The invitation to tomorrow’s 39th annual Easter Sunrise Service is extended to all. That means all of the city’s 21 churches and everyone else in between.
“For some people, this is their Easter remembrance and worship, and that’s including people who are not part of one of the church communities,” said John Luth, the pastor at the Christian Reformed Church.
“They just lock into this event on the calendar and they’re there. It is completely welcome and open to everybody. You don’t have to show your ‘church card’ to get in.”
The annual event is the Christian community’s way of breaking down the barriers between the different denominations in order to celebrate the moment at the heart of the religion in the first place.
Luth says that Easter and the resurrection of Jesus is the foundational hope of all of Christian faith.
“Our doing this together is a way of acknowledging that day and that event as a whole Christian community. This is one of those moments and times when the denominational differences … they just really take a backseat to that one event that we hold and celebrate together.”
“It’s a great tradition.”
Luth himself has been to nearly 20 of these services. He remembers some of the earlier ones when the meeting featured a procession that served as a powerful reminder of the importance of people coming together. Members of the St. Albert Parish would walk down the hill to meet members from the United Church and others coming from the opposite direction, meeting right in the middle of the Perron Street Bridge, and offering the words “He is risen” or “Christ is risen.”
“There’s a traditional Easter greeting that goes back before any churches of any denomination. It’s really symbolic and powerful. And that still is the greeting to this day as well.”
While the walk is no longer part of the official proceedings, many people still make their own walks to the downtown event as part of their own celebration of the morning ritual, Luth said.
The open service starts at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning on the plaza right in front of St. Albert Place. It is expected to take only 30 minutes after which the congregation will gather inside the public building for further fellowship. The Knights of Columbus will, once again, provide coffee and refreshments for that gathering.
Approximately 200 people are expected to attend. This year’s message is expected to come from the Pentecostal church.
