After two years of pandemic, the 21^st Annual Easter Sunrise Service is back at Reynolds’ Linger Longer pavilion.  According to the Christian Gospels, Christ’s empty tomb was discovered very early in the morning. Centuries later, European Christians began holding sunrise services to celebrate the resurrection.  The first Easter Sunrise Service recorded in history took place in 1732 in the Moravian congregation at Herrnhut in the Upper Lusatian hills of Saxony. After an all-night prayer vigil, the Single Brethren — the unmarried men of the community — went to the town graveyard, God’s Acre, on the hill above the town to sing hymns of praise to the Risen Savior. The following year, the whole congregation joined in the service. Thereafter the “Easter Morning” or “Sunrise Service” spread around the world with the Moravian missionaries. In America, the first sunrise occurred at  the Salem Congregation of the Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which began welcoming Easter before sunrise in 1772 and has done so every year since.  Friends who have taught at Wake Forest University tell about the impact of that service on the surrounding community.  Having taught ministerial students at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology for 17 years, I am aware of another long-running sunrise service which dates back to 1944 atop Stone Mountain near Atlanta with the park opening extremely early at 4am.

In the Lake Oconee area, several area churches have had sunrise services for decades.  Walker United Methodist Church has had one of the longest running.    At Lake Oconee Community Church, we began our community sunrise service on Easter Sunday 2001.  It was pouring down rain and 150 people still showed up for the event.  Twenty years ago, the Lake Oconee area was much different than it is today.  We have so much more going on in the Lake area now than we used to.  With a later date for Easter this year, it should be warmer than it has been in previous years.    Having an unbelievable background of Lake Oconee and its shoreline, we gather at the Linger Longer Pavilion at Reynolds for a wonderful outdoor traditional service which begins at 7 am and ends well before 8 am.  The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented us from being able to gather the past two years.  If we ever need a celebration of the Resurrection, this would be the year for it.  We plan on gathering once again and truly celebrate the miraculous event of Resurrection.    If you are in the Lake area on Easter Sunday morning, April 17, 2022, you are invited to come and bring your family and friends.  I encourage you to make it a priority this year.