News April 2, 2021

This is Marcia Lane, wishing you a Happy Easter.

This is April 2nd and a holiday for many as Easter weekend gets underway. Don’t forget most government offices are closed today in Putnam, Flagler and St. Johns counties for Good Friday. Schools also are closed in Putnam and St. Johns counties. Flagler schools are in session.

Christians across the world celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Christ this weekend. Last year at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic churches were closed and traditional celebrations cancelled. This year a number of churches are opening although social distancing and masks will be in place and some require reservations. Churches also are using Zoom to let people attend from home. Some traditional celebrations in the tri-county area still won’t take place including the annual Easter Parade in St. Augustine and large groups gathering for sunrise services on Easter Sunday. Most Easter egg hunts for children have been canceled.

Flagler County is not planning their annual sunrise services for Sunday.

In St. Augustine a community Good Friday Service is set for the St. Augustine Amphitheater on A1A South tonight at 6:30 p.m. with observances hosted by Colonial Church. At 6 p.m. Coquina Community Church presents Good Friday Reflections in the Plaza de la Constitution in downtown St. Augustine. Various churches are planning services for tonight.
A few Easter egg hunts are scheduled for Saturday in St. Augustine.  Drive thru Easter egg hunts are planned at Treaty Park on Wildwood Drive from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. Pre-registration tickets are required. Contact Brian James at 904-209-0365.Bridge of Life Church on Masters Drive has a hunt from 2-4 p.m. The 19th annual Anastasia Easter Egg Hunt takes place at Anastasia Baptist on A1A South on Anastasia Island at 2 p.m. Attendees are limited to 350 including adults and children from walking 1-year-olds to fifth graders.
On Sunday Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church is hosting an Easter sunrise service at 7 a.m. Sunday at Micklers Landing. At 9 a.m. an Easter Mass will be held at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios on San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine.
While the traditional Easter Parade won’t be happening in St. Augustine, the Easter Promenade will return with the St. Augustine Royal Family on hand from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Sunday in the Plaza

In Putnam County tonight at 6:30 p.m. Francis Baptist Church on County Road 309-C presents their annual Easter “Cross” Service Pastor Jason Sharpe will carve a full-sized cross from two trees while telling the story of Easter. The service is open to the public. Masks are required.
In Interlachen on Sunday the Inter-Church Council of West Putnam is sponsoring an Easter Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. The service takes place at the West Putnam Recreation Complex, formerly known as Mary Wisham Park. This will be a special Easter in many ways for First Presbyterian Church of Palatka which is reopening for the first time in a year. The historic church on the riverfront has been closed due to both coronavirus and a massive renovation. Two services are planned and a possible third depending on the number of reservations.