At the beginning of October, the Blessing of the Animals takes place in a number of churches nationwide.
A chilled rainy Sunday morning kept many of Judson Church’s varied pet babies homebound yet a number of dogs attended the annual Sunday of blessings. Among those furry companions that kept company with their dog parents at this past service were Maggie, Duncan, Carl, Hudson, Gertie, Riley, Shushu, and Luna.
The morning devoted to the value of animals and pets in our lives included congregational and performed songs, the sermon and testimonies. Observants also created remembrance notes or drawings of pets no longer on this plane, adding them to a memorial altar.
This service was part of Judson’s fall-themed Season of Radical Hope—Sunday’s focus on “Radical Play”.
Nearby Catholic church St. Anthony Church held its Blessing of the Animals on Saturday. It is customary for Catholic churches to hold a ceremonial blessing of animals on (or around) the feast day of St. Francis, October 4. St. Francis, sometimes thought of as the patron saint of ecology, recognized the bond between animals and humans.
