Easter in Salem

Holy Week is a very busy and very beautiful time for Moravians in North Carolina. In addition to the readings for Holy Week each evening, Home Church has a communion service on Thursday, a crucifixion service at 2:15pm on Good Friday, a lovefeast Friday evening, and a Great Sabbath concert on Saturday evening. Each service is beautiful and deeply touching, and they help us prepare for Easter morning.

When my wife and I were living in Pennsylvania, every year we would drive 500 miles to share in the services in Salem, especially the lovefeast and sunrise service. The lovefeast begins with the gospel narrative of Jesus’ burial and the hymns give words to our grief, but gradually the hymns become songs of joy as we look toward the promise of heaven and the assurance that God will wipe away all tears.

On Easter Sunday, over five thousand people gather in Salem Square in the pre-dawn gloom. Some are babies bundled up in strollers, while some of the older folks are clutching their walkers. Julie and I always brought our children to the service when they were young. I remember holding a sleeping child with her head on my shoulder. We greet friends who always stand in the same spot even though we can barely see them by the light of the nearly full moon.

Since the 1940s the sunrise service in Salem has been broadcast in various forms, including on the Armed Forces Radio. Today it is livestreamed with narration before the service and when the liturgy is paused. Many people who have moved away or are no longer able to attend join us in a virtual community. When our youngest daughter was away at university, she would sit in a cemetery near her dormitory and watch the service.

We rub the sleep from our eyes as we listen to the birdsong and enjoy peaceful meditation. Thousands of people from many different churches gather outside the church. Everyone is truly welcome. Some are wearing ‘church clothes’; some are in blue jeans and puffy coats. Some of them were not prepared for the cold. Some people in the crowd, like my wife and I, have been coming to Salem for decades, but for others it is their first time. This crowd is so different from other crowds. They are not waiting to see a celebrity or to dance and shout. The crowd quietly waits for the pastor to step out and proclaim that ‘The Lord is Risen!’ We respond, ‘The Lord is risen indeed’. And then we profess our faith – not as Moravians alone but together as Christians.

Partway through the liturgy we make a slow procession to God’s Acre. Family members and volunteers cleaned the stones and put flowers on all the graves. It takes a long time because there are typically over five thousand people processing. While walking, we listen to the band play chorales antiphonally. One band plays a line and another answers. The 400-member band is divided into several smaller groups so that the procession is surrounded by music. There is something deeply touching about music wafting over the dewy hills of the God’s Acre. Most of the band members have been up since 2:00am making rounds to awaken people. They also get to enjoy a large ham and egg breakfast before they take their places. Some of the people have been playing in the band for over 60 years.

The bands process and gradually assemble on a grassy area in the middle of the cemetery. The music swells and then we resume our confession of faith as the sky grows pink and purple and gold. We face the sun as it rises and dispels the gloom. We feel its rays warming our faces and its light illuminating our world. We are truly blessed.

Most years, my family also goes to the small Moravian Church where I was raised to join them on their God’s Acre. Their ‘sunrise’ service is at 10:00am so the band can also play in Salem. It is a little different to gather after the sun has risen, but the liturgy is just as beautiful. We stand by the gravestones of my daughter, sister, mother, and father and remember the days when we used to stand beside them. The ties that bind us are strongest at Easter. We rejoice that love is stronger than death.

Br Craig Atwood

Associate Pastor at Home Moravian Church