MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Maryville College hosted an event early on Sunday morning to celebrate Easter.
Starting at 7 a.m. on Lloyd Beach, across Circle Drive from Lloyd Hall. Jamie Webster, the interim campus minister, led it. The "Easter Sunrise Service" was part of a tradition more than a century old at Maryville College, according to a press release.
The first sunrise service was held in the center of campus in 1918, according to the release. Then, in 1938, the service was moved to the Maryville College Woods before moving to Lloyd Beach in recent years.
“I think with Easter services, wherever they’re happening, people really care about the tradition,” said Webster. “For some people, Easter morning may be the only time they ever set foot in a worship service — and where in the world is it a better place to celebrate new life than on the hillside at Maryville College, looking out toward the mountains?”
The college said that the tradition is informal and interdenominational.
"To be able to be here, outdoors, first thing in the morning — a new day. Easter's all about new life and new hope and so to be here at this place, at this time of day, to celebrate new life and new how is pretty fantastic," said Webster.
Dozens of participants joined her for the early morning service on Maryville College's campus.