Annual Easter Sunrise Service at Centenary College planned for April 17
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary’s Hargrove Memorial Amphitheater (the Shell) will be the setting for the College’s community-wide Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, April 17. The service begins at 6:00 a.m. and is free and open to the public.
All interested singers are invited to join the Centenary College Choir to form the choir for the service, which features a presentation of the Passion and Resurrection narratives expressed through dramatic readings and music. The anthems for the service range from hymn arrangements to spirituals to classic selections from Handel’s Messiah and Dubois’ Seven Last Words.
"So much of our ancient culture revolved around the night and day, and the interaction of the earth and sun,” said Dr. David Hobson, director of the Centenary College Choir. “The early Christians made powerful use of this dynamic in their daily worship observances and invoked powerful theological metaphors for the rising sun as Christ's light pouring into the world. In our modern world, we are used to light and dark whenever we desire or need it, but the Easter Sunrise service reorients us as the ancient Christians perceived: the darkness vanquished by the rising Christ, whose light shines on all. This is an eternal act throughout all of time and space, but it always seems so needed in our current moments, no matter the challenges that swirl around us."
All interested singers should contact David Hobson (dhobson@centenary.edu) to sign up and procure music. A dress rehearsal for all interested singers will be held on Saturday, April 16, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the amphitheater. Call time is 5:30 a.m. on Sunday for the 6:00 a.m. service, which lasts approximately one hour.