Event/Site: Easter Sunrise Service at God's Acre on Old Hwy 52 in King

Date: The service begins twenty minutes before sunrise.

Type: Religious service with Moravian band music and congregational singing
acompanied by the Moravian band of the King Moravian Church.

Location: God's Acre, the Moravian graveyard in King, is located on Old Hwy 52 about 1 mile south of King Moravian Church, 228 West Dalton Road. From US Hwy 52, take the King exit. Go 1.5 miles into King. To go to God's Acre, turn right (east) onto Dalton Road. The cemetery will be on the left just past the Dairi-O. To go to King Moravian Church, turn left (west) onto Dalton Street. Go one block and the church will be on the right. In case of rain, the service is held in King Moravian Church. Click here for a map.

Cost: Free.

Parking: Free.

Special Needs Access: Venue is fully accessible.

Signage: Signs at location, but not en route.

Sponsor: King Moravian Church

Contact:
Rev. Jim Newsom
King Moravian Church
228 West Dalton Road
King, NC 27021
(336) 983-2710
(336) 983-7045 (fax)
jlnkmc@aol.com

Drake Flynt, Music Director
King Moravian Church
228 West Dalton Road
King, NC 27021
(336) 983-2710

Description of Event: In the dark before dawn on Easter Sunday, people begin to gather in God's Acre in King to herald the sunrise and celebrate the Resurrection. About 150 people come together in the little cemetery for the service. The Moravian band plays for ten or fifteen minutes at the beginning of the service, and then accompanies hymn-singing through the traditional liturgy. The band is composed of 20 to 25 members who are usually joined for Easter services by other musicians in the community and former band members who have moved and are back in town. In case of rain, the service takes place in King Moravian Church located one mile west on Dalton Road.

History of Site/Event: In King, the service has been held with little variation from the traditional liturgical form for several decades. The Moravian Sunrise Service is an old custom, and one rich in deep spiritual significance. It originated in Hernnhut, Saxony on the estate of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf by a band of religious refugees. On Easter Sunday in 1732, before dawn, a group of earnest young men met on "God's Acre" to sing appropriate hymns and to meditate upon the great fact of Christ's death and resurrection. With this simple beginning, the holding of a sunrise service on Easter morning became an annual feature in the Moravian Church wherever it has established itself.

Description of Site/Facility: God's Acre is a small Moravian cemetery enclosed by white fencing and located about a mile east of the church in King.

Significance of Site/Event to the Community: The Easter Sunrise Service, like the Moravian Lovefeasts, represents constancy and connection in a world of rapid change. As Drake Flynt explains, "These services are always the same and have been this way so many, many years…You can go away for ten or twenty years, come back, and they'll be here." The Easter Sunrise service also brings together worshippers and band members of different backgrounds. Other denominations have followed the Moravians' lead and have implemented Easter Sunrise services of their own.