Easter is an early riser

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By tanya Canino and Jean Eick
Bonanza Staff Writers, tcanino@tahoebonanza.com
March 21, 2008

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Sunday's holiday is teh earliest since the same date in 1818. The next earliest? March 22, 2285
With red-stained hands, Pastor Chip Larson of Christ the King Lutheran Church described why he just finished dying hundreds of Easter eggs red.

“This is an old, old tradition to give out red eggs to represent the early sunrise spilling onto the stone as it was rolled away,” said Larson, of the Christian celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

This year, however, the sun will rise Easter morning earlier than it has for a lifetime.

Sunday is the earliest Easter since March 22, 1818. And, it will be the earliest Easter until March 22, 2285. The last time Easter fell on March 23 was in 1913; and it will not fall on March 23 again until 2228.

“You would have to be 95 or above to have experienced an earlier Easter,” said Kathyrn Dunning, pastor of the Kings Beach United Methodist Church.

Easter is determined by the Hebrew calendar, and it is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. The spring equinox was Thursday and the full moon is today, she said.

However, Passover is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the Jewish calendar year. So this year, the eight-day Jewish holiday marking the liberation of Israelites from slavery falls about a month after Easter, beginning on April 19 and going through the 26th.

The early date for Easter has some wondering how it will affect the celebration.

Larson holds a sunrise service on Tahoe City’s Commons Beach with the First Baptist Church of Tahoe City that usually attracts 100 people every year; and he is a little concerned about the faithful getting up that early when it is still winter outside.

The service was changed from its normal time of 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. this year, in time to see the sunrise over Lake Tahoe at 6:58 a.m.

While there is still snow on the beach, the walkways and the parking lot are clear, he said.

At the Kings Beach United Methodist Church, the traditional sunrise service on the beach has given way in the last couple of years to an inside sunrise service, Dunning said.

“I prefer to go to the outdoor service but it always depends on the weather,” said Ruth Steele, a member of the church. “It is an exciting time to see the sun come up and be there praising the Lord.”

Whether one greets the sun on Easter day or not, most people who go to church should be ready for Easter.

“We live in such a secular world that people think Easter is very early,” Dunning said.
However, many Christians have been observing Lent for the past six weeks.

“We’ve been preparing for Easter for six weeks. It shouldn’t seem early for us in the church, although it does,” she said.

Jim Beebe, pastor of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, also is not worried about Easter being early this year.

“It is going to work out just fine,” he said.



Good Friday Services today
St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church will have a service at noon at 341 Village Blvd. (775) 831-1418.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will have three services at noon, 3:30 and 6 p.m. at the church at Mount Rose and Kelly Drive, Incline Village. (775) 831-0490.

Kings Beach United Methodist Church will have a service at 7 p.m at the corner of Bear and Cutthroat Streets. ( 530) 546-2290.

The Village Church is having a community Good Friday service with North Shore and Truckee churches at 7 p.m. The church is at 736 McCourry Blvd. on the corner of Mt. Rose Highway and McCourry Blvd. (775) 831-0784.

Easter Sunrise Services, Sunday, March 23:

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will have an indoor sunrise service at 6 a.m. at the church. The church is at Mount Rose and Kelly Drive in Incline Village. (775) 831-0490.

Christ the King Lutheran Church and The First Baptist Church of Tahoe City will hold a combined sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. at Commons Beach in Tahoe City. This is a special service of music, a brief sermon and holy communion.

At Kings Beach United Methodist Church the sunrise service will begin at 7 a.m. at the church located at the corner of Bear and Cutthroat Streets. (530) 546-2290. Breakfast will follow and be served until 9 a.m.

Easter Morning Worship, Sunday, March 23:

The Village Church will have services at 8 and 10 a.m. to celebrate Easter. The church is at 736 McCourry Blvd. on the corner of Mt. Rose Highway and McCourry Blvd. (775) 831-0784.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will have two services in addition to its sunrise service at 9 and 11 a.m. at the church. The church is at Mount Rose and Kelly Drive in Incline Village. (775) 831-0490.

Christ the King Lutheran Church of Tahoe City will have a 9 a.m. service in addition to its sunrise service at the church at 3125 North Lake Blvd. in Tahoe City. (530) 583-1222.

Kings Beach United Methodist Church will have a family worship service at 10 a.m. at the church at the corner of Bear and Cutthroat Streets. (530) 546-2290.

The North Tahoe Community Church will have an Easter Worship Celebration “Loving God . . . Loving People” is at 10:30 a.m. at the Incline High School gym.