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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