A Seymour pastor said he believes the message of Easter is simple.

“We win,” Pastor Dan Defriece said following the annual Seymour Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at The Pines Evergreen Room on Good Friday. “The empty tomb is a testament that God gave Jesus that we could have victory over death if we put our faith in him.”

Defriece, the guest speaker and pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, shared that message with about 140 people. The event also included a presentation of the colors by the Seymour Police Department Honor Guard, hymns by the Lutheran Men’s Chorus, prayer and, of course, plenty of food.

Humanity may have won on Easter, but what happened in between was a sacrifice to make the victory possible, Defriece said.

“The most important message on Good Friday is Jesus has died and paid the debt, and if they put faith in Jesus as their savior, then they can be forgiven and have hope for eternity,” he said.

Defriece talked about a song about grace and forgiveness. He used an example of a loan to make a point about how God forgives people with grace and mercy.

“We all would be glad if part of our debt was removed, but how much more excited would we be if we took away all our debt instead of part of it?” he said.

He moved on to talk about how many loans come with a grace period where people can make payments within a window without penalty.

“During the grace period, the person that to whom you owe the debt will give you a little bit of extra time to make it up and give you a few days,” he said. “At the end of the grace period, the debt remained, even though there was some leniency, but when it all came down to it, you still held the debt.”

But that’s not how it works with God, he said, because with God, grace is given with no strings attached.

“Real grace has no repayment,” he said. “It has one source, it is upon the one of which is bestowing it.”

Following the event, Defriece said he was honored to be asked by Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman to speak at the event.

Defriece, who moved here with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children a year and a half ago, said to be given the opportunity to be guest speaker was special.

“If there is one thing our communities need, it’s this kind of unity,” he said. “As a pastor, my desire for unity is around Jesus, and I think he has brought a unity here because the people here recognize what this is about.”

Luedeman said that’s one of the highlights of the event — bringing different congregations and denominations together during an important holiday.

“You don’t have to be Lutheran, Catholic or Pentecostal or whatever you choose, but we’re all here to worship and bring the community together,” he said.

The prayer breakout was started by the Seymour Jaycees in 1967 and continued through the mid-1980s. Former Seymour Mayor John Burkhart renewed the tradition in 1996.

It’s a tradition that Luedeman has continued throughout the years because it brings the community together for an important holiday.

“It’s been a minimum of 25 years, probably closer to 30,” he said. “It’s a great way to get everyone out together and get them ready for Easter.”

Each year, a pastor from a different church is invited to give the message. Luedeman said the idea is to give everyone a change of pace from what they’re used to and recognize the variety of denominations in the city.

“Most people go to the same church all the time,” he said, adding he’s a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour. “It just gives a different perspective of what other churches see and different preaching styles.”

Maybe there are different churches or different ideas, but Defriece said there is one thing all can agree on to unite them.

“The truth is, we’re united under the blood of Jesus, and we may disagree on some finer points, but ultimately, if a person has put their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior, then that’s what matters,” he said.

Luedeman said it is satisfying knowing he has continued an important tradition many value in the community.

“It’s a tradition that you go to the prayer breakfast before work and catch up with everyone and hear a great message,” Luedeman said. “A lot thank me for keeping the tradition alive, and there are people that come that I don’t get to see on a daily basis, so that’s always great.”