WASHINGTON — People from near and far got an early start to their Easter Sunday with the Easter sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial.
“I had to get up at four in the morning,” said Gary Mayo, who made the trip in from Warrenton to be at the Lincoln Memorial in time for the 6:28 a.m. sunrise.
But the early wake-up was no big deal to most attendees.
“It is Easter and we are celebrating with Abe [Lincoln],” Karen Hanson told WTOP.
She and her husband, Rob, made the trip from Florida’s Space Coast to take part.
“We try to do an Easter sunrise wherever we are,” Rob explained. “Last year, we were in Charleston, went to Magnolia Gardens.”
Their daughter lives in the D.C. area and told them this was a must-do when they visit.
It was a no-brainer, especially with the nice weather as temperatures sat in the mid-60s before dawn.
“Oh, it is beautiful,” Hanson stated. “We were concerned coming up that it was going to be chilly. We’re probably going to be sweating later on.”
Family also drew Wiley Clark to D.C. for the sunrise service.
“It’s the first time for me,” said Clark, who made the trip from North Carolina. “My daughter lives in this area and she is part of this beautiful choir. So, she invited me to come up and celebrate.”
While there were many first-timers, there were also plenty of people making a return.
Dylan Murphy and her mother lost count of the number of years they spent Easter Sunday with the nation’s 16th president.
They think this is their 10th year.
“I think this is really a special thing about the District,” Murphy said. “It’s something someone needs to experience at some point.”
“It’s just a familial thing for our church,” Josh Wertzberger shared.
For Wertzberger, this is his eighth year at the sunrise service.
No matter how many times he comes, it is always special to him.
“The view,” Wertzberger named as the best part of the event. “It’s kind of surreal when the sun starts to rise over the Washington Monument.”
The view, music, company and prayer put together make it one of the unique ways Washingtonians — and visitors — spend their Easter Sunday morning.
