On Friday, March 15, members of Shamokin UMC gathered in the kitchen and fellowship hall to do what they have done for longer than anyone can remember: roll Easter eggs. Bill Slanina, chief egg-filling mixologist, chatted while standing at his post, whipping up peanut butter filling. “I’ve been doing this for years. I took over for my father-in-law 15 years ago, and he did it for 20-25 years.”

“It’s a family tradition,” Rev. Alicia Juliá-Stanley piped in.

“It’s grueling. We make twenty-one pounds at a time. We’ve got to do it in a certain order to get it to come together,” added Slanina.

Assembling the peanut butter and coconut-filled eggs is a multi-day endeavor. First, the filling is mixed, then chilled until it’s firm. Once it’s cooled, it is scooped, weighed, and rolled. Then, the rolled eggs are chilled again so they hold their shape while being dipped in chocolate. After dipping, they must be chilled again so that the chocolate hardens, and then volunteers trim off the excess chocolate. It’s a three-to-four-day process from start to finish.

Volunteers clustered in groups of two to three to trim the eggs, bag them, and label them. Quiet conversation bubbled up among each of the groups, while the leader, Lee, greeted visitors and shuffled cartons of chocolate-covered eggs to and fro.

The community makes the work fun. Linda Dormer shared, “I’ve been doing this since I’ve been in the church, at least 17 years. It’s fun. You get to sit with people, talk, and have a good time.” Sometimes they will gather for a few hours, sometimes up to six. It depends on the number of volunteers. “Sundays are the best days. We come here right after worship,” shared Julie Kushner.

While volunteers prepped eggs for future sales, a steady stream of people dipped in and out to pick up eggs throughout the day. One person casually walked up and asked, “Can I get 40?” Others came in and purchased a handful. Some came to pick up orders that had been placed in advance and walked out with giant paper bags filled with eggs.

“People know. They see our sign. One lady told Lee, ‘You know it’s spring when the Easter eggs are for sale.’ They watch for snowdrops and crocuses, and the Easter egg sign.”

Volunteers will dedicate hours each week for the ten weeks leading up to Easter. By the time the holiday comes, they’ll have rolled and sold 14,000 eggs, making it their largest fundraiser of the year by far.

Easter eggs weren’t the only thing of interest at Shamokin that day. Upstairs, the “Smoke Team” was eager to show off their display of model trains.

A team of three train enthusiasts from the congregation—Bill Slanina, Junior Stania, and Joe Stanley, Rev. Alicia Juliá-Stanley’s husband—had set up a miniature wonderland.

Inspired by another place in town that puts out model trains, the Smoke Team decided to do it at Shamokin as a Christmas outreach project. They set up model displays, installed a replica clock that looked like it belonged to a train station from the 1800s, and set up a screen that played The Polar Express on a loop.

Stanley set up his trains, creating a miniature town that included classic collector’s items, like Coca-Cola shops. “Some of my stuff hadn’t seen the light of day for 30 years,” remarked Joe. Stania set up his train around a town filled with wooden buildings that he had made when he was only a teenager. Bill Slanina set up his train like a miniature version of the Polar Express, with lights that would turn blue as the train crossed “the ice.” He filled a coal car with Hershey Kisses and would make sure that it stopped in front of each child who came to visit his model.

It was a labor of love that brought joy to those who visited, as well as to the Smoke Team. The display was up for four weeks, and three to four dozen people came through. Stanley remarked, “The kids came in many sizes and ages. There was a guy who came almost every Saturday. In his eyes, you could see that there was this moment.”

From Christmas to Easter, Shamokin UMC creates these moments of hope, joy, and community connection. Sometimes, they do it through the wonder of a miniature train set, sometimes through the joy of a homemade peanut butter egg, and sometimes through the delight of a Hershey Kiss carried by a miniature coal car that stops right in front of you.

May we choose to do likewise. May we use the traditions, the gifts, and the passions God has given us to create moments of peace and joy for our neighbors both near and far.