The Vail Valley’s Christian faithful prepare to celebrate Easter

Easter Sunday is the most significant date on the Christian calendar, the day the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Easter can be celebrated from late March into mid-April — the holiday is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the spring equinox. This year’s Easter is an early one, so bundle up for the annual sunrise service on Vail Mountain.

Vail Mountain will host a sunrise Easter service at 6:30 a.m. Sunday at Eagles Nest. The Gondola opens at 6 a.m.

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The Easter story is always the same, but its telling varies depending on which of the four New Testament Gospels is used. This year’s celebration is based on the Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four New Testament books detailing Jesus’ life.

Father Brooks Keith is the longtime lead pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration. Keith said using Mark this year is appropriate, given the current state of the world.

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Keith noted that the gospel’s resurrection story ends with the three women who went to Jesus’ tomb leaving in fear after seeing his body was gone.

The world of Jesus and his disciples had been shattered, Keith noted. Our world is shattered in many ways, he added.

In that way, “Mark’s gospel is perfectly suitable for today,” Keith said.

Bringing the gospels of the past into the present is the job of those in the pulpit.

Rev. Scott Beebe of the Mount of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church noted there’s a lot of fear in our world today: fear about the economy, the environment, wars and other events.

“There are people who want the world to thrive on fear,” Beebe said. But, he added, “It’s God, through Jesus, that helps us overcome our fear.”

He said that people can face and overcome those fears by gathering together.

And, while the world seems to be in great turmoil this year, Rev. Tim Wilbanks of Covenant Presbyterian Church said that isn’t necessarily the case.

“The world’s been a weird place for thousands of years,” something that will never end, Wilbanks said. That’s why people need divine help, he said.

Rev. Aaron Strietzel of the United Methodist Church in Eagle said his Easter message every year approaches the resurrection not as something that happened in the past but as an experience in the present.

“It’s speaking to me right now,” Strietzel said.

Strietzel said dealing with the world means “spiritually mature” people can contend with what comes at them without reacting in kind.

A big part of the resurrection story is not returning hate with hate, Strietzel said, noting that Jesus was hated in his time, in large part for his work and message.

“Jesus was very active, and the work is what killed him,” Strietzel said. “In the midst of our work and family lives … how do we not return like for like?”

That’s part of the celebration of Easter, along with the renewal that comes with spring.

Wilbanks said after the darkness memorialized in services recognizing Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday, he’s looking forward to the celebrations of Easter Sunday.

“It’s going to be a great celebration,” Wilbanks said. “It’s always just a great time, not only in the life of the church but in the life of people.”