Sixteenth of April was Easter, and for some of the members of the congregation of the Church of The Epiphany, the day started early in the morning. The Sunrise Service at the Church of The Epiphany takes place early in the morning, a little before sunrise. Members gather in the church premises and then proceed to the two graveyards in Civil Lines, carrying candles. The Candlelight procession is formed mainly of members from the second service.
The Sunrise Service is a very solemn occasion and it is a worship service in which members pay their respect to their dear departed. A large number of my relatives have been buried in the same graveyard, and the most recent being my father. My Grandfather, Late Revd. Moti Lal was laid to rest in the same graveyard. The graveyard is quite an old one and some of the gravestones go back to the nineteenth century with a lot of British soldiers and family members being buried here. The Church was then a Garrison Church and Gurgaon was a cantonment housing a large number of British troops. We recently celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the foundation of the old church building.
After paying their respect to the departed, members return to the church for Mass. The altar is set outside the church by the staircase and the congregation sits outside in the pleasant sylvan surroundings to hear the Easter message.
Surprisingly, even the little ones turned up for the procession! There were more of young people in the procession than I had ever expected!
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