A crowd of vivid colors peeked through the spring grass at Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church, as eggs shaded in lively hues dotted the lawn, tiny treasures to be found April 4 during the Holy Cross Community Easter Egg Hunt.

Children up to age 12 were invited to hunt for the prize eggs during the event that welcomed little egg hunters from throughout the community on the warm spring morning.

Karen Brown, church secretary and wife of Holy Cross pastor Rev. David Brown, said 38 children hunted eggs.

“We had a wonderful time that day, and are thankful to God for the beautiful weather,” she said.

The Easter Bunny hopped off the bunny trail to stop by to pose for pictures during the egg-citing event, as well as wave to traffic passing by the church at 2700 Jacksonville Road.

Ruthann Kistler, Christian education director at Holy Cross and organizer of the event, said the church has been hosting the Easter Egg Hunt for 22 years.

“We’re so blessed to have a lot of young people out to help – our own young people and members of the scout troops sponsored by the church,” Kistler said.

Kistler, longtime director of the church’s vacation bible school (VBS), said the event began more than two decades ago to promote VBS, which this year takes the theme, “Rainforest Falls” July 12-17. Registration for VBS took place at the event.

Before the kickoff of the hunt, The Rev. David Henry and his wife Lisa presented “The True Meaning of Easter” in the sanctuary, emphasizing to the children that God loves them.

“Jesus came to save the world from sin … take the punishment for our sin,” Pastor Henry said. “Because Jesus died and rose again, there is hope in the world.”

“We want you to know God’s word is true; it will never fail you,” Lisa Henry said.

She told the children God invented families, and said, “you’re mom and dad’s child but also part of God’s family through Jesus.”

Pastor Henry is director of the Child Evangelization Fellowship (CEF) of the Greater Lehigh Valley as well as assistant pastor and children’s coordinator at Bridge Community Church, Easton. CEF is a Bible-centered organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to disciple them in the Word of God and in the local church for Christian living.

Pastor Brown also addressed the children, explaining that we should be sad on Good Friday but we’re not, “because we know the end of the story, that Jesus rose from the dead.”

Pastor Brown noted the church would celebrate Easter the next day with a 6:30 a.m. sunrise service with Holy Communion, followed by a breakfast courtesy of the Borderline Restaurant.

Easter eggs symbolize the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, representing the empty tomb from which he emerged. The hard shell signifies the sealed tomb, while cracking it symbolizes the Resurrection and the emergence of new life.

For more information on Holy Cross visit https://holycrossbethlehem.com/.