Pastors in Milford celebrated Mass on Easter Sunday with services and well-wishes to people in need across the world.

“In some ways, we make Christmas the big deal of the Christian year…it’s important that God came into the world, but it’s even more important that he died and rose again,” said Pastor Curran Bishop, of the Christ Presbyterian Church.

“Easter is really the climax of realizing that God’s love is intended for everyone,” said Rev. Adam Eckhart, a senior pastor with the First United Church of Christ.

Christ Presbyterian Church and First United Church of Christ each began the holiday morning with a traditional Easter egg hunt before worship services. It followed Saturday’s downtown “Eggstravaganza” on the city green.

For many in Milford, Easter Sunday is a time to come together. Services across several Christian denominations emphasized the importance of hope in the face of struggle.

“We have this sense that we live in a society that is very fragmented, very disconnected, very lonely. The fact that Jesus has risen means we are called into community,” said Bishop. “We’re called to be friends, we’re called to connect with each other…we just want to find ways to celebrate.”

“In the midst of the uncertainty of life, we seek to see the risen Christ all around us in our daily lives,” said Eckhart.

That message extends to Gaza. Pope Francis used his Easter sermon to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

“You just go, ‘How can there be any hope in something like this?’ It takes the idea that there is actually a God who has entered into the world, has been killed by that destructiveness and has come back to life and defeated death. That’s the only way we can have hope in a context like that,” said Bishop.