What: 72nd Annual Easter Sunday Sunrise Service
Where: Deeds Carillon Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton
When: 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 31
More Info: (937) 222-4322 or www.christianconnections.org
For the 72nd year in a row, people are invited to gather at Carillon Park to honor the risen Son while watching the rising sun. The Greater Dayton Christian Connection and Dayton History will host this Easter Sunday event bright and early to catch the beauty of the earliest morning rays.
This worship service will include churches from a variety of denominations. Retired Judge A. J. Wagner will deliver this year’s Easter message from a Catholic perspective. Joan Ulloth, a member of the Kettering Seventh Day Adventist Church, will be directing the Kettering Advent Ringers. The Silent Praise Mime Team from Summit Christian Church will be on hand to perform the Ministry of Mime.
“We’ll be playing hymn medleys that include ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today,’ the ‘Strife is O’er’ and ‘Hallelujah Chorus,” said Ulloth, who’s been directing the adult bell choir for the past nine years. “Our partial group will include Sharon Bond, Kathy Boyd, Jasmine Purvis, Charlie Robaina, Zach Trapp, and the husband/wife/daughter team of Jon Blaza, Glenda Blaza, and Jessica Blaza.”
This Easter Sunday Sunrise Service is an ecumenical gathering, and all are welcome to participate. Attendees may wish to bring chairs or blankets for this free event.
“The Greater Dayton Christian Connections exists to connect Christians, churches and organizations to transform lives and build loving, reconciling communities,” said executive director Crystal Walker.
The largest carillon in Ohio was built in 1942 at the request of Col. and Mrs. Edward Deeds, and the 151-foot tower encases 57 bells. The first concert at Carillon Park was during the Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday that same year.
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