Happening This Sunday

Who's Preaching Where on Easter Sunday

• Easter Vigil | 6 am in the Julia Garden & Church – The Rev. Trent Pettit
• Traditional Easter Services | 9 am & 11:15 am in the Church – The Rev. Dr. R. Leigh Spruill
• Awesome Worship Easter Sunday Service for Families | 9:15 am in the Hall Life Center – The Rev. Libby Garfield
• Modern Easter Worship | 11:15 am in the Hall Life Center – The Rev. John Sundara
• Easter Evening Service | 5 pm in the Chapel – The Rev. John Sundara

Worship Online

• Traditional Service in the Church (9 am - with Order of Service & Announcements)
• Modern Worship in the Hall Life Center (11:15 am - with Announcements)
  

All-Ages Education Hour — 
10:15 am Administration Building

There is no Sunday School meeting today.

Nursery: 8:30 am — 12:30 pm

• 2 months - age 2 | First floor nursery: Rm 104

Happening Today

Easter Vigil
Greet the dawn of Easter Day at 6 am in the Julia Garden with the kindling of the Easter fire, followed by a traditional Easter Vigil service and communion in the Church. Music by the SJD Chorale. All are invited to bring bells to ring at the first "Alleluia" of the Easter season!

Traditional Easter Service
This traditional Easter service at 9 am in the Church features familiar readings, joyous choral anthems, and a sermon. Nursery and childcare are available. An Easter egg hunt follows the service. Watch the livestream.

Awesome Worship Easter Sunday Service
Our Awesome Easter Worship at 9:15 am in the Hall Life Center is a special service designed for children through 3rd grade and their families and include communion and interactive sermons just for children. An Easter egg hunt for toddlers through 5th graders follows the service.

Traditional Easter Service
This traditional Easter service at 11:15 am in the Church features familiar readings, joyous choral anthems, and a sermon. Nursery and childcare are available.

Modern Easter Worship
Modern Easter worship is rooted in the Episcopal liturgy with modern music and hymns led by the SJD Worship Band. This service at 11:15 am in the Hall Life Center and is also be viewed by livestream. All egg hunters are asked to come early for the 10:30 am Easter egg hunt.

Easter Evening Service
Gather in the Chapel at 5pm on Easter evening for an intimate service in this sacred and special space. Hymns accompanied by the Chapel organ.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 28:1-10

28:10 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Musical Offering in the Church

Today we raise our voices together in glorious song as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, with grand music arranged for choir, organ, brass, and timpani. As is the tradition at St. John the Divine, our worship begins with the beloved hymn of praise “Crown him with many crowns.” The brass arrangement was commissioned for the re-consecration of the church in 2005 following a significant renovation which included the installation of the Letourneau organ and a much-improved acoustic. It was written by composer and organist Richard Webster who served many years as Director of Music at Trinity Church, Boston. The Fanfare and Introduction to the hymn was written later in celebration of the ministry of John Meier and Steve Newberry.

Sir Edward Bairstow was a prominent and influential musician of the Anglican church throughout the first part of the 20th Century. After holding several posts in London churches, he became Master of Music at York Minster in 1913, a post he held until his death in 1946. As a composer, he wrote almost exclusively for the Church. At the offertory, we hear his majestic Easter anthem, “Sing Ye, to the Lord,” based on Exodus 15:1-2. This is the song sung by Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea, celebrating God’s victory over the Egyptians. This work reflects Bairstow’s characteristic grand choral writing, capturing the joy and victory of the Easter Season.

At the Ministration, the choir offers two choral settings reflecting Mary Magdalene’s perspective of the Resurrection. One setting is by the late Renaissance Italian composer Andrea Gabrieli, the uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, and the other an arrangement of a 17th century German carol by contemporary English composer Peter Hurford.

In the minds of most worshipers in churches today, the hymn “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” which we sing at the close, is considered an essential part of the liturgy for Easter Day. The text by an anonymous 14th century poet has been matched with the jubilant tune we know and love since they first appeared together in an English hymnal in 1708. The final stanza we sing today was an addition by Charles Wesley “Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!”

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