• Several thousand people packed the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden on Sunday for Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara’s Easter service. The annual event is one of the largest Easter church services on the South Coast. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
  • Worshipers rejoice and pray during Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara’s Easter Sunday service at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden. Several thousand people attended the service, one of the largest Easter church services on the South Coast. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo)
    Worshipers rejoice and pray during Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara’s Easter Sunday service at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden. Several thousand people attended the service, one of the largest Easter church services on the South Coast. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo)
  • The Grammy Award-nominated Christian rock band Leeland inspires the crowd. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
  • Kirk Hodson, left, and Mike English share English’s inspirational story about his family’s battle with cancer, and the lessons of hope they learned from it. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
  • (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
  • (Justin Fareed)

Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, and follow him on Instagram: @bill.macfadyen. The opinions expressed are his own.