The dawn service, which begins at 6am, is to be held in the forecourt.

"We used to do something similar on the beach when I was in Newcastle," Reverend Campbell said.

"We would plant a large cross in the sand and begin. Up to 100 people or more would attend and early morning walkers and swimmers would often see what was going on and join in."

Reverend Campbell said when he had floated the idea to the ACT Council of Churches it had received strong support.

"I think it will be wonderful to celebrate the heart of the Christian faith, the resurrection, at the heart of Australian democracy and government. You could not pick a more appropriate site."

The Northern Ireland-born cleric said the centenary of Anzac and the principle of sacrifice had been on his mind during this year's Lenten period.

"I have taken that (sacrifice) as the theme for my Easter message this year," he said. "There is a very moving passage in the Book of Samuel where King David asks some of his warriors to fetch him water in the midst of a battle.

"They bring back the water but at great risk to themselves. When the King looks at the water he realises he cannot drink it; it is the blood of his followers.

"Instead he chooses to pour it on the ground as a libation, an act of sacrifice."

Reverend Stuart Robinson, the Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, has been reflecting on the difference between first world problems and things that really matter.

"Those attending the recent Google Education Summit in Canberra named some of the things most needed for life in the 21st century," he said.

"WiFi access and battery life featured prominently. Such needs may seem trite when people in our community still struggle to have basic needs for shelter and safety met."

Bishop Robinson, who recently completed a walk through the diocese, said he had met "too many people who wondered how tomorrow can be any better than today".

"Too many were enduring intolerable violence at home or having to cope with the infirmity of old age, with the weight of underemployment and having to make ends meet. In a land of plenty it seemed that hope was in short supply."

Bishop Robinson described the reality of that first Easter for Christ's family and disciples as "horrific".

"Mary saw her son tried by a kangaroo court, beaten half to death and then hung on a cross to die. (But) the good news of Easter is that the resurrection happened. Love, hope and faith are never extinguished, their currents sustain us still."

Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Archbishop Christopher Prowse, agreed.

"Suffering and death are not the end to the story of life," he said. "Resurrection and hope rise from the ashes of death and create all things new."