Easter sunrise service returns
ADAMS TWP — Another annual event derailed by the pandemic will return Easter Sunday.
The Mars Area Ministerium will revive an Easter sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. April 17 in the Rotary Pavilion at the Adams Township Park, 698 Valencia Road.
The ministerium is a group of churches in Cranberry, Adams and Middlesex townships and Mars whose pastors meet once a month to support each others’ ministries and publicize events.
“It’s to build on the body of Christ. We are all on the same team,” said the Rev. Brian Hauser of Mars United Presbyterian Church.
Four churches and their pastors will take part in the service: the Rev. Jim Kirk of Valencia Presbyterian Church and his student pastor, Kerry Dowdy; the Rev. Hauser; the Rev. Jim Gascoine of Dutilh United Methodist Church; and the Rev. David Champ of The Narrative in Mars.
Kirk said the township had a history of sunrise services on the MHY property along Route 228 until two years ago.
“The pandemic stopped it first,” Kirk said. “And MHY is changing services in that location and changing facilities.”
“It’s been three or four years since they’ve done one,” said Kirk about the sunrise Easter service.
Out of a ministerium meeting, the four pastors decided to have a sunrise service on Easter beginning at 6:30 a.m. in the Adams Township Community Park.
“All churches and all communities are invited,” said Hauser adding the service will be ecumenical.
Champ said, “There’s a whole Kingdom aspect to it. There are no fiefdoms in the Kingdom of God.”
The ministers said the service will include a dialogue, “A Morning Just Like This,” a conversation of why the faithful celebrate this day, a call to worship, Scripture readings and prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer.
“We’re going to split the duties up,” said Champ, whose church opened its doors in January.
The Rotary Pavilion, which seats 120, sits atop an elevation that will provide a good view of the sunrise scheduled to be at 6:36 a.m. April 17.
Gascoine said the service should take about 30 minutes.
“We didn’t plan for it to be a long thing,” he said.“ It is open to the whole community. They are welcome to bring chairs in case the pavilion fills up.”
The ministers said they expect everyone at the sunrise service to then go to their own churches for worship services.
The sunrise service, said Gascoine “basically is a celebration of the significance of Easter. We hope people will leave recognizing the importance of Easter in the Christian tradition.”
“My hope is that folks will be filled with the hope of the gift and promise of new life,” Hauser said.
Gascoine said, “We’re hoping to repeat it, as long as everything works.”
