From today's Associated Press:

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Actors Whip Easter Bunny at Church Show

GLASSPORT, Pa. (April 8) - A church 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.''

04/07/04 18:13 EDT

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