The history of the Easter Sunrise Service

The first recorded Easter Sunrise Service was an impromptu gathering in Herrnhut, Germany. Early on Easter morning 1732, a small group of young Moravian men went to the local cemetery for a special time of worship.

The next year, the group invited their entire congregation to join them, and a tradition was born. Within a few years, Easter sunrise worship was a staple of Moravian congregations.

The small group was known as a band, a term the early Methodist movement also used. The first Methodists and the Moravians shared some connections. John Wesley was impressed with the calm faith displayed by a group of Moravian missionaries during a storm on their journey from England to Georgia.