Public Invited to Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service at Ashley Pond Park

Ministers from five Los Alamos faith communities gathered residents at the west side of Ashley Pond Park on Easter Sunday morning for the annual ecumenical sunrise service, held at 6:30 a.m. near the Justice Center.

The service drew clergy from the Christian Church, First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church, and The United Church. The five congregations led worship together in an ecumenical format, and the service included Communion. No admission was charged and no tickets were required.

Ashley Pond Park's west side, situated adjacent to the Justice Center in the heart of downtown Los Alamos, provided an easily accessible venue for residents across the county. The central location kept the event within reach of most of the town's population, though the 6:30 a.m. start time meant attendees contended with early-morning high-desert temperatures and the parking conditions typical of Los Alamos's compact central district.

The annual service functions as both a religious observance and a civic occasion, one that draws together residents of different faiths and backgrounds around a shared public space. The collaborative participation of five distinct congregations underscores how Los Alamos faith communities have used the event as a platform for ecumenical outreach rather than a gathering anchored to any single church.

For many attendees, the sunrise service at Ashley Pond serves as the opening moment of an Easter Sunday that continues with family and community events throughout the day, a pattern that has made the early-morning gathering a predictable fixture on the local calendar.