RELIGION / JOHN DART : Easter Sunrise Services to Awaken the Spirit

Perhaps the rare, temporary relocation this year of the long-running Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service because of construction at the famed facility was providential, given that forecasters say it may rain Sunday morning.

San Fernando Valley residents who never miss the 5:45 a.m. Bowl service will find it has been moved to the Women’s Club of Hollywood, 1749 N. La Brea Ave.

There are three traditional outdoor Easter sunrise services in the Valley as well, the 70th annual service atop Mt. McGroarty near Sunland-Tujunga and services at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills and Westlake Village. Each has an alternate inside location if rain threatens.

Protestants and Catholics by the hundreds of thousands will observe Easter on Sunday, primarily at pew-packed church services where they will hear the biblical accounts of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Christian doctrine says that just as Christ rose from the dead, so will believers receive eternal life.

Eastern Orthodox churches, which will observe Easter this year on April 23, will begin their Holy Week observances on Sunday, one week behind the others.

The Easter story of rising from despair has special meaning this weekend for St. Cyril of Jerusalem Catholic Church in Encino, one of the many Valley churches where earthquake damage forced parishioners out of their normal place of worship into tents or parish halls.

At 7:30 p.m. today, St. Cyril parishioners will worship in their church building rather than in the social hall for the first time since the Jan. 17, 1994, temblor. Repairs and remodeling were not completed in time for Good Friday services but will be done in time for the Easter vigil tonight and subsequent Masses, a spokeswoman said.

The appearance of a tent on church grounds doesn’t always mean lingering quake repair problems. For instance, Hillcrest Christian Church in Granada Hills, a growing evangelical congregation, will hold 10 a.m. Easter services under a big tent on its grounds because the sanctuary is not large enough.

“This tent seats 1,500 people and I’m not sure it’s going to be big enough,” said the Rev. Dudley Rutherford, the senior pastor. “This will probably be the last year we can meet at this location.”

Another large, independent evangelical church, the Church at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth, may have solved the problem by holding five separate Easter services, starting at 5 and 6:30 p.m. today and continuing with Sunday services at 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.

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Here are details on community Easter sunrise services scheduled at locations away from church grounds:

Mt. McGroarty--The Rev. Bob Snyder of Community Christian Church of Sunland will deliver the sermon at the Sunland-Tujunga Easter Sunrise Service sponsored annually by the Kiwanis Club. Transportation up the mountain is provided by church members starting at 4:30 a.m. at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Hillhaven Place in Tujunga. In case of rain, the service will be held at the Sunland Park Recreation Center, 8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland.

Westlake Village--The Rev. David Carpenter of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village will preach at the 6 a.m. sunrise service at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park sponsored by clergy of the Westlake and Agoura Hills area. The cemetery, which features a “kneeling Christ” statue near the outdoor worship area, is north of the Ventura Freeway at 5600 Lindero Canyon Road. If it rains, the service will be held at St. Jude’s Catholic Church, 32032 W. Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village.

Hollywood Hills--The Rev. Lawrence Witherspoon, director of campus ministries at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, will be the main speaker at the 6 a.m. outdoor service at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills. About 1,500 people are expected to attend the 19th annual service on the forecourt of the Birth of Liberty Mosaic. An 80-voice choir from Burbank’s Calvary Bible Church will perform. The cemetery entrance is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive near Burbank. In the event of rain, the service will move inside to the Hall of Liberty.

Glendale--The annual Spanish-language Easter sunrise service in the Hall of the Crucifixion-Resurrection at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park will feature a 75-voice choir and string ensemble from the Hispanic Baptist Churches of the American Southwest. The main speaker for the 6 a.m. service will be the Rev. Jose Ricardo Hernandez, pastor of Los Angeles’ Barrington Avenue Baptist Church. The address is 1712 S. Glendale Ave.

Griffith Park--In a 6 a.m. service organized by the Burbank-Toluca Lake First Church of Religious Science, Pastor Marlene Morris of that congregation will speak to an outdoor gathering at the Crystal Springs area of the park, reached best from Los Feliz Boulevard.

Porter Ranch--A small sunrise service in Porter Ridge Park, at the northern end of Reseda Boulevard in Northridge, will begin at 6 a.m. under the auspices of Granada Hills Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Barbara LeFevre conducting the service. Worshipers are asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets.

In the Antelope Valley, at least two outdoor services will be held.

A trio of congregations from Lancaster and Littlerock will hold a 6 a.m. service near an illuminated cross in the foothills of Rancho Vista. Those attending must reach the site aboard the group’s buses, sponsors said. Riders may begin boarding buses at 5 a.m. at Rancho Vista Plaza, at 30th Street West and Avenue P in Lancaster. The last bus leaves at 5:55 a.m.

The Family Life Fellowship Church will conduct a 7 a.m. service at Skytower Park (on 32nd Street East, one block south of Avenue K) in Lancaster. Worshipers are being asked to bring blankets or lawn chairs.