GOSHEN —
If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that Grace Community Church knows how to throw an Easter bash.
Located at 20076 C.R. 36 in Goshen, the Grace Community Church Easter Egg Hunt and Prize Drop kicked off promptly at 1:30 p.m. Sunday with thousands of kids swarming the campus grounds to secure their share of 25,000 candy-filled Easter eggs.
Growing to become quite famous over the years, the annual Grace Easter celebration can often bring in as many as 2,000 to 5,000 attendees, and Sunday’s turnout didn’t disappoint.
“The turnout looks great,” said Marcie Olson, wife of Grace Worship Pastor Jeremiah Olson. “We had three services this morning, and then we’re doing the egg hunt for ages 1-year-old through sixth grade, and then we’re doing our popular Prize Drop for the seventh through 12th-graders.”
According to Olson, the drop involves firefighters from both the Goshen and Elkhart Township fire departments tossing cardboard “eggs” filled with designer sunglasses, iPods and cash to eagerly awaiting teens from atop their 102-foot fire truck ladders — a sight that has to be seen to be truly appreciated.
“It’s actually one of our biggest draws, because this is one of the only places in the area that has something for the high schoolers,” Olson said. “Then after all that a bunch of people get to put in a ticket for some neat prizes like toys, a really nice bike, and things like that. So it’s a real fun time.”
For Rhiannon Bint, a Grace member from Syracuse, while the festivities during the Easter celebration are great, what she loves most about the event is the community-wide inclusiveness of it all.
“I really think it’s so popular because it includes the entire community,” Bint said. “It just really brings everybody together, and then hopefully through that, people will maybe want to attend the church on a regular basis, and keep coming back.”
Shelly Lehman, of Goshen, said she enjoys the Grace celebration each year because of how well it serves to reflect the teachings of Christ and the Christian faith.
“This celebration is a reflection of what Christ is for us,” Lehman said. “It’s all-inclusive — everyone is invited — and it’s just about celebrating the gift that he gave us. It brings people from all walks of life together, and it exposes people that may be intimidated by the church environment to see what church should really be about.
“It lets them know that they’re welcome here, and they’re not going to be judged in any way, and I love that,” she said.
Easter egg hunts have been a long-running tradition for Lehman’s family, and for her, it doesn’t get much better than Grace’s.
“My whole life we’ve done Easter egg hunts,” Lehman said. “I’d recommend this to anyone.”
Sarah Valderrama of Goshen agreed.
“It’s pretty grand, that’s for sure,” Valderrama said. “In the end, I think what they’re trying to do is reach out to as many people as they can in the community.
“It’s about having fun, but it’s also about wanting to send the message that Grace will welcome anybody through their doors, and I think the community has embraced that.”
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Related Photos
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Members of the Goshen and Elkhart Township fire departments toss cardboard "eggs" containing prizes such as sunglasses and iPod's to a large group of teenagers during the Grace Community Church Prize Drop Sunday afternoon in Goshen. The drop is just one of several events that make up the church's annual Community Easter Celebration. JOHN KLINE | THE GOSHEN NEWS
Some high flying fun at church
Firefighters drop designer sunglasses, iPods to teens as part of Grace’s annual Easter celebration.
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