Pastor's Desk
Which Easter Service should I attend?
By Pastor Neil Wehmas
It is Palm Sunday, and you begin to look at the schedule of services for the week to come. There are the Daily Chapel services from 12:15-12:45pm each day. There is the Maundy Thursday service, with first Communion for our 7th graders at 6:30pm. There is the Good Friday service at 6:30pm as well. Hopefully, you have decided to attend all of these services. But what about Easter weekend?
None of the three services are the same, and it is most certainly acceptable practice to attend all three of them. However, what if you find yourself only able to attend one service on April 19th & 20th. Which one should you choose? Here is a brief summary of what to expect from each service.
Easter Vigil (Saturday, March 19th @5:00pm)
The Easter Vigil is the oldest of Easter traditions, dating back to the first century and first generation of Christianity.
The word “Vigil” literally means “to keep watch”. This is what we are doing. We are keeping watch or waiting for the celebration of Easter. The service is usually over an hour, reflective of Jesus’ words to his disciples in the Garden when he asked “Could you not keep watch one hour?”. It is a night for disciplining the heart and mind to keep watch and focus upon God’s means of grace and prayer.
The service begins with the blessing of a new Paschal Candle and a service of light, as we process into the sanctuary in complete darkness.
The service includes several scripture readings from the Old Testament focusing upon God’s deliverance in the Old Testament. It includes many opportunities for prayer. There is a strong focus upon the sacraments. This year, we will be having two baptisms and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. It is in these celebrations that God reaches down and delivers us from sin, death, and the devil.
Midway through the service, the phrase “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!” first breaks out, the bells ring out for joy, the crosses are unveiled, and the church is illuminated. The sermon for the day is traditionally the Paschal Homily as written by St. John Chrysostom. The sermon takes about 5 minutes to read.
Easter Sunrise (Sunday, March 20th @6:30am)
During the 18th century the practice of the Easter Sunrise service came into popularity as a replacement for the Easter Vigil. Sometimes the service looks almost identical to the Easter Vigil. However, another tradition emerged over the years.
As many churches have cemeteries on their property, a tradition began of starting the service with a variation of the graveside liturgy, while in the center of the cemetery. The Liturgy would conclude with a processional singing of “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”.
At St. Paul Lutheran Church, here in Ida Grove, we will begin with graveside liturgy, just outside of the sanctuary. The sanctuary will be pitch black (other than lights for our organist). The lights will turn on at a key point, and we will process in the joy of the resurrection.
Resurrection Celebration (Sunday, March 20th @9:00am)
This is a service of exceeding joy. Much of the service is very similar to a typical Sunday service, but many elements are swapped out for an Easter themed element. Processionals, an over-abundance of the word “Alleluia”, and beautiful music are the marks of this service.
CONCLUSION
Whether you go to all three, a pair of the services, or only one, the joy of the resurrection and Christ’s deliverance of you from death will ring out clearly. However, know that should you attend all of the services that week, each service shall build upon one another. From the Lenten service on April 6th to Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to the trio of Easter Services, each service will build upon the other as we focus upon the unknown love of our Savior upon the cross and the over-abundant joy of the Resurrection. God’s blessings to you this Lenten and Easter Season.
Last Updated: 4/12/2025