Hundreds attend Easter sunrise service on Wrightsville Beach

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A community Easter sunrise service brought many people to Wrightsville Beach to worship on the holiday as the sun came up.

The 6:30 am service on the sand included a community prayer, hymns, bible readings, and a benediction. Although a traditional sunrise service was held last year on the beach, this was the first to be held since all pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

One woman traveled from Boone with her family to attend the service, and said it was an Easter tradition for them.

“It was beautiful, I mean first and foremost your personal relationship with Jesus, is just the best day of the year, when he has risen and he is alive, and to see that with God’s creation of the sun coming up, and then to hear all of the churches and the songs of worship they were offering, and the message, it was just affirming and beautiful,” said Kim Henderson, attendee.

Another traveler, from Greensboro said during his visit over the Easter weekend, he looked forward to attending the service, pleased by the crowd turn out.

“It’s wonderful to be able to be anywhere and see lots of people, especially to see a lot of people with a lot of different churches, denominations. You can see that people do really want to be together, really want to come together,” Tim Dix, attendee.

Wrightsville United Methodist Church was the lead organizer for this year’s community Easter sunrise service. Worship leaders said the number of people in attendance rivaled pre-pandemic levels.

“Knowing that this is the first time really, that we’ve been able to get together for what feels kind of more like a normal Easter. I know leaders in the just have had two really difficult Easter season’s, trying to do everything with appropriate pandemic restrictions, and to get to have I’m sure , –you know, close to two thousand people here celebrating the resurrection of Christ it’s just really, really incredible,” said Rev. Julia Hayes, Wrightsville United Methodist Church Associate Pastor.

Multiple churches in the area collaborated for the service, including Little Chapel on the Boardwalk, Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist, St. Andrew’s On-the-Sound Episcopal,  St. Therese Catholic, Wrightsville Beach Baptist and Wrightsville United Methodist Church.