Easter Sunrise Worship Service
March 31, 2024 6:15 am
Gathered around the fire, we remember the fire
near which Peter denied Jesus three times.
Greeting
Pastor: Grace to you from Jesus Christ, who was, and is, and is to come.
Dear siblings in Christ, on this most holy morning when we proclaim the
passage of Jesus Christ from death to life, we offer up our songs and prayers
as a new dawn breaks. Through light and the word, we recall Christ’s death
and resurrection, we share Christ’s triumph.
Hear these words:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
Hymn: “Morning Has Broken” sung a cappella
Words: Eleanor Farjeon, Music: Traditional Gaelic
1. Morning has broken like the first morning; Blackbird has spoken like the
first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word!
2. Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on
the first grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in
completeness where His feet pass.
3. Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning. Born of the one light Eden
saw play! Praise with elation; praise ev'ry morning, God's recreation of
the new day!
Silent Meditation
Responsive reading based on Psalm 93
One: You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High who abide in the
shadow of the Almighty.
All: We will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
One: God will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly
pestilence.
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ALL: God will cover us with God’s feathers, and under God’s wings
we will find refuge; God’s faithfulness will be our shield and
rampart.
One: You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
ALL: Let us make the Most High our dwelling— even the Lord, who
is our refuge-
One: For God will command the angels concerning you to guard you in all
your ways;
ALL: We will call upon God, and God will answer God will be with us
in trouble, God will deliver us.
Prayer of Invocation
Powerful and loving God, you have raised Jesus Christ from the
dead. God, raise us too. May fresh life burst among us like buds
awakening to the spring. May shells of distrust and self-hatred that
keep us from loving, be broken away so that new life can emerge.
May new community spring up where fear has kept us from the
stranger. Keep us patient in making peace and building justice.
Teach us to trust the slow process from seed to stem, from stem to
flower, from flower to fruit. Breathe on us with your Spirit, through
the risen Christ. Amen
Hymn: “In the Bulb there is a Flower” sung a cappella
Words and Music: Natalie A. Sleeth
1. In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; In cocoons, a
hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of
winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
2. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody; There’s a
dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me. From the past will
come the future; what it holds, a mystery, Unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
3. In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity; In our doubt there is
believing; in our life, eternity, In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a
victory, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
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Blessing of a New Flame
(flame taken from fire)
One: Let us pray.
All: Eternal God, giver of light and life, bless this new flame, that by its
radiance and warmth we may respond to your love and grace, and be set
free from all that separates us from you and from each other; through
Jesus Christ, the sun of righteousness. Amen.
Lighting of the Paschal Candle
(Christ Candle is lit by Joe McSwain with flame from the fire)
ALL: May the light of Christ, rising in glory,
illumine our hearts and minds.
Lighting of Memorial Candles
(At this time, all are invited to come forward and light a candle and speak
the name(s) of those who have died from this life to be born into the next.
You might also light a candle for the death of former ways or beliefs that
have died from your own life).
Listening for God
One: Dear friends in Christ, we have begun our morning vigil. As we
watch and wait, let us seek the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt
among us, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer!
All: Let the Word of God fill us as we hear the reading of the
scripture.
Isaiah 12:2-6 read by Naomi Hanvey
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and will not be afraid,
for the Lord[a] is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.”
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say on
that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord;
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
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Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal[b] Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Mark 16:1-8 read by Naomi Hanvey
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint
him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen,
they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll
away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked
up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled
back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white
robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them,
“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they
laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to
Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and
fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they
said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around
Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to
west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.
Sharing of Thoughts, Poems, and Insights
Easter Prayers
One: Gracious, living God, we come before you with open hearts. On this
Easter morning we are thankful for life and for the victory of life over death. We
are mindful of those who have left this life and we are mindful of how our lives
have changed in this past year. Parts of ourselves have died away. Keep your
promise of new life. Restore us and hear us as we offer you the prayers from
our hearts.
(Anyone who would like to voice a prayer is welcome to do so now.)
Lord’s Prayer
First Raising of the Paschal Candle
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(Joe McSwain carries the Paschal Candle into the narthex and all follow.)
The one carrying the candle raises it and says: “Christ our Light.”
All: Thanks be to God.
Second Raising of the Paschal Candle
(All enter the sanctuary)
One raises the candle and says: “Christ our Light.”
All: Thanks be to God.
Third Raising of the Paschal Candle
(All enter the chancel)
One raises the candle and says: “Christ our Light.”
All: Thanks be to God.
Easter Proclamation
(The candle set in its place)
One: Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels!
Jesus Christ, our Light is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!
All: Rejoice, O Earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your Sovereign!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Night vanishes forever!
One: Rejoice, O servant church! Exult in glory! The risen Savior shines
upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all
God’s people!
My dearest friends, standing with me in this holy light, join me in asking for
God’s loving presence to be ever among us.
All: With full hearts, minds, and voices we praise the unseen God,
the Eternal Creator, and your only begotten one, Jesus the Christ.
One: For Christ has claimed us as God’s own. This is the morning when
Christians everywhere celebrate how God’s great love overcomes even the
worst of this world. This is the morning when Jesus Christ broke the chains
of death and rose triumphant from the grave.
All: O God, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your
merciful love! The power of this blessed morning dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it
casts out hatred, brings peace, and humbles earthly pride. Morning is
truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and humanity is reconciled with God!
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One: Therefore, gracious Creator, in the joy of this morning, receive our
praise. May this Easter candle be a pillar of fire that glows to your honor, O
God.
All: Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and let the light in our
hearts continue bravely burning to dispel the shadows! May the
morning star that never sets find our flames still burning. In Christ,
that morning star who came back from the dead, shed your peaceful
light on all creation, and who lives and reigns for ever. Amen.
Hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” sung a cappella
1. Christ the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Mortal tongues and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, glad heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
2. Let the Victor’s people sing, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now your sting? Alleluia!
Dying once, Christ lives to save, Alleluia!
Where your victory, O grave? Alleluia!
3. Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Christ rise, Alleluia!
God has opened paradise, Alleluia!
4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Christ, like Christ we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
UNISON BENEDICTION
Christ is Risen!
We seek Him no more at the tomb. Creation is made new!
We open our hearts to growth and joy. Christ is with us!
We go out into lives transformed by God’s love. Christ is risen indeed!
Easter 2025, April 20,Sunrise 5:50am, Sunrise Service begins at 6:00am