A day in the life: Clovis pastor welcomes Easter

Every day, Bonetta Hutson wakes up and prays. At age 63, she preaches weekly at Living Word Church of God. But this is a special week for her church and churches worldwide. It's Easter.

"It's our Super Bowl," Hutson said Thursday afternoon, smiling while preparing small cups of juice for communion at the evening service.

Hutson is the church's new pastor, beginning her time as a church minister last year and being a congregation member since 2010. She said this Easter is unique.

"Last year was a very sad Easter for us," she said.

Hutson unexpectedly lost one of her closest friends of 28 years, Paula Stevens, wife of the church's then-pastor David Stevens. "Her husband took it very hard. And so he decided to retire, stepped down."

And that's where Hutson stepped in to fill the space as an already ordained minister in the faith.

"We were still grieving," she said of Easter a year ago. "This (Easter) is truly rejoicing."

Preparing for Easter is a labor of love, she said. Luckily, she has a few people around to help set things up.

While Hutson regularly has tasks she intends to complete for the day, she said her morning prayer is always a reminder from God of where her priorities need to be.

"Prayer is most important because it just keeps me in contact with what's important to be done today. Not the stuff," she said, Easter or not.

She said if God sends her a message in her morning prayer showing her that someone might need a helping hand or a friendly voice, she will put that at the forefront, even during the chaos of Holy Week. "I'm here to make God happy," she said.

Like many churches, Hutson's church has participated in a week of services, including Palm Sunday, a foot washing service on Thursday evening, and today's Easter morning service set for 8 a.m., with breakfast following at 9.

Hutson said one of her favorite parts of Easter is preparing the music. "I'm really big into music, I've been into it my whole life," she said.

For today's service, she plans to open with "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" One of her Easter favorites.

While Hutson loves the excitement around Easter, she said it's her daily job as a minister to remind everyone that the lessons of Easter and other holidays should be carried throughout the year, not just for a week.

"There is nothing you can do that God will not forgive you for. That is why he gave his only Son that we could be forgiven," she said.