In the kitchen at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Columbia, Easter is made by hand, thousands of times over. For the past several weeks, volunteers have gathered on Mondays and Tuesdays to make the church's famous chocolate-covered Easter eggs, a decades-old tradition that is both a fundraiser and a labor of love.

"It's quite a detailed and involved process," said the Rev. Martha Harris. "It requires dozens of volunteers."

The work begins long before the chocolate is melted. Volunteer Deb Wasche collects the orders, shops for ingredients and supplies and oversees the morning crew. That group mixes the fillings and hand-rolls the eggs before placing them in the refrigerator to firm up. Later in the day, an evening crew arrives to dip the chilled eggs in chocolate. Beth Runkle supervises the evening team.

"Just this week alone, we had orders for 850 eggs," Wasche shared. "We make the eggs for the six weeks leading up to Holy Week, so each year, we make thousands of eggs."

The eggs come in a variety of flavors.

"We have peanut butter in light and dark chocolate, peanut butter crispy in light and dark chocolate, and then coconut, butter cream, cherry and orange, all in dark chocolate," she said.

The church has been holding the fundraiser for more than 40 years, Wasche noted, adding that she has been involved for more than 15 years.

"It's the church's recipe, and it's been the same recipe for years and years," she said. "We don't deviate from it. When you have a good thing, you want to keep doing it."

Harris noted that when the fundraiser began, several churches in Columbia sold Easter eggs each spring. Today, she believes St. Paul is the only church in town still making them.

Each week, Wasche prepares batches of filling in the church kitchen. Bowls of the mixture are then handed off to volunteers, who weigh 1-ounce portions, roll them into egg shapes and place them on trays.

"I'm a roller," said Bill Weinberg, who has been volunteering with the project for about 10 years. "I got involved because the church needed help, and I wanted to help."

Asked how many eggs the group has made over the years, Weinberg laughed, adding, "As many as there are stars in the sky."

Volunteer Tony Abramo handles the weighing of the filling portions. He said he joined the effort simply because he wanted to lend a hand.

"I never made eggs before this," he said, noting that he has been volunteering for about five years.

Added Weinberg, "I never made them either before I started doing this, but I had eaten a lot of them."

For volunteer Bill Clark, making eggs is a way to stay busy while his wife helps at the church's food pantry, which operates during the same hours.

"This isn't our church," he said. "We belong to Holy Trinity Catholic, but my wife was asked to stay and help with the eggs, which she did, and she talked me into it, too."

Most of the same volunteers return each week, with about 10 people helping in the morning and a slightly smaller crew in the evening.

"We all love the camaraderie," said volunteer Pat Dancause, whose favorite flavor of eggs is the orange cream.

Clark agreed.

"It's fun to talk, to shoot the breeze while we work," he said.

Asked why people should consider buying St. Paul's eggs, the volunteers don't hesitate to answer.

"These are the best around," Dancause said. "It's the love that goes into them. They're handmade with love."

Wasche credits quality ingredients, including high-quality chocolate and fresh additions such as orange zest, with helping to make the eggs so popular.

Along with preorders, eggs are sold at several locations in and around Columbia, including Hinkle's Restaurant, Stover's News Agency and Kindred Collections, as well as Sue's Food Market in Wrightsville.

Proceeds from the sales help maintain the historic church building, located at 340 Locust St. in Columbia.

"There's always maintenance that has to be done in a church this old," Wasche said.

Wasche, whose favorite flavor is the peanut butter crispy with light chocolate, said the fundraiser holds special meaning for her.

"I love this church," she said. "I've been a member since I was a baby. I was baptized here, confirmed here and married here."

Wasche added that she's grateful to be part of the team that keeps the tradition going.

"I'm so thankful for our volunteers," she said. "They really help to keep the process moving along. We wouldn't be able to do this without them."

And for the volunteers who gather each week, the eggs are about more than chocolate and sugar. They're a sweet tradition, one that blends faith, friendship and lots of careful handwork, ensuring that a simple Easter treat continues to bring the Columbia community together, one handmade egg at a time.

Eggs are available individually, by the half-dozen and by the dozen. They must be preordered by calling the church at 717-684-8496, emailing admin@saintpaulcolumbia.org or purchasing through a parishioner. The deadline for the final week of orders is Saturday, March 21. Eggs may be picked up between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday, March 29.