Easter sunrise service, holiday meals, 5K and egg hunt set for April 8-9 at Lake Junaluska
March 16, 2023
Lake Junaluska will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 9, with an uplifting outdoor sunrise service at the Lake Junaluska Cross, and holiday breakfast and lunch buffets. Also Easter weekend, Long’s Chapel will host an outdoor egg hunt for children near Stuart Auditorium following the Friends of the Lake 5K Road Race & Walk on Saturday, April 8.facebook.com/lakejunaluska. A brass quintet will provide music, and the guest preacher, the Rev. William H. Gattis will deliver a sermon titled “When Life Came Back…” “Gathered around and beneath the Lake Junaluska Cross, we watch as the early morning sunrise separates the night from day: a visual reminder that darkness is not our destiny because it is Easter morning!” said Gattis. “Memorial gardens, as beautiful as they are, don't do anything for the soul. Jesus Christ is the resurrection and life! Easter is not about when we die but when we choose to live even in the face of death and brokenness.” Gattis has more than 50 years of service as a minister in the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. He served churches in rural settings, small towns, suburbs, and next door to a major university for 18 years. In addition to his local church ministry, he has served on the North Carolina Conference staff as conference director of youth and young adult ministry, been a district superintendent for eight years and concluded 50 years as the Executive Director of the Academy for Leadership Excellence. Sunrise service attendees are encouraged to dress warmly for cool mountain morning temperatures. In the event of rain, the service will be held at Memorial Chapel. Check lakejunaluska.com/easter for possible schedule changes.
“We invite everyone to join us this Easter at Lake Junaluska as we gather in joy and celebrate God’s gift of new life,” said Ken Howle, executive director of Lake Junaluska. The sunrise service on April 9 will begin at 7 a.m. at the outdoor amphitheater that overlooks the lake from beneath the Lake Junaluska Cross and is open to the public for in-person worship. The service also will be streamed live on Lake Junaluska’s Facebook page at


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