Pastel-colored tradition

Lindsay Sandham

While some families dress in their nicest pastel-colored clothing and

hats and go to church to hear the Easter sermon, some families are

more than happy just to eat a nice meal together.

But one thing seems to be a tradition for almost everyone: the

Easter Bunny with his Easter eggs.

More than 525 people enjoyed a buffet-style Easter brunch Sunday

at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa.

After stuffing themselves with French toast, scrambled eggs, ham,

country potatoes and fruit salad, the roughly 400 children visited

the Easter Bunny in the parking lot, where they had their pictures

taken and received baskets full of candy and toys.

Shannon Santos, manager of Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, said all

the food was donated except for the ham and eggs, which was purchased

out of the general operating funds. The soup kitchen, which serves

lunch Monday through Friday and breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays,

is funded by grants and donations.

The baskets were donated by various groups, such as Pacific Care,

UC Irvine and 123 Loans.

“I would say we probably have 50 extras,” Santos said. They’ll be

passed out to children today, she said.

Santos said the Schwartz family volunteers to entertain the

children at the soup kitchen every year.

Although some of the soup kitchen’s customers are homeless,

Santos said most of the people they feed are hard-working people who

just don’t make enough money.

“We have a lot of senior citizens and families with children,” she

said. “It really helps out, you know; a free meal really helps out on

their finances.”

And at some local churches, the churchgoing tradition gets a

kid-friendly addition -- Easter egg hunts.

At Harbor Christian Church in Costa Mesa, Bill Gulley organized

three egg hunts for three different age groups. A golden egg was

hidden in each section and the finder of each egg was to receive a

special prize.

“The problem is the kids have not found the golden egg,” Gulley

said. “I think what happened is someone found the egg and didn’t

realize what it was, put it in a basket and took off.”

Kyle Jenkins, 7, of Irvine eventually found one of the eggs and

was awarded a large plastic sunflower as his prize. Since the other

golden eggs went missing, never to be recovered, Kyle also received a

$20 Blockbuster gift certificate.

“Easter is the biggest celebration day of the year in the church,”

said Pastor Dennis Short. “The Easter egg hunt is a fun way to

celebrate for the kids.”

At the Newport Center United Methodist Church in Corona del Mar,

not only did the kids get to search for the more than 800 hidden

eggs, but they also got the once-a-year chance to run inside the

church.

Every Easter, the children run around as the service is wrapping

up to signify Peter running to the tomb.

“It’s a fun way for them to understand what happened,” said

Melissa Frojen of Corona del Mar. “You always think of people in

religious settings as sort of formal.”

The Rev. Catie Coots of Newport Beach started the

running-around-church tradition seven years ago.

“Only once a year can you run in the sanctuary,” she said.

“Easter’s about joy. It’s time to kind of shake things up and have

some fun.”

At St. Michael and All Angels Church in Corona del Mar, along with

the egg hunt, the children spend an entire week learning about the

different religious traditions associated with the Easter holiday and

where they originated.

“On Friday, they had a reenactment of all the events of Holy

Week,” said Minister of Religious Education Teri Corbet. “It’s a real

interactive, participatory way for the kids to experience the events

of Holy Week instead of just hearing about it.”