Welcome to Sunrise Chapel online. We also invite you to participate in person at our Sunday services and other events. Our core purpose is to help people experience heavenly joy through spiritual growth.

At Sunrise Chapel we offer you a welcoming spiritual community, a meaningful spiritual framework to live by and opportunities to be of service to others. Our goal is to support each individual in developing a personal relationship with God and encouraging spiritual growth.

Sunrise Chapel is located in Tucson, Arizona's Eastend on Wrightstown Road between Pantano and Camino Seco Roads. The unique building design incorporates a spectacular mountain vista and the natural beauty of the desert landscape. Our inspiring teachings offer a new and enriching vision of God, the afterlife, marriage and family, faith and salvation.

We are a family-oriented congregation serving the people of Tucson since 1987. We welcome visitors anytime. Come on in, enjoy our heavenly views, and take part in our caring, supportive community.

Three Ways Sunrise Chapel Can Help You Grow Spiritually

1. Worship

• Connect with the one loving God, our Lord Jesus Christ

• Hear relevant messages that inspire positive life change
• Experience a picturesque and welcoming worship space that invites closeness with God and each other
• Enjoy a blend of contemporary and traditional worship styles and music
• Foster your child’s relationship with the Lord through our gentle and nurturing Sunday School program

2. Relationships

• Connect with others and enrich your spiritual life
• Join a small group to study, pray and grow
• Discover resources to strengthen your marriage and family
• Participate in family-oriented activities and event

3. Service

• Connect with the community and ‘Let your light shine’
• Use your talents in service to others
• Feel a wonderful sense of your faith in action
• Inspire others by giving of yourself

 

 

Guest Preachers!

 

May 19 - Thinking Spiritually Opens Creativity. Rev. David Lindrooth, from Bryn Athyn, PA, is a former Associate Pastor of Sunrise Chapel. Currently he is the Director of Outreach for our worldwide church.

May 26 - Honoring Those who Died in Battle. Rev. Frank Rose is the founding pastor of Sunrise Chapel. In his retirement, he continues to support the church in many ways. He will address the topic of Memorial Day weekend.

June 2 - Judge not by Appearances. Rev. Frank Rose will preach again on the story of the prophet, Samuel, being instructed by the Lord not to be influenced by outward appearances, but to look at the heart.

Recent Services

Sunday, May 12 - Mother's Day

“Nurturing Relationships”
One quality associated with mothers: it is their nature to nurture. On a very physical level, before birth, while a baby progresses through gestation, nurturing is taking place. When mothers look after the physical, emotional, and even spiritual needs of their children, they are nurturing.
Similarly, it is the nature of the church to nurture healthy relationships - with God and with one another. That is why, in the Word, the church is called a mother.

Sunday, May 5

“Replace Jealousy with Empathy”
This is part two of a 2-part series called “Extreme Attitude Makeovers.” We’ll focus on King Saul’s jealousy toward David (I Samuel 18:8) and Saul’s subsequent change of heart. What triggers the irrational attitude of jealousy in the first place, and what steps can be taken to replace it with an attitude of goodwill?

Sunday, April 28

“What About the Tares?”

What is the kingdom of heaven like? In Matthew the Lord answers this question with an agricultural parable about an enemy surreptitiously sowing a certain kind of weed in another person’s wheat field. When the servants discover the problem, they are very eager to pull up the weeds, fearing for the wheat crop. But the owner advises them to be patient. Wait until the harvest, then separate them, lest you pull up the wheat with the tares.

Sunday, April 21

“Resurrect Your Spiritual Life”

Today we conclude our series of 12 miracles of spiritual growth with the most dramatic healing of all. Lazarus had been buried four days by the time Jesus got to the tomb and called to him: “Come forth!” He challenged him to do something that by all the bystanders’ accounts seemed impossible.

Good Friday, March 29

7 pm - A reflective candlelight service of readings and music to help you appreciate the final work of the Lord before His resurrection on Easter morning.

Easter Sunday, March 31

7 am - Outdoor early morning service

11 am - Family festival service with egg hunt and potluck luncheon afterwards.

The Path of Integrety

The Sunrise Chapel "Journey" Spiritual Growth Program

We just completed this wonderful program exploring the story of Joseph, and learning to live with more integrity. Below are the topics we covered over 6 weeks.

Sunday, March 10

Have Compassion
Week 6 in our Path of Integrity series. In a broad sense, the Biblical story of Joseph is all about compassion. This week in our series we get to focus on the interaction between Joseph and his brothers when he reveals his identity to them. He weeps with compassion for them and reassures them that God has been present all along – “God sent me before you to preserve life.”
“Integrity means a willingness to offer and accept forgiveness.”

Sunday, March 3

Take Responsibility
Week 5 in our Path of Integrity series. The story of Joseph’s brothers returning to Egypt to buy more food. This time they take the youngest brother, Benjamin, with them to fulfill the demand Joseph had placed on them during the first trip. The brothers took a big risk, but they also assured their father they would take full responsibility for Benjamin’s protection. This time they took their responsibility seriously.
“Integrity is taking responsibility for our choices and their consequences.”

Sunday, February 24

Ask for Help
Week 4 in our Path of Integrity series. In the story of Joseph, when the regional famine hits, his brothers travel down to Egypt in desperate need of help - to buy food for their family. We can’t do everything on our own, and that means we have to ask for help for some things. Is it easy or hard for you to ask for help? What thoughts and feelings come up?
Integrity involves acknowledging our need for the Lord and each other.

Sunday, February 17

Create Positive Experiences
Week 3 in our Path of Integrity series. It’s the story of Joseph becoming a leader in Egypt and preparing the country for a famine. “Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.” What things can you do now to prepare for the times of spiritual and emotional challenge that may come up in your life?

Sunday, February 10

Drop the Distractions
This is our second service in the series on the Path of Integrity. Last week the focus was on each person identifying a dream to consider during the next few weeks. Now the question is what distracts you from being the kind of person you want to be? Identifying those distractions and learning to drop them can be an ongoing challenge, but one that can lead to realizing your dream.

Sunday, February 3

Listen to Your Dream
Joseph said, “Listen to this dream I dreamed.” Genesis 37:6
This Sunday we begin a 7-week study of the Biblical story of Joseph, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. We start with Joseph innocently sharing a dream he has. Although the dream is dismissed by his family as nonsense, it turns out to be a very important, prophetic dream. Throughout our lives, we all have dreams in the sense of goals, hopes, or plans for doing various things. Some are relatively unimportant and go unfulfilled. Others are key to our sense of happiness. What current dream do you hold in your heart that you want to turn into reality?

Sunday, January 27

Improve Your Serve
Jesus called - you might say “enlisted” - various people to serve in His ministry. The most obvious ones were the 12 Apostles who were given authority to heal certain diseases and perform other miraculous works on His behalf. There were many others who considered themselves His disciples because of their interest in His teaching and their devotion to His cause.

The Lord also invites us to be His disciples – to be learners of His healing message and to find ways to serve others in our sphere of influence.

Sunday, January 21

Healing from Fear

Continuing our series on 12 Healing Miracles, this Sunday is #9 “Healing from Fear” (Luke 22:49-51). We’ll be exploring the concept that overcoming fear is a cognitive process. Understanding trumps fears. The more informed our perspective is, the less power fear has. There are a ton of interesting quotations related to overcoming fears. Here are a few:
• “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks
• “Fear is an alarm, not a defense. Alarms alone don't save lives; clear-headed choices do.” Brian Germain
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” Eleanor Roosevelt
• Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Sunday, January 13

Healing from Lack of Joy

In Biblical days, leprosy was a dreaded skin disease that often led to great physical discomfort as well as isolation and even ostracism - a very unhappy life. When Jesus healed lepers, He was not just freeing individuals from a physical illness, He was also demonstrating the divine goal for everyone to experience healing from the spiritual disease of unhappiness. The spiritual pathogen is falsity and the antidote is truth. It is the Lord’s intent that we each experience His mercy and healing truths in order to become happy in our own skin.

Sunday January 6

Authority without Arrogance

For the next three Sundays, we continue our series of talks on “12 Healing Miracles” from the New Testament. This week’s story is of a miraculous healing of a Roman centurion’s servant. The interaction between the centurion’s messengers, the Jewish elders, and Jesus is quite unusual and intriguing. The story gives us the opportunity to explore the contrast between healthy, humble faith and faith made unhealthy by arrogance.

Sunday, December 30

What We Can Learn from the Wise Men

There is wisdom in the wise men following a star to find the young Child, Jesus. We don’t know a lot about these travelers in the Gospel of Matthew, but we can glean some timeless lessons from their story that apply to our own spiritual pursuit of the Lord in our modern life.

 

Christmas Services

Tuesday, December 25

Christmas Day
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) The most familiar stories of the Lord’s birth are in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke. The Gospel of John provides a more philosophical approach, without any mention of angels, shepherds, or wisemen. It is a call for us to associate the Lord’s life in the world with His Word which He came to fulfill. “O come let us adore Him!”
“Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they came with haste. (Luke 2:15-16)

December 23

Mary’s Humility
When an angel appeared to Mary with amazing news about her pregnancy, her response was humble acceptance to allow God to be born in her for a noble cause - “Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Each of us is called to accept the Lord’s spiritual advent into our own lives. What if we also felt something of the same humility that Mary did?

December 9

Joseph provides a home for the Lord.
“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife” (Matt. 1:24).
The story of Joseph keeping Mary as his wife - in spite of the strange circumstances of her pregnancy - is a parable of personal transformation. He could have done the expected and “put her away,” but he followed the unexpected angelic message, “and took to him his wife,” providing a nurturing home the Lord needed.
Picture yourself, like Joseph, being called to provide a home for the Lord’s presence even when His coming seems uncomfortable, hard to believe or difficult to accept. It can be a challenge to take on some new idea or feeling when it goes against your expectations or preferences. But what a difference it can make in your life if you do! ~Nathan Gladish

December 2

Facing Uncertainty with a God of Certainty
Uncertainty comes with feelings of doubt, anxiety, and sometimes temptation, but the Lord is continually offering comfort to us with the certainty of His love and presence. Our text for Sunday will be from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, in which God speaks words of encouragement to all people who want to grow spiritually.

November 25

Spiritual Composure
In the book of Daniel there is a story of an enraged king of Babylon threatening three Hebrew men to a fiery death in a smelting furnace for their unwillingness to worship his grand idol. Unperturbed, the three men calmly stand up to the king and affirm their devotion to God. To the king’s amazement, when the three men are thrown into the fire, they are protected so that not one hair on their heads is burnt. When they come out, not even the smell of fire is on their clothes. This whole story is a metaphor for the power of love over hate, the power of heaven over hell, the shift from spiritual danger to safety.

Thursday, November 22

Give Thanks!
Our Thanksgiving Day worship service at 10:00 am will be held outdoors in our "wedding garden." This is an informal setting to give thanks to the Lord for the wonders of creation and for His providence over our lives. Everyone is welcome! You are invited to bring an item (or several) for our Food Bank collection. Light refreshments will be served after the service, in Friendship Hall. ~Nathan Gladish

November 18

Spiritual Pottery Lesson
This Sunday our service will revolve around the story of the prophet Jeremiah being told by the Lord to go watch a potter making pottery. The first pot didn’t turn out well; but rather than throwing it away, the potter reworked the clay and started over. There’s a parallel here with respect to our spiritual growth and development. The Lord is our spiritual potter patiently working with the spiritual clay of our lives. Gently, with loving wisdom, He allows for our imperfections and helps us rework our lives. It’s also important for us to stay flexible as He helps each of us become functional, beautiful vessels capable of receiving His life and putting it to use.  ~Nathan Gladish

November 11

Healing Doubt
What doubts bother you? Have you ever been glad you listened to your doubts? Sunday we continue our series on New Testament healing miracles with the story of Jesus healing a boy of his epilepsy. At the same time as the physical healing, Jesus addresses the father’s spirit of doubt. Doubt and belief are often two sides of the same coin. Each can be healthy or sick, depending on their quality. In the New Church, we believe it’s important to doubt in order to form a rational, mature, spiritual faith. And one of the keys to addressing doubt in an affirmative way is prayer, as modeled in the father’s earnest request, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:24   ~Nathan Gladish

November 4

Healing from Lost Innocence
This Sunday we continue our series on New Testament healing miracles with the story of Jesus reviving a 12-year old girl from her death bed. She is a symbol of innocence in our lives. If we limit the definition of innocence to purity, or perfection, or freedom from guilt, then loss of any of these can feel like a death. But the Lord wants to introduce us to a new kind of innocence that can feel like getting a new lease on life, a second chance. Come and learn how the Lord can lead us to healthy, mature, spiritual innocence.

October 28

Going with the Flow of God’s Power
Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Luke 8:46
This Sunday we continue our series on New Testament healing miracles. The story is about a woman who experiences a miraculous cure of an illness she had for twelve years. No doctor or treatment could bring her relief. But as soon as she touched the hem of the Lord’s garment, there was a transfer of power from the Lord to her and her ailment instantly went away. Her story is a metaphor for what the Lord wants us to experience spiritually. ~Nathan Gladish

October 21

Replacing Discontentment with Contentment
The Biblical story for this Sunday is about the rough situation with Moses and the Israelites after their miraculous escape from the army of Pharaoh. They were hugely discontent. Yes, they had their freedom from the oppression of Egyptian slavery. On the other hand, they faced oppressive conditions attempting to survive in the barren wilderness. They craved the meat and other foods they used to enjoy. Instead they were given “manna,” a Hebrew word for “what?”
Come learn “What is it the Lord wants us to eat every day?” Find out what the Lord reveals to us about the spiritual manna we are constantly being given to nourish us and to help us feel content.
~Nathan Gladish