Over two dozen participants from three Friendship churches gathered together as the sun broke over East Hill, south of the hamlet, this morning, joining thousands of churches around the world for Easter sunrise services in respective time zones.
Pastors and congregants from the First United Methodist Church of Friendship, the United Church of Friendship, and Followers of the Way – Nile Community Church came together for the service before traveling to the Methodist church for breakfast.
Traditional Easter Sunday services also were conducted by Christian churches throughout Allegany County and beyond.
Christians celebrate Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, as the day that Jesus Christ was discovered to have risen from the dead after being crucified three earlier by Roman soldiers on a cross at Calvary, or Golgotha, outside Jerusalem, and buried in a guarded tomb, which was discovered empty on Easter morning.
Histories of Holy Week occurrences more than 2,000 years ago, culminating in today’s observances, are provided in each of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament of the Bible, including Matthew chapters 21 through 28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19 through 24 and John 12 through 21.