Church offers photos with bunny

April 11, 2009|By ANDREW SCHOTZ

HAGERSTOWN -- Some children grinned in the presence of the Easter Bunny. Others shied away at first, but were coaxed to sit for a picture.

The Salvation Army invited children, and adults who accompanied them, to lunch and an egg hunt in Hagerstown on Saturday.

This is the third time The Salvation Army had an Easter weekend meal and the first time the Easter Bunny was there, Maj. Robert Lyle said.

Organizers let the rainy weather roll off their backs; they moved the egg hunts inside.

Donations were accepted for the pictures, but weren't required.

Lyle said the Easter meal, like others The Salvation Army serves at holiday times, is a way to focus on the community.

"Next year, we'll build off this," he said.

"I've been coming here since I was an infant," said Tracy Worden, figuring that to be about 30 years.

On Saturday, she was with her husband, Jeff, and children, Ethan, 4, and Maria, 2.

Sopheap Sun said the church holds other events that bring people together.

That includes a fall Halloween-related event, which Lyle said more than 950 people attended.

"There's a lot of people in this neighborhood that need outreach," Sun said.

With him on Saturday were his wife, Heejeong, and their children, Brandan, 7, and Christine, 3.

Ashley Becton of Martinsburg, W.Va., first went to Byron Memorial Park in Williamsport on Saturday, looking for some Easter fun. But, she said, the rain forced organizers there to give eggs to children instead of having a hunt.

So Becton took her daughter, Deanna, and her son, Devlin, each 6 years old, to The Salvation Army event, along with Amy Near, who is Becton's sister, and Near's son, Charles, 5.

"They always have a lot of good things here for the kids to do, and everyone here is very nice," Worden said. "I know everyone."

About 60 people showed up for Saturday's lunch and egg hunt.

First, children posed for pictures with the Easter Bunny, who actually was Kaitlyn Jewell in a bunny costume. Lyle took pictures with his Canon digital camera, planning to make prints for families to take home.

After singing "Amazing Grace" and hearing a prayer, the group sat for a hot dog lunch, with brownies for dessert.

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