The Easter Vigil

            It was only a few years ago when I attended an Easter Vigil for the first time at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral.  In earlier portions of my life, I was often involved in choirs that had concerts on Saturday night on Easter weekend.  Thus, I had never been involved in or attended an Easter Vigil.

            Traditionally, the service begins after sunset with the lighting of a new fire outside.  The paschal candle is lit from the new fire – the candle that symbolizes the presence of the risen Christ in our midst – and the person holding the paschal candle leads the procession into the church.

            The church is dark inside, and those who gather are each given an individual candle so that the light from the paschal candle can be passed around.  Then, as the procession heads up the aisle, there are sung responses until the paschal candle is placed on its stand.  Then an assisting minister with a good voice chants the Easter Proclamation.

            An Easter Vigil includes anywhere from four to twelve readings from the Old Testament which take you through the entire history of salvation.  After each reading there is a sung response, which could be a Psalm or a hymn.  Since the individual candles are now extinguished, there is just enough light in the church to be able to see the hymns.

            Eventually we get to the New Testament, and there are readings from Romans and the gospel of John, and then a sermon.  By the time we get to the gospel, all of the lights are on, the altar candles are lit, and the altar has been dressed for Easter.  Most of this happens during the singing of one or more Easter hymns.

            The service concludes with the celebration of Holy Communion, and the final hymn is a celebration of the resurrection.  Often some snacks follow the service, as the congregation breaks the Lenten fast together. However, there is more!  The Easter Vigil is also the traditional time for people to be baptized.  Preparation for baptism would take place during Lent, and then baptism would occur at the Vigil of Easter.  In fact, a full Easter Vigil service can be three or four hours long and often lasts until after midnight.

            It is unfortunate that for many people, attending a service like this just seems like too much.  In fact, if you attend all of the Holy Week services, you would end up attending worship four days in a row!  I have had some Anglicans tell me that because they love the Easter Vigil service, they would rather go to that service than attend on Easter morning.  For myself, I am grateful to have been able to attend some of these services without having to organize and lead the whole thing!

            I am also grateful that our youth have been able to experience at least a modified version of an Easter Vigil every two years.  The contrast between the beginning and the end of an Easter Vigil is actually quite striking.  It begins in darkness and ends with lots of light.  It begins with a bare altar and ends with an altar fully dressed for Easter.  It begins as Holy Saturday and ends as the Day of Resurrection.

            For any of you who might want to experience an Easter Vigil, there are certainly opportunities to do so.  First Lutheran and Church of the Cross have often held a joint Easter Vigil service.  There are also Anglican or Roman Catholic parishes that have an Easter Vigil.

            Ultimately, my prayer for all of us would be that we experience the power of the resurrection in our own lives, and that we also would move from darkness to light and from death into life through Jesus Christ.

                        In Christ,

                        Pastor Lynne Hutchison