A social distancing Easter Egg Hunt will be held Saturday to help families safely celebrate the Easter holiday.

The Goodyear Baptist Church will place 10 large cutouts of Easter eggs at locations around Picayune on Friday night. Each egg has a word from a Bible verse. Saturday morning, the church will post the locations of the eggs on their Facebook page and website. Families are encouraged to drive around town and take photos of the eggs at each location from inside their cars or write down the egg’s word. After finding all ten eggs, the kids can unscramble the words to reveal an Easter related scripture.

An Easter bunny will offer sanitized goody bags at the church from 4 to 6 p.m. for kids. Goody bag pickup will be contactless and people can stay in their car as they pickup a bag for each child.

Normally the church holds a Rise Up with Jesus Easter Festival and community egg hunt the Saturday before Easter, said egg hunt organizer PJ Williams. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic such a gathering is not possible.

“We wanted to still be able to do something for the children in the community that would bring Easter joy to them, but would be socially responsible and protect their safety,” said Williams.

The egg hunt will also give kids a chance to leave their house safely and gives neighbors a way to connect from a distance, said Williams.

“We’ve had to find more creative ways to connect with our community, and I think having that connection is so important right now because so many people feel somewhat isolated during this time of quarantine and social distancing,” said Williams.

Williams’ husband, Pastor Jeremy Williams, said Easter is a fitting holiday for the moment, because it represents hope.

“It brings a hope that one day we’ll be together and one day we’ll be united again and come through on the other side,” said Jeremy Williams.