Actors Whip Easter Bunny at Church Show

[Willh]

GLASSPORT, Pa. (AP)--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.''


AP-NY-04-08-04 1155EDT

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[Skywatch_NC]

Yes, I'd say that for the younger generation...the church performance went a bit too far.

Eric

[Colin]

I don't see any problem with it and agree completely with the people who ran it. I feel the same way. Companies have commercialized Easter so much that just about everyone forgets the REAL meaning of Easter, and that's what disturbs me.

[chadtm80]

No problem with it? Well I do. You can teach the true story of Easter without Beating and Whipping the Easter Bunny.. That has to be just horable for the lil kids. Its like seeing Santa beat up.. Just not right and the Church while I think had "right" intenions just went about it in the WRONG way.