Some of those congregations, such as Gainesville's First United Methodist Church, moved their services indoors, since Easter morning came with rain showers. Others, such as Chestatee Baptist Church, braved the elements and gathered outside for a traditional daybreak service.
IBMA continues tradition of community sunrise service
For many years now, the dozen or so member churches of the Interdenominational Black Ministers Association have held a community sunrise service on Easter morning. This year was no different, as the various congregations gathered at Rucker Memorial Baptist Church on Floyd Road.
Pastor Rodney Lackey of Antioch Baptist Church on Mill Street in Gainesville delivered the message, since his congregation hosted the event last year. He said he prepared two different sermons for Easter morning - one for the sunrise service and one for the 10 a.m. service at Antioch. Still, the common message would be resurrection:
"We have the ability through the risen Christ to rise up above whatever circumstances and situations that we are facing in life," he said.
The IBMA not only sponsors the annual Easter service, according to Lackey, but it also is active in civil rights issues in Hall County and surrounding areas.
Anglican Catholic parish celebrates Easter in new building
For the better part of the last 7 years, the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi has been without a permanent place of worship. Founded in 2006 after a number of Gainesville locals decided to form a traditional Anglican church, St. Francis began with no name and no priest, and initially consisted of only 4 families that gathered to worship. Now, after years of changing locations and tireless effort to expand the congregation, the parishioners of St. Francis finally have a place to call home.
A parcel of land, located at 1750 Thompson Bridge Road, was purchased by the church in December 2011, and work on the building began last summer. Following nearly a year of construction, the congregation was able to move into the new facility, which features stained glass windows and a wooden alter made by parishioners, two weeks ago.
Father Shaughn Casey, Priest-in-Charge for St. Francis, said that the timetable for finishing construction was a blessing:
"It was very important to us that we got in in time for Easter, because that would have been a missed opportunity if we hadn't, so I'm glad that it worked out," he said.
Casey said that the congregation, which ranges between 40 and 50 attendees each week, has a number of goals in place now that they have a permanent home, including burning the mortgage when the building has been fully paid off and expanding their outreach program with a sister parish in Rwanda.
This story will be updated with photos from area churches throughout the morning.
Sunrise service at Chestatee Baptist Church
First Presbyterian Church
St. Francis of Assisi Anglican Catholic Church
Central Baptist Church
http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/3/259996