Easter is a time of celebration. Christ arose from the dead. And, since we are tied to Him, we too will arise! Easter is good news!
But to discover the joy of Easter we need faith and we need to look for it. One of the Easter traditions that we all enjoy is a good ‘ole fashioned Easter Egg Hunt. As parents we find new places to hide candy eggs. As kids we try to outsmart our parents and then try to look surprised when we find the goodies in the same places year after year.
Easter Egg Hunts are a tradition at PUMC too. For years, we’ve thrown an “Easter Egg Hunt Party” and invited the community over to our lawn. We have snacks, magic shows, crafts, and then we go outside to find the eggs.
In this year of Covid, traditions don’t need to stop; they just need to be adjusted a bit. So we ARE holding our Easter Egg Hunt this year, it will just be a little bit different. Even so, the discovery of eggs reminds us of the victory of eternal life. The tradition is adjusted, but the celebration is eternally the same. Christ the Lord IS Risen Today!!!
A Drive Thru-Easter Egg Hunt???
In a “normal” Easter Egg Hunt, you drive to the church, park the car, and then walk to where the action is. You meet people, follow instructions, and then… you rush into the field with the crowd to find the eggs!
Mask? In “normal” times we could say: “That’s only something we wear on Halloween- not on Easter!”
But even in our drive-thru, we need to be careful. We will be interacting with people outside of our households, so masks will be required whenever your windows are rolled down.
It will be different this year. But it will be safe- and it will still be fun! Here’s how our “Drive-Thru” Easter Egg Hunt will work:
Coming…
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- The Egg Hunt is open between 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Come over at anytime during that period.
- Enter the PUMC Parking Lot via the Lambs Road entrance. Pitman United Methodist Church (“PUMC”) is on the corner of Lambs Road and Broadway. Lambs is the is the road that runs from West to East, Broadway is the one that goes through downtown and runs South to North (Click Here for directions to PUMC).
- When you arrive, stay in your car and follow the marked out route.
Hunting…
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- As you enter the parking lot, you’ll be given a list of items to hunt for; we’re going on a scavenger hunt!
- Instead of scrambling for eggs, we’ll go on a “drive thru scavenger hunt”! Interesting items have been placed along the route, and you’re “job” during the hunt is to check off items from the hunt list. Look for things like Easter eggs, bunnies, crosses, and other surprise items. See how many you can find.
Going….
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- When you complete the parking lot course you’ll be headed for the driveway on Broadway.
- But not so fast!!! What’s an Easter Egg Hunt without a bag full of candy??? Not to worry. Before exiting the parking lot, put on a mask, roll down the windows, and collect your bag of goodies. We want everyone to have “sweet memories” of your time on the “Hunt.”
- Thank you so much for helping us celebrate Easter!!!
Easter Egg Hunt
- WHEN: Saturday April 3, 2021
- TIMES: Arrive anytime between 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
- WHERE: Pitman United Methodist Church’s Parking Lot
- COST: RU Kidding?!? Absolutely free!!!
- WHO: Anyone!
K-Love radio will be broadcasting from our parking lot during the Easter Egg Hunt! Give a listen to 106.9 FM between 11-1…
The Discovery of New Life!
In an Easter egg hunt, we’re looking for plastic eggs that contain candy and other goodies. These eggs are laying in the grass, and our grass isn’t exactly cut like a putting green; it’s tall and shaggy! It hasn’t had its first mowing yet, and it’s littered with leaves and sticks. And some of the plastic eggs are green, and they do a great job at blending in with the grass. Finding all of the eggs isn’t easy; it does take some effort.
Jesus told us that finding eternal life takes some effort to. We can’t do anything to earn our salvation (Christ has done all of that), but we do need to push ourselves against our natural grain. In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells three parables (stories) that show us that we need to search for “that still small voice” to find God in our lives.
In this chapter, a shepherd leaves 99 of his sheep in the pen so he can go out and find that one lost sheep. Hey- 99 out of 100 isn’t bad, but God cares enough about us that He wants to search for that one missing one. If God loves us that much, shouldn’t we think that finding a relationship with Him demands a priority?
In the next parable, a woman frantically sweeps her house because she lost a sliver coin. She has nine others that she didn’t loose, but she searches and searches until she finds that on missing one. In those days, these coins were like a wedding ring; they represented her relationship with her husband. So she searches, sweeps, and sweats until that “wedding ring” is restored.
Then Jesus tells His listeners (including us) about a father who waits day in and day out for his wayward son to return. The son considered the father to be dead, but the father waited until the son “came to his senses” and returned. The father was searching; peering down the road waiting for the faintest view of his son.
In Matthew 7:7-8 Jesus told us to :
“...seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.“
God wants us to seek and listen. When we value our relationship with Him, when we “sweep”, listen, wait… and search, He promises that we will find Him. Easter reminds of of eternal life. Easter Egg Hunts remind us to search for the Author of that life.
So, however we choose to search for our “Easter Eggs” this year, remember that God is calling us to search for an everlasting relationship with Him. Easter reminds us that God proved the value of finding that relationship by raising Jesus from the grave on that first Easter Morning.
Happy Resurrection Day!
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