The Easter Bunny will be hopping down the bunny trail this weekend, however there is a lot more to Easter than Easter bonnets, chocolate bunnies and colored eggs. Easter is a very important day in the lives of Christians all over the world.

Four local pastors talk about their churches’ Easter Sunday services and their personal feelings toward the holiday and its perception in the local communities. The four pastors represent the cities of Demopolis and Faunsdale.

David Moore is the pastor of the River of Life Church of Demopolis, which is affiliated with the Assembly of God. Moore said his church is planning to have its Easter service at 10:00 a.m. and it will include special songs, communion, and a special message about the resurrection of Jesus.

“Easter is one of the most important days of the year,” Moore said.

He said he’s taking his congregation to see Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” Friday night at the Marengo Theater. He also said he thinks that once the people see the movie and really see the suffering that Jesus endured, they would be more open to his message on Sunday.

“After watching the Passion, it will make the service on Sunday that much special,” Moore said.

Aaron Raulerson is the pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church of Demopolis. Raulerson said his church is planning to have its Easter service at 10:30 a.m. and the service will be a very traditional Episcopal Easter service.

“Easter is what defines us as Christian people because we are the people of the resurrection,” Raulerson said.

He said the Easter holiday only has meaning as a whole because “You can’t talk about the true meaning of Easter without talking about the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ,” Raulerson said.

He also said this is his first Easter service with the church and he is very excited about it.

“This is the busiest week of the year for me, busier than Christmas,” Raulerson said.

James Guy is the pastor of the Canal Heights Church of Christ of Demopolis. Guy said his church is planning to have its Easter service at 11:00 a.m. and it will include special Easter music and a special sermon.

“Easter is a special holiday, but every Sunday should be special just like Easter,” Guy said.

He said that everyone should get into the habit of treating every Sunday as special as Easter because it is all the same principle. He also said it is just like the resurrection is celebrating the life of Jesus Christ.

“Easter has always been one of my favorite days as a pastor, but I wish every Sunday could be treated the same way,” Guy said.

Mitchell Congress is the pastor of the Mountain Horeb Baptist Church of Faunsdale. Congress said his church is planning to have its Easter service at 11:00 a.m. and it will include a special message based on the movie “The Passion of the Christ” as well as special music.

“Easter will never be the same for me after watching ‘The Passion of the Christ’,” Congress said.

He said after watching that movie and seeing the punishment that Jesus received during his final hours on this earth was just so powerful to me. He also said anyone that hasn’t seen this movie needs to go and watch the suffering that Christ endured on the cross.