Sunrise service
Sunrise service is a worship service specifically on Easter Sunday practiced by some Christian denominations, such as the Moravian Church.[1] The sunrise service takes place outdoors, sometimes in a park, and the attendees are seated on outdoor chairs or benches, or else they stand throughout.
In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, this ordinarily takes the form of the Easter Vigil, which can begin in the late evening of Holy Saturday or the early morning of Easter Sunday.[2] Certain congregations of the Reformed and the Methodist traditions may either observe the Easter Vigil or hold a sunrise service.
History[edit]
The first Easter Sunrise Service recorded took place in 1732 in the Moravian congregation at Herrnhut in the Upper Lusatian hills of Saxony.[3] 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 Saviour.[3] The following year, the whole Congregation joined in the service.[4] Thereafter the "Easter Morning" or "Sunrise Service" spread around the world with the Moravian missionaries.[3] The procession to the graveyard is accompanied by the antiphonal playing of chorales by brass choirs.[5]