Order of Worship for the Easter Sunrise Service 2023

GATHERING IN DARKNESS AND SILENCE

CHIMING OF THE HOUR           

BREAKING THE DAWN Remain/Hallelujah Chorus - El Dorado

GREETING AND INTRODUCTION   
Grace to you from Jesus Christ, who was and is, and is to come.
Beloved, our Savior Jesus Christ has passed from death to life.
Hear the word of God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the Word was life and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.   

BLESSING OF THE NEW FIRE                                                       
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                  
ONE: May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. Christ is our light!  
MANY: Alleluia! Thanks be to God!          

OPENING HYMN: Christ the Lord is Risen Today - El Dorado
            
*GOSPEL LESSON: John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look* into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,* ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.                

EASTER EXAMEN

St. Ignatius created the Examen to be a very short prayer which can be prayed at any time. In the Examen, we review our recent past to find God and his blessings in our daily life.
Ignatius would say that the Examen should be the most important moment of our day, because this moment affects every other moment.

  • Take a deep breath and hold it for a moment - taking in God’s love, light and strength - and let it out slowly, exhaling any worries, cares or fears.

  • Invite the Holy Spirit to help you see Easter as God sees it.

  • This year is different. What was normal a year ago is no longer so. Even as a vaccine is more readily available, we are still self-isolating and keeping ourselves from work, family and friends.

  • Think about this Easter season, the Resurrection that we are celebrating. Take a moment to recognize how God has been present in the days since last Easter Sunday.

  • Think about the things you have experienced over this past year which you are grateful for.
    Be specific; it can be time spent with your family, new ways to connect with friends over social media, something special you’ve discovered, warmer weather, sunshine, spring flowers beginning to blossom. Recognize the experience a Resurrection experience. Take a moment to thank God for your gift.

  • As you pay attention to your feelings, ask yourself where God seems to be present in your Easter-Resurrection experience.
    Did you experience God’s love, forgiveness or mercy?
    What graces do you recognize in your Easter experience?

  • Now take a moment and review where you may not have recognized God’s presence in your Easter-Resurrection experience.
    Think deeply about this moment when you saw the need for love and didn’t feel that love.
    What was the behavior that may have distanced you from God in the moment?
    Ask for forgiveness and the grace to recognize God’s presence in all things.

  • Finally, think about what you are hopeful for and what you are looking forward to as the Easter season continues to unfold.
    Offer these to God and ask for God’s blessing on your hopes and dreams.
    Invite God to journey with you throughout the rest of the Easter season and beyond.

  • Let us pray the Lord's Prayer in the language in which you learned it first and best:

    Our Father in heaven,

    Hallowed be your Name.

    Your Kingdom come.

    Your will be done

    on earth, as it is in heaven.

    Give us today our daily bread.

    Forgive us our sins,

    as we forgive those who sin against us.

    Save us from the time of trial,

    and deliver us from evil.

    For the kingdom,

    the power,

    and the glory are yours

    Now and forever.

    Amen.

                                       
RENEWAL OF BAPTISM VOWS                                  
Sisters and Brothers, on this day, when we celebrate the rising of Christ from death, let us gather at the water to celebrate our baptism, which is the sign and seal of our new life in Christ, by saying the promises that were made at our baptism…Do you renounce the spiritual forces of evil?
MANY: I renounce the spiritual forces of evil. 
ONE: Do you believe in God? 
MANY: I believe in God.
ONE: Do you believe in Jesus Christ? 
MANY: I believe in Jesus Christ. 
ONE: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? 
MANY: I believe in the Holy Spirit.

Closing: O Happy Day/My Sweet Lord – El Dorado

PROCLAMATION AND SENDING FORTH        
One: Go to the world! Go into all the earth! Go preach the cross where Christ renews life’s worth, baptizing as a sign of our rebirth.  
           

 Christ is risen!                         Christos anesti!            
Christ is risen, indeed!         Alethios anesti!             
Alleluia!                                   Alleluia!            
Alleluia!                                 Alleluia!

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