Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
There were Easter eggs laying on the ground and in the parking lot, but the kids were unwillingly led into the church, with eyes wide open and talking about which one they were going to grab first as they entered the doors, excited to go back out and hunt the eggs.
The New Castle Methodist Church hosted an Easter egg hunt on Saturday, April 8 for the little kids.
About 20 children had their shoes “on ready” to split the doors wide open and run after the colorful eggs they spied on as they came in.
The church members had a table of food for them including pizza, cookies, cheese doodles and chips and a drink.
Though the kids ate, their attention was still on the egg hunt, as over and over parents heard, “Can we hunt yet?”
First, however, the helpers of the church wanted to tell them about the reason for the Easter season.
They read the Easter story.
“There were soldiers that made Jesus carry a big wooden cross. They took him to a place called the Skull where they nailed Jesus to a cross and He died on the cross. Everyone who loved Jesus was very sad, but they had forgotten something very important that Jesus had told them. He had promised them that He would rise again. So, on Easter morning, after Jesus had died, some of his friends went to the tomb and looked for his body. But, an Angel of the Lord had come down and pushed the stone away from the tomb where Jesus was buried. When the soldiers saw the angel, they fell to the ground! Mary was walking to the tomb to look for Jesus and she saw the angel and the angel told her, “Do not be afraid. Jesus is not here for He has risen. Go and tell the disciples that Jesus is alive!” they shared.
“That is our promise! He told the disciples He would be back, and He did come back Easter morning when He rose,” an organizer added. “Easter is a fun time, and we love getting those prizes and eggs, but the true meaning of Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross for us to save us from our sins. All you have to do is to put your faith in Jesus and ask Him into your heart and He will, and He will stay there and be with you every day.”
After the story, the toddlers were led out first to get a head start on the older kids. They seemed excited as they picked up an egg and had to look at it and open it to find the wonderful candies and monies that were hidden inside.
Then the older kids started at the back of the church, and it wasn’t long before they made it around to the front to finish finding the eggs the little ones hadn’t gotten yet.
The church helpers and parents all pitched in to make sure all the eggs were found.
Inside, each child counted their eggs and winners were able to pick a prize out of the prize basket.
Everyone seemed happy as the kids opened their eggs, to find candy bars, robin eggs and lots of chocolates, and even $1 bills in them.
Tiny hands held up the money, and waved it in the air, as their happy faces looked to their parents and friends to make sure they seen what they had gotten.
The light of the day was seeing smiling faces on both the kids and the parents.
