Easter Bunny flogged in church play

[Psychedelic Fuzz]

Performers Whip Easter Bunny At Church Play
Minister Says Play Wasn't Offensive

POSTED: 3:52 pm EDT April 7, 2004
UPDATED: 5:14 pm EDT April 7, 2004

A church in western Pennsylvania trying to teach about the crucifixion of Jesus performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs, upsetting several parents and young children.


People who attended Saturday's performance 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."
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[u2sarajevo]

That is pathetic. That's what happens when religious enthusiasm crosses the line of moral acceptance. I understand the message, but while 4 year olds were present?

I think that performance did more against acceptance of Jesus than it did for it.

[EricaLubarsky]

I would have seriously cried if I still believed in the easter bunny. How horrible!

[mavsman55]

Haha, that is pretty ridiculous, but how awesome would it have been to see an easter bunny get crucified? That's more hilarious than ridiculous.