Why a Gurnee church is celebrating Easter Monday

A Gurnee church is reaching out to potential worshippers who will be kept away from traditional Easter Sunday services because of work or other obligations.

Lakeland Church will hold a service at 7 p.m. Monday, March 28 - the day after Easter - for those who couldn't get to church to celebrate on the holy day.

Lakeland Senior Pastor the Rev. Dan Weyerhaeuser said the idea quickly came together about a month ago.

"We all have to eat and have jobs, and when the bosses say you've got to work, we say 'OK,'" he said. "So it's just nice to have something that for many people is a very meaningful service, to have it available for them."

Police officers, firefighters, hospital employees, retail workers or those in the restaurant industry who work odd hours are among those organizers think might attend the Easter Monday service. Weyerhaeuser said the service also would benefit Lakeland Church members who were away on spring break and missed the Easter Sunday celebration.

Weyerhaeuser, who was a magician-bartender in Dallas before becoming a pastor, said he's been visiting Gurnee restaurants to promote the service and has received positive feedback. He's also posting fliers on bulletin boards at village businesses as part of the promotional effort.

Gurnee Police Chief Kevin Woodside said he's on board with the idea of an Easter Monday church service.

"The long and irregular hours required in police work always get in the way of celebrating holidays and family events," Woodside said. "It is great to see this effort extended to provide an Easter service on Monday. With the schedules at the Gurnee Police Department, it will ensure that everyone who wishes to attend will be able to either on Sunday or Monday."

Weyerhaeuser said not all 600 seats at Lakeland Church need to be filled for the Monday service idea to be considered worthwhile.

"I'd be honest, if one person came, we'd be happy with that," he said. "If 300 come, we'd be happy with that. We're just trying something. We're swinging at it. And sometimes it'll work and sometimes not. We're pretty openhanded about God, so I'd say, yeah, if we have even a handful of folks, we'd be grateful."

Stories of several people's lives that have changed for the better will be featured at the service, Weyerhaeuser said. Lakeland, at

at 440 Hunt Club Road, belongs to the Evangelical Free Church of America.