Church hosts interactive Easter event
North Main Street Church of God hosted an interactive event on Saturday, March 30 for families celebrating Holy Week.
The event, titled Easter in Five Letters, featured seven stations where families could participate in activities relating to the Easter story.
Five of those stations were dedicated to stories in the New Testament story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the events leading up to it, which is central to Christian belief and is commemorated each year on Easter Sunday.
“I think it all tells the story,” said family life pastor Melissa Hickman.
At the first station, visitors learned about Palm Sunday, when Jesus traveled into Jerusalem and palm branches were placed in his path.
“Imagine the joy that people must have felt as they saw Jesus riding into town, and the things they were shouting,” Hickman said.
Another station was decorated to replicate the First Supper and the washing of the feet of Jesus’ apostles.
At another station, people could view replicas of ancient nails and Jesus’ crown of thorns.
“(The children) got to pick up a rock which was just a portion of the weight of the cross for Jesus to carry,” said Ashley Cammisa of Butler, who visited the event with her husband, Corey and two children, Olivia, 9, and Camden, 8.
“It’s one thing to talk about it but then to see those visuals and stuff really puts it into perspective for you,” Cammisa said. “It shows how much (Jesus) loves us.”
As families traveled from station to station, they could stop and read a corresponding passage from Scripture and ask each other reflective questions provided in an activity book.
The event was organized to facilitate conversations about the Christian faith among families with their children, Hickman said.
The last station featured a display of an empty tomb, alluding to the Gospels in which the stone to Jesus’ tomb is found to have been moved, the tomb was discovered empty three days after his crucifixion and burial.
“It’s celebrating and acknowledging that here’s the tomb, Jesus isn’t here,” Hickman said. “That might be my favorite.”
As part of the last station, Hickman said participants would be able to help complete an art project spelling out the word ‘alive’ that would be hung in a space in the church ahead of the Sunday service. It would refer to Jesus having risen from the dead.
“We decided this would be a good thing to do together,” said Mark Coyle, of Butler, who attended the interactive event with family members.
Coyle, a Catholic, said he is a parishioner at All Saints Parish, but was interested in visiting the event because his daughter attends services at North Main Street Church of God.
“We want to equip families to have those conversations about Jesus and to continue talking about it at home,” Hickman said.
“When we have events like this, people can sit and visit afterward,” she said. “We’re all so busy, you know, and we don’t always have the time to sit, visit, talk and engage.”
