Easter Sunrise Services: Worshipping By Dawn's Early Light

PITTSBURGH, PA - Easter Sunday Sunrise Service is an American tradition that dates back to 1773. According to Time, congregants of a church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, marked one of the most sacred days on the Christian calendar by holding a service to mark the empty tomb that greeted Mary when dawn broke on Easter morning.

There will be no shortage of sunrise services in western Pennsylvania on Easter. Among the places holding them:

• St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland, 6:30 a.m. with Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik presiding.

• University of Pittsburgh, Heinz Memorial Chapel, 7 a.m.

• Community-based, interdenominational 83rd annual North Side Easter sunrise service, 6:30 a.m. in front of the Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park. Speaker will be the Rev. Charissa How of St. Andrews and Emsworth Presbyterian churches. Assisting will be the Rev. Steven Wirth and Erin Angeli of Riverview Presbyterian Church and the Rev. Brian Shirey of Brighton Heights Lutheran Church. Music by Risen to Save.

• Monroeville United Methodist Church, 6:30 a.m. at Commissioner’s Field in Boyce Park (Center Road to Old Frankstown Road).

• St. Catherine of Sienna, Crescent Township, 7 a.m.

• Community interdenominational Easter sunrise service, 7 a.m. at the Woodruff Memorial Park cemetery on Route 19 in Canonsburg. Hosted by Beinhauer Family Services and Woodruff Memorial Park, with leadership provided by the Canonsburg-Houston Ministerial Association. Refreshments provided. In the event of inclement weather, service will be held in the mausoleum.

• Jumonville Christian Camp & Retreat Center, 7 a.m., 887 Jumonville Road, Hopwood, where a 60-foot-tall Cross of Christ will be displayed.. The service will be held outside of Wesley Hall, just below the cross. This event is sponsored by the United Methodist Churches of Uniontown and is open to all. Worship will be led by the United Methodist Shared Ministry and the message will be given but the Rev. Bill Blair.

Photo by Sean MacEntee via Creative Commons.