate the transition to the new faith and frankly to upstage the old one. It worked. Did you know that the name Easter may have even been derived from the pagan goddess of spring, called Eostre or Ishtar? I didn’t.

And down the beach…

Christians believe Christ died for our redemption. It was all about Forgiveness. Whatever we believe, whatever transgression we may have committed, there is a vast body of wisdom that says we best forgive ourselves as well–and one another while we’re at it–in order truly to move on–to grow, to create, to live fully. Today’s a good day for that. Hallelujah.