GLASSPORT, Pa. (AP) - First, the Passion of the Christ, now the torment of the Easter Bunny.
It may not have been as gruesome as Mel Gibson's movie but many parents and children were upset when a Pennsylvania church trying to teach about Jesus' crucifixion performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs.
People who attended Saturday's show at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers saying: "There is no Easter Bunny" and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.
Melissa Salzmann, who took her four-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, 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 15 kilometres southeast of Pittsburgh.
"It was very disturbing," Norelli-Burke said.
"I could not believe what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting."
It may not have been as gruesome as Mel Gibson's movie but many parents and children were upset when a Pennsylvania church trying to teach about Jesus' crucifixion performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs.
People who attended Saturday's show at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers saying: "There is no Easter Bunny" and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.
Melissa Salzmann, who took her four-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, 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 15 kilometres southeast of Pittsburgh.
"It was very disturbing," Norelli-Burke said.
"I could not believe what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting."
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