Pandemic Forces Another Virtual Easter Sunrise Service In Old Salem

One of Winston-Salem's best-known Easter observances will be virtual for a second year. 

The public gathering for the annual Moravian Easter service in Old Salem was one of the first local holiday traditions disrupted in the early days of the pandemic.

And even though the size of outdoor gatherings in North Carolina has been expanded recently, it's still not enough to protect the potentially thousands of worshippers who annually gather here.

The Board of Elders of the Salem Congregation has announced that - because of the continuing risks - there will once again be no outdoor component to the service. 

Instead, it will be livestreamed form inside Home Moravian Church, where attendance will be limited to the worship team.

The service will also be broadcast on TV and on WSJS radio, which has carried it every year since the 1930s.

This Easter Sunrise Service has been held largely unchanged since 1772.