Easter Sunrise Service

San Francisco’s grandest Easter morning tradition gets under way at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at the annual Sunrise Service at Mount Davidson Cross. This year’s citywide celebration atop The City’s highest peak marks the 75th anniversary of the dedication of America’s largest cross by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The non-denominational program will include various community leaders, including Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, and musical performances by The Salvation Army Brass Ensemble, among others. Admission is free. Special bus service from Forest Hill Station will start at 4:45 a.m. and run every 15 minutes to the park gate located at the intersection of Lansdale Avenue, Myra Drive and Dalewood Way – two blocks south of Portola Drive. Call 673-MUNI for further transit information. The 103-foot-tall Mt. Davidson Cross will be illuminated throughout the evening of April 11 by spotlights totalling 48,000 watts, shining as a beacon for Easter morning pilgrims (great Saturday evening photo op at the corner of Robinhood Way and Lansdale Ave.). Sponsored by local churches and broadcast nationally in years past, the Sunrise Service attendance record was set during World War II, with an estimated 50,000 worshippers in attendance. Mt. Davidson Cross was recently restored by the Council of Armenian-American Organizations of Northern California, owners of the monument. Those planning to attend Easter Sunrise 2009 are advised to dress warmly and wear comfortable walking shoes for the short walk to the summit. For more details about Easter Sunrise 2009, call (415) 566-8393.

San Francisco Chronicle April 13, 2009: Guided up the predawn trail by Boy Scouts with flashlights, worshipers hiked to San Francisco’s highest peak Sunday for Easter sunrise service, where the Mount Davidson cross was illuminated by 46,000-watt stage lights.

Among them was Mike Ring, who got up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a Muni bus from the Mission District to arrive 90 minutes before the 6:30 a.m. ceremony. “Coming up the trail, through the dark and the mist, and watching the sun rise over Inspiration Point and light up the cross - it’s just amazing,” he said. In his sermon, the Rev. Scott McLelland of Miraloma Community Church used the theme of resurrection and redemption as solace for today’s uncertain financial times.”During the Great Depression, our country pulled together like never before,” he said. “Today, we are facing the same challenges, and we will find redemption in the strength of our relationships.”

The bad economy, and the recent slaying of an 8-year-old girl in Tracy, motivated Adolfo Gonzalez to make the trek with his wife and three children, Eduardo, 10; Raquel, 9; and Manuel, 6.”I haven’t come in the last two years, but this time I felt I had to - we need to pray for everybody right now,” he said.

Nearly 200 people attended the service. The crowd included families, dog walkers, tourists, senior citizens and a contingent of Armenians.

Maj. Judy Smith of the Salvation Army Band read from the New Testament, San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd read from the Old Testament, and the Rev. Tim Svoboda of Youth With a Mission City Ministries recited Psalm 23 (”The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”).

Mountain biker Steve Villareale stayed in the back, and when the service ended he hopped on his bike to beat the crowd down the trails. “Church outdoors is more natural, more how Jesus probably did it,” he said.