The skies threatened and thunder boomed, but nothing deterred a small band of worshippers from Sunrise Service Easter morning.

Approximately 35 people gathered in the Jefferson Street United Methodist Church Chapel Sunday morning since inclement weather prevented the traditional service on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

&uot;We’ve never had this happen before,&uot; said Rev. Curtis Moffat, pastor of Jefferson Street United Methodist Church. &uot;But those of us with faith know that the sun is there above the clouds – it really is,&uot; he said.

Rev. Dennis Flach of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church delivered the meditation, &uot;Wounded Faith, Risen Lord.&uot; During his remarks, Rev. Flach commented that the bad weather wasn’t an undue hardship. &uot;We may have bad weather today, but at least we’re not standing in line in Yugoslavia in the cold.&uot;

Bill Blankenship of Natchez was among those who gathered at the service Sunday.

&uot;It was an important mission for me to attend today’s service,&uot; he said, as his mother, Mrs. Pearle McIntosh, had just died the day before. Blankenship’s daughter, Terri Reed, was with him.

&uot;We were blessed. She was 90 years old and didn’t suffer and didn’t have to go into a nursing home,&uot; she said. Blankenship’s grandchildren Steven and Amy Reed were also present as were close friends Jim and Charlotte Franklin.

Other clergy and lay persons presenting the service were: Rev. Alfred Camp of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church; Dr. Harry Daniel of the First Presbyterian Church; Dr. James Franklin, Music Director at Jefferson Street United Methodist Church; and Marvin McDonald, Pianist at Jefferson Street United Methodist Church.