White doves fly over parishioners at the conclusion of Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners applaud following the sermon at Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Mountainside Master Chorale sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dr. Jim Reeve, founding pastor of Faith Church, delivers the sermon during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dr. Jim Reeve, founding pastor of Faith Church, delivers the sermon during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dr. Jim Reeve, founding pastor of Faith Church, delivers the sermon during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dr. Jim Reeve, founding pastor of Faith Church, delivers the sermon during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dr. Jim Reeve, founding pastor of Faith Church, delivers the sermon during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The moon is still setting as parishioners assemble early Easter Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Mountainside Master Chorale sing G.F. Handel’s “Worthy is the Lamb (from Messiah)” during Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Parishioners attend Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Pastor Rafael Gomez delivers the Call to Worship early Easter Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A glorious day breaks over the church on Easter Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023, at Forest Lawn in Covina Hills. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
With the holiest day on the Christian calendar free of COVID-era restrictions, congregations around Los Angeles County headed out on Sunday, April 9, to beaches, parks, cemeteries, courtyards — and, oh yes, inside churches, too — to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Other traditions, including community egg hunts and family gatherings, were plentiful, too, amid mild springtime weather.
For the Easter worshipers at Forest Lawn Covina-Hills, the sun rose Sunday on a resurrected Easter service, which had gone virtual during the last two pandemic years.
Not this year, though, as the Covina Forest Lawn joined with its sites in Long Beach, Hollywood Hills, Cathedral City and Cypress for the annual ecumenical service.
“It feels great,” said Galen Goben, clergy services director for Forest Lawn.
“It’s wonderful to be back together again,” Goben added. “It’s like brand new again in so many ways. It’s simply spectacular to be on the hillside, the sun rising, the music, the whole pageantry of the experience.”
Religious service attendance was among the many aspects of life affected the past three years by COVID-19 pandemic-spurred restrictions, forcing many houses of faith to gather outdoors or to add livestreaming services for congregations to worship at home. But with most COVID-era guidelines erased statewide and in L.A. County at the end of March, Sunday’s services were reflective of the wave of normalcy that has spread in the region, though many worshippers still opt for masks and churches routinely offer masks and hand sanitizers as well as enduring online services.
While coronavirus infections and hospitalizations eases countywide, Easter was not totally free of contemporary entanglements. The soaring price of eggs — a traditional symbol of new life and the colorful centerpiece of egg hunts for children — complicated celebrations somewhat this year. And some lawmakers took aim at the ingredients of Peeps, the neon-colored holiday stalwart.
Faith, meanwhile, endured. Easter Sunday Mass, the Mass of the Resurrection of Our Lord, was celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in English at 10 a.m. by Msgr. Antonio Cacciapuoti, the cathedral’s pastor. Mass was scheduled in Spanish at 12:30 p.m. by Archbishop José H. Gomez.
During the Mass, after renewing their baptismal promises, all faithful received a blessing with Easter holy water as a reminder that, in and through Christ, they have died and been born again through the waters of baptism.
The feast of the Resurrection of Christ is the oldest and most important Christian celebration. Christians believe that by rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrated his power over sin and death, manifesting his divinity as the Son of God. According to the Christian Scriptures, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who offered his life for the sins of the world as was prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Revive LA Pastor Joe Ramirez, right, and his wife Pastor Cyndi Ramirez sing with Vincent Panigazzi, left, and Steven Burkholder at Revive L.A.’s third annual Easter Sunrise service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
People attend the Westside Easter Sunrise Service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
People attend the Westside Easter Sunrise Service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
People attend the Westside Easter Sunrise Service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
People attend an Easter Sunrise service by Revive LA at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Laura Busch, Michael Busch, Lora Kirby and Brenda Arias, from left, talk following an Easter Sunrise service held by Revive LA at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Revive LA Pastor Cyndi Ramirez preaches at Revive L.A.’s third annual Easter Sunrise service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Revive LA Pastor Joe Ramirez, right, and his wife Pastor Cyndi Ramirez sing with Vincent Panigazzi, left, and Steven Burkholder at Revive L.A.’s third annual Easter Sunrise service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Revive LA held its third annual Easter Sunrise service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Revive LA Pastor Cyndi Ramirez preaches at Revive L.A.’s third annual Easter Sunrise service at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Pastors Joe Ramirez and Cyndi Ramirez of Revive L.A. Church welcomed members of the congregation and Los Angeles area residents to an Easter sunrise service at 6:31 a.m. at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.
“People should expect to enjoy the sunrise on beautiful Easter, Resurrection Day, along with music, preaching and fellowship,” said Joe Ramirez in an email in advance of the church’s third annual Easter sunrise service at the popular beach.
Ramirez said they averaged about 30-60 people at the last two Easter services, with a nice mix of adults, children and pets. In addition to the duos’ sermons, there was a worship team to sing praise music as participants enjoyed the symbolic moment of the sunrise.
“In the previous years, we noticed people walking and exercising on the boardwalk stopping to partake in our celebration. Our message in a nutshell is ‘He is Risen,’ Ramirez also wrote.
Easter is the culmination of Holy Week which began on April 2 this year with Palm Sunday and included Holy Thursday and the observance of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on Good Friday. Some churches also observed the Great Vigil on Saturday.
For Christians, Easter stands for Jesus’ triumph over death and, for those who follow his teachings, his resurrection means a promise of eternal life for believers.
Ramirez, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and his wife Cyndi Ramirez, founded Revive L.A. in 2016.
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown prays for the gathered congregation at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown greets and addresses the congregation at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown reads from Matthew 28 at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown reads from Matthew 28 at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown reads from Matthew 28 at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown reads from Matthew 28 at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
The Reverend Dr. David C. Brown prays for the gathered congregation at an Easter sunrise service in Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
A congregation gathers together to celebrate Easter at a sunrise service at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on Sunday, April 9th, 2023. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
Rev. Dr. David C. Brown hosted Easter sunrise service amid the stunning vistas of the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes. The towering glass and stone structure is framed by a redwood grove on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The coast provided many other seaside settings to celebrate renewal. Not far away, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church celebrated a “Sunrise Mass on the Beach” on the sand at 11th Street, south of the Hermosa Beach Pier, to a congregation poised on blankets and beach chairs.
A sunrise service was held on the beach north of the Manhattan Beach Pier, conducted by the Manhattan Beach Community Church, which is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
And Mt. Olive Lutheran Church held its Easter service at 7 a.m. on Santa Monica Beach, south of Lifeguard Tower 26.
Meanwhile, nonprofits made sure that the needy were not forgotten on the day steeped in celebration and faith.
At Skid Row’s Los Angeles Mission, LAPD Chief Michel Moore and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna were scheduled to assist in serving a mammoth meal to homeless individuals.
The L.A. Mission has been feeding the homeless for decades and their services are considered especially crucial during the holiday season. Along with a hot meal, Easter services would include toiletries and other support items.
Not far away, Sixth Street was closed in front of The Midnight Mission to accommodate the nearly 2,000 homeless and near-homeless individuals and families who will be served a traditional Easter meal and receive hygiene items.
The Midnight Mission planned to serve 2,000 pounds of herb chicken, 45 gallons of gravy, 1,000 pounds of honey glazed spiral ham, 1,000 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes and 700 pounds of seasonal vegetables, according to Georgia Berkovich, its director of public affairs.
The actor Mr. T was scheduled to be among the more than 200 corporate and community volunteers preparing and serving food.
There will also be an Easter Village where children will be able to meet the Easter Bunny, played by comedian and The Midnight Mission alumnus Logan Hobson, and receive baskets full of candy and other treats.
“Of the many services The Midnight provides to our unique community, one of the most important is the sense of family we offer to those who often feel lost and forgotten during the holidays and other days of celebration,” Berkovich said.
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