Did You Ever Wonder... about Easter Vigil?…

Perhaps you have seen advertised that other congregations are having an Easter Vigil service, and you have been curious as to what this is.

Easter Vigil is different than an Easter Sunrise service or an Easter Morning service. First of all, it takes place on a Saturday night, not Sunday morning.

In the Early Church, Easter Vigil was when people would be baptized and when people would officially join the church. The Gospel lesson read for that service was rather long- it encompassed the narrative of the Last Supper into the end of Matthew's Gospel.

Today, many Lutheran churches, in addition to Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox among others, do indeed celebrate this service. There is often a movement that happens- the service begins with a great light, sometimes signified by a bonfire, which then leads into a number of scripture readings which then gives way to a prayer service, and then the evening concludes with communion.

Would you like to see us try an Easter Vigil service next year? Let Pastor Brian know!