Sunrise services and egg hunts will culminate Easter week at Christian churches across Marblehead, while Jewish congregations conclude their weeklong observation of Passover this weekend.
Grace Community Church will hold its sunrise service at Devereux Beach at 6 a.m. Easter Sunday, April 20, while Old North Church will begin its sunrise worship at 5:40 a.m. at Old Burial Hill.
But there are also a number of events and services for which churches are extending invitations to the community.
In a press release, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church said, “Through sacred liturgies, music and reflection, participants will experience the heart of the Christian faith in a spirit of reverence and renewal.:
The music at St. Andrew’s will be led by music director Christiana Goslin Bueno and accompanied by resident pianist Eleena Gelfgatt.
“This year’s songs invite folks of all ages and backgrounds into a musical experience in hopes attendees can connect with them in a personal way,” the church explained.
Remaining Holy Week services at St. Andrew’s will include a service marking Jesus’ final hours with his disciples. The commemoration of the Last Supper will begin with an agape meal (simple supper), followed by hand-washing, Eucharist and stripping of the altar.
On Good Friday, April 18, St. Andrew’s will host a solemn service — a meditative liturgy of prayer and reflection — at noon and then renew a 40-plus-year tradition with the performance of Bob Franke’s Good Friday Cantata featuring the St. Andrew’s choir and guest musicians from across the region at 8 p.m.
St. Andrew’s Easter Sunday services at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. will include include jazz instrumentalists Woody Pierre and William Bueno, along with guest vocalists Ogechi Okoye (alto), Leo Balkovetz (tenor) and Robert Allen (bass).
An Easter egg hunt for children up to age 9 will follow the 9:30 a.m. service. The church will also host a spoken Eucharist service at 8 a.m.
Grace Community Church’s sunrise service on Easter Sunday is one of three special services to which it invites believers and non-believers alike.
The church, 17 Pleasant St., will host its Good Friday service at 7 p.m. April 18, with Pastor Nick Gagnon continuing with the second of his three-part Holy Week sermon series, “Who is Jesus?” His sermon, titled “The Sacrificial Lamb,” will be drawn from John 19:16-42.
The Easter “SonRise Celebration” at 6 a.m. Sunday, April 20 will be co-led by pastors Gagnon and Steve Misarski, along with Stephen White from First Baptist Church of Salem, whose congregation will also be participating in the service.
Gagnon will then complete his three-part Holy Week sermon series by preaching his sermon titled “The Savior,” from John 20:1-31, at 10:30 a.m. at 17 Pleasant St.
Old North Church will also be marking Maundy Thursday with an intergenerational dinner and service, 5-6:30 p.m., along with the traditional candlelight Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service at 8 p.m.
“We will tell the story of Jesus’ last day: his betrayal and abandonment by his friends, his mistreatment by the government and religious authorities,” the church explains on its website. “We take the time to witness his suffering — and the suffering throughout our world — before the joy of resurrection on Easter Sunday.”
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church will host a Festal Eucharist service with music from 10-11:30 a.m. Easter Sunday, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead’s Easter Sunday service will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Easter Week service times and special events were not immediately available for Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Clifton Lutheran Church or St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church.
Meanwhile, Temple Emanu-El will conclude Passover with its Pesach Festival Morning Service and Yizkor from 10:30-noon Saturday, April 19.
Service information for Temple Sinai was not immediately available.
