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Connection, love and spiritual wonder at the heart of 2026 Maryville College Easter Sunrise Service

PLEASE TAKE NOTE! Due to weather forecasts calling for a 100% chance of rain on Sunday morning, organizers are moving the Sunrise Service to the Samuel Wilson Tyndale Center for Campus Ministry.

March 29, 2026

Spring’s arrival in East Tennessee is often signaled by the transition from snowcapped mountains to blooming dogwood trees, an ideal backdrop for the renewal and resurrection of the Easter season. That’s a theme Maryville College Chaplain the Rev. Jessica Kitchens Lewis ’07 has thought much about as she prepares for the annual Maryville College Easter Sunrise Service, scheduled for 7 a.m., April 5, in the Samuel Wilson Tyndale Center for Campus Ministry (CCM).  

“On Easter Sunday each year for over a century, members of our community have gathered together on the Maryville College campus to worship God as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in that service we get the opportunity to pause: to bask in the sun, to wonder at creation, to sing ‘Hallelujah,’ and to remember the redeeming and resurrecting love, joy and hope we find in our Savior,” Lewis said.  

This year’s service will focus on connectedness to one another and the wonders of creation that will be in full bloom as the resurrection of Christ is celebrated, and congregants are reminded of the promise of new life.  

“From the moment our attendees step into the CCM, I hope they will feel welcomed and loved, just as they are. I hope that they will feel joy abundantly as we worship together and fellowship over pastries and coffee afterwards. And I pray that they will leave with a sense of hope that gives them strength, a love for others that they can’t wait to live out each day, and a deep knowing that they are so truly known and loved by God,” Lewis said.  

Lewis describes the service as a casual, come-as-you-are Easter celebration.  

“There is no dress code (and) there are no assigned seats,” Lewis said “Feel free to attend with loved ones or make some new friends, sing along with the musicians or enjoy the ceremony in silence. All are welcome, all are invited, all are loved.”  

Maryville College’s very first Easter Sunrise Service took place in the heart of campus in 1918, a tradition that began thanks to Rev. Dr. William Patton Stevenson, the Maryville College faith leader who landed in East Tennessee from the pastorate of First Presbyterian Church in Yonkers, New York. The observance was moved to the Maryville College Woods in 1938, where it was held for the next 50 years until settling on Lloyd Beach, the grassy area across from Lloyd Hall, most recently. The Center for Campus Ministry is the alternate location in the event of inclement weather.   

The annual service is both an acknowledgment and a continuation of the College’s close ties to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and deep roots in Christianity. While none of the College community is required to attend religious observances, Maryville College continues to offer them for those interested.   

“For many Easter celebrations, people will gather at their usual place of worship with their loved ones. But this service is something that is offered beyond those lines, or outside of those walls. There are no pews or even a need to wear church clothes – rather, we gather as a community and marvel at the beauty of the sunrise over the Great Smoky Mountains and the wonders of creation in full bloom around us as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection that promises new life,” Lewis said.  

Joining Lewis to lead the Easter Sunrise Service will be Rev. Paul Earheart-Brown ’15, associate chaplain and MAST (Maryville Adventures in Studying Theology) director. Special music will be performed by MC Chief of Staff Jordan ’18 and Maddie Carpenter McCullough ’18. Chapel Fellows Jackie Manning ’26, Dana Patterson ’26, Katie Parnell ’27, Sam Goins ’27 and Cielle Severinchek ’27 will lead hymns and read Scripture passages.   

The event is free and open to the Maryville community. For questions regarding the event, please contact Lewis at jessica.lewis@maryvillecollege.edu. 

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”