Blessing
of the
Animals
Sunday 12 November worship at 10:00am we will have our annual Blessing of the Animals.
All pets are welcome!
Bring your pet or pictures and representations of your pet that you appreciate can be brought to be blessed as well.
This time of year for UCRP annual Blessing of the Animals. A procession of animals, everything from dogs and cats to hamsters and even Walking stick bugs [from the Phasmida family - these bugs make good pets] , is led for a special ceremony called the Blessing of the Animals. This custom is conducted in remembrance of Saint Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures.
Francis loved the larks flying about his hilltop town. He and his early brothers, staying in a small hovel, allowed themselves to be displaced by a donkey. Francis wrote a Canticle of the Creatures, an ode to God’s living things. “All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.” And there was testimony in the cause for Saint Clare of Assisi’s canonization that referred to her little cat!
That there are today over 62 million cats in the U.S. attests to the continuing affection we have for our furry, feathered or finned friends. We’ve even had a cat called Socks in the White House. Other popular presidential pets range from Abraham Lincoln’s Fido to Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, named Him and Her.
Percentage of home that are dog owners are 38.4%, whereas cat are at 25.4%.
Come and enjoy this yearly worship celebration.