Submitted by the Interfaith Council

On Easter Sunday, March 31st at 7:30 AM at the picnic area at the Malad City Park, the Interfaith Council will present a program to celebrate Jesus Christ rising from death, defeating darkness and bathing the world in stunning resurrection light.

The original “Sunrise Service” occurred the morning Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome went and entered the tomb and saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He said to them, “Don’t be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 

In 1732, a group of young Moravian men in Hernhut, Saxony, Germany held the first modern sunrise service. They gathered at their cemetery at sunrise to worship the memory of the women who went to the tomb on the first Easter morning and discovered it empty, and praised the Risen Lord. The Moravian immigrants brought the custom to America in 1773. 

The Sunrise Service has been a traditional gathering of the Presbyterian Church since the late 1800’s, according to Interfaith Member Edna Palmer. Services were held up on Two Mile Road or at the Malad City Cemetery, weather permitting. 

The Oneida County Interfaith Council began hosting the Easter Sunrise Service in 2012 to bring all faiths in the Community together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The program shares inspiration, scripture, and music of the Easter Season.

The Interfaith Council invites all faiths to come together for the celebration. Dress warm and enjoy the program while the sun rises over the eastern mountains!

All are invited to a breakfast afterward at the Victory Baptist Church at 448 So. Main Street in Malad.