WHEELING, W.Va., March 12, 2008 - Easter morning will begin with the tradition of an outdoor service as Oglebay Institute presents its annual Easter Sunrise Service, now in its 81st year, at 7 a.m. Sunday, March 23. Everyone is welcome.
Held in the Anne Kuchinka Outdoor Amphitheater, this is the oldest continuous running program held in Oglebay Park. Including a sermon, music and benediction, the Easter Sunrise Service lasts approximately one hour and leaves the congregation inspired for the rest of the day.
The Rev. David Demarest from Coalbrook Presbyterian Church in Neffs and Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Bridgeport serves as liturgist for the annual worship service.
Demarest graduated from the Pittsburgh Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in May 2006 with a master of divinity degree. In July 2006, he was ordained by the Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and he was installed as pastor of his two current churches.
University President, the Rev. Julio Giulietti, S.J., will be the featured speaker and will deliver the Easter sermon this year. Millard Neal is the organist.
Giulietti grew up in New York City and was ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus in 1972. He was formerly the director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Boston College, where he worked with faculty and staff in spirituality and personal development. He holds graduate degrees in theology, comparative religions and counseling, and completed a doctorate degree at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.
During his more than 25 years of experience in international programs and higher education, he lectured at Boston College for eight years in the theology department, where he helped design the inter-departmental academic minor, "Faith, Peace and Justice." He also prepared and placed graduates for service through the Boston College International Volunteer Program.
He was also the director at Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education and Development (CIED), where he oversaw the CIED mission, designed to administer international programs aimed at improving the quality of life of socio-economically disadvantaged people in 16 countries in Central America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia and he spent six years working with college students in Japan.
Father Giulietti's ministry has long involved retreats and lectures on Ignatian spirituality, Eastern spirituality and lay ministry in the USA, Asia and South America. He has served on a number of boards and was a consultant to the Daughters of Charity Health Care System. Presently, he serves on the boards of the National Catholic Reporter Newspaper and Partners in Health. He was inaugurated as Wheeling Jesuit University's eighth president on Oct. 20, 2007.
Ushers for the Easter Sunrise Service are provided by the Wheeling Park High School's Habitat for Humanity Club and guests will also enjoy a special treat as singer B.E. Taylor performs two uplifting song selections.
Taylor has been a longtime favorite in the tri-state area. He has had national success as the lead singer of the B.E. Taylor Group. Throughout his career, he recorded three major label albums in six years, scored several regional top ten hits and two Billboard Top 100 Hits.
Taylor also wrote, performed and produced for the award-winning cable TV show, “Light Music,” which won the award for BEST Contemporary Christian/Mainstream Video Show in 1993, 1994 and 1995. It aired on more than 1000 cable systems in America and nine foreign countries.
Presented in partnership with Oglebay Institute and the Wheeling Area Habitat for Humanity in cooperation with the Wheeling Park Commission, the Easter Sunrise Service began in 1927 and continues to delight members of all Christian religions.
Plenty of free parking is available and the rain site for the Easter Sunrise Service is the Pine Room at Oglebay Resort.
For more information, call Oglebay Institute at 304.242.7700 or Oglebay Resort at 304.243.4000.
