GLASSPORT, Pa. - First, the Passion of the Christ. Now, the torment of
   the Easter Bunny?


   It may not have been as gruesome as Mel Gibson's movie, but many
   parents and children got upset when a church trying to teach about
   Jesus' crucifixion performed an Easter show with actors whipping the
   Easter bunny and breaking eggs.

   People who attended Saturday's show at Glassport's memorial stadium
   quoted performers as saying, "There is no Easter bunny," and described
   the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.

   Melissa Salzmann, who brought her 4-year-old son J.T., said the
   program was inappropriate for young children. "He was crying and
   asking me why the bunny was being whipped," Salzmann said.

   Patty Bickerton, the youth minister at Glassport Assembly of God, said
   the performance wasn't meant to be offensive. Bickerton portrayed the
   Easter rabbit and said she tried to act with a tone of irreverence.

   "The program was for all ages, not just the kids. We wanted to convey
   that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, it is about Jesus
   Christ," Bickerton said.

   Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed
   a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer
   Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, a
   community about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

   "It was very disturbing," Norelli-Burke said. "I could not believe
   what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting."

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I fear to ask, "what will somebody think of next?"

Grant
Listening for His shout! - First Thessalonians 4:16

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