Two Episcopal churches in Rowan County and a Lutheran church in Kannapolis are inviting people to bring their pets — under certain conditions — to Blessing of the Animals ceremonies this weekend.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, at 930 S. Main St., Salisbury, will hold the first service at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"All creatures, large and small, are welcome," according to St. Paul's Web site, and if a pet owner doesn't feel comfortable bringing his or her pet, they can bring a picture.
Church leaders make several requests or suggestions for people who bring the real pet:
- Keep pets leashed at all times.
- Cats and other small animals will likely feel safer if brought in a crate or carrier.
- Any "potentially aggressive" pets should be muzzled or confined to a crate.
Information about the Salisbury service is available online at http://stpaulsepiscopalsalisburync.org/blessing2008.html.
The Rev. Ken Saunders of Christ Episcopal Church, at 3430 Old U.S. 70 in Cleveland, will bless the animals at 3 p.m. Sunday. The church asks simply that people keep their pets "properly restrained."
"This custom of blessing animals is usually conducted in conjunction with the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4) and commemorates St. Francis' advocacy and love for all of God's creatures," Saunders wrote in an e-mail.
"These creatures are a gift from God and bless our daily lives. They continually show us God's grace and love. So, we have a deep affection for our furry, feathered or finned friends."
For directions and more details on the Cleveland service, go to www.christchurchclevelandnc.org.
The Rowan County Humane Society and the Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary will be on hand to offer advice about caring for pets and have animals available for adoption.
Kimball Memorial Lutheran Church in Kannapolis will host a Blessing of the Animals for the Kannapolis community at 4 p.m. Sunday at Village Park.
The contemporary music and prayer service is is open to all. The Rev. Richard Rhodes and the Rev. Dr. Hoke Ritchie, Kimball's pastors, will lead the service.
Pets should be on a leash or caged, and owners are responsible for their pets, church officials said.
For more information, contact the Kannapolis church at 704-938-5400.
CLH
Thank you Fr. Ken Saunders : Saturday, October 04, 2008 12:48 PM
Very well said...
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Ann Campbell
Well Said.... : Saturday, October 04, 2008 9:17 AM
Very well said Fr. Ken Saunders and Sky....And with just as humble of a heart,I agree.May we all be blessed with giving and forgiving hearts,and may we all be givers of love and mercy to all of God's creations.
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Sky
Great idea : Saturday, October 04, 2008 2:59 AM
In my little humble corner of the world, I see nothing wrong with asking God to bless one of his creatures. If a pet can be a pathway to introducing someone to the teaching and enlightenment of God’s love, mercy and grace, then let more churches follow likewise. As pointed out earlier, we ask God to bless our food, and we ask Him to bless those we love, and we should ask Him to bless those who are not so kind to us. My only regret is, I do not have a pet to take and ask God to bless. What a wonderful idea! It is a way of saying, “I love you, Lord.”
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Fr. Ken Saunders
Interesting Conversation... : Friday, October 03, 2008 7:27 PM
I will say – the conversation is interesting. I never thought that the concept of “blessing” would get so much differences of opinion. The distinct differences of opinion here seem to frustrate folks to the point of “correcting” others practices. I know not everyone will understand or accept what we are doing, and that’s ok. I think that most of the confusion comes from the idea of “blessing” as a practice. I agree that God is the ONLY one who blesses anything. However, in most Christian traditions, it is the clergy who are the ordained reminders to the people that grace and blessings come only from God. In the “blessing the animals” context, “to be blessed" means 'to be favored by God'. Blessings of this type therefore are directly associated with God and that which comes from God. Therefore, to express a blessing of this sort is like bestowing a wish that someone or something will experience the favor of God. It is a celebration of the creation that God has made us stewards of. It is done as a thanksgiving to God for the many “blessings” these animals (God’s creation) have made in our lives. Someone once asked the question: when we bless food, what are we doing? Food doesn’t have a soul! – we are however, thanking God for providing us the gracious abundance we have received, and that it be used to nourish our body… So, I do not feel that “blessing” anything in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is wrong… I feel it is proper to ask for God’s favor and to thank God for providing for us. This has nothing to do with going to heaven. That was made secure with our acknowledgement that Christ died for our sins and then defeated death by rising again and that we have been re-born in Christ and share with Him in the resurrection on the last day. Asking God’s favor on the animals (that are part of God’s creation) that have shown us love, protection, and companionship does have to do with praising God and thanking God for providing this wonderful creation for us to be a part of… God’s love, peace, and blessings to you all! Ken+
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Ann Campbell
How many of you have been to Heaven???? : Friday, October 03, 2008 3:28 PM
Really now,how do you know for sure,unless you have been there lately,that animals aren't allowed in Heaven??? I know that Heaven holds my heart's desires and one of my desires is that all of God's creations are welcomed into Heaven.Take a moment and think about what church is.It is a place where the bond of creation is celebrated.Unless someone other than God created our animal friends,then maybe they don't belong in church or are worthy enough to be blessed.Narrow minds find a wide road into Hell.And like I stated,unless you have been to Heaven,don't pretend you know who or what dwells there. And trust me,no one here on Earth does.
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KJ
Weirdness : Friday, October 03, 2008 2:21 PM
I thought Sarah Palin's crowd was nutty. Then I read this article, the comments, including the priest's comments. Seems this unorthodox practice lacks any biblical foundation. Just kinda weird stuff invented by people who "want to believe" their pets have eternal souls. I wonder how many canine souls will be brought to Jesus by this practice?
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tedwood
Mistype : Friday, October 03, 2008 8:47 AM
I am by far not a perfect man.
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JW2020
My Response : Thursday, October 02, 2008 1:32 PM
CLH- I'm sorry that you're misunderstanding me. I never said that God is going to banish people to Hell for going to get their animals blessed. God sends people to Hell for not trusting Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. My entire point is I don't want people to go to Hell. If these churches are going to put their focus on such worldy things as animal blessings rather than teaching people how to be born again and go to Heaven, I'm not going to stand in front of God and tell Him that I saw it, knew it was wrong, but stood by and said nothing. Romans 1:25 says the unrighteous "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator." The harm is that this one day a year may be the only time a person sets foot in the house of God, and may never again get the chance to learn how to be saved, and will die and go to Hell. I have had MANY pets in my life, and loved them all. When did I deny that God created them for our enjoyment and companionship? But that has nothing to do with this. People are dying and going to Hell all around us every day, and I think there are MUCH more pressing issues for churches to focus on than a MAN (who can't bless ANYTHING) blessing animals, who are going to die one day anyways, as are we all. But animals die and return to the ground, where as people either go to Heaven or Hell. So I stand by everything I said out of LOVE, because Jesus loved us all and it was not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Everything else is just distraction from salvation. You want God to take care of your animals, extend their life? Pray. Pray and ask God to bless and extend the life of the pet that you love. Simple as that. But no man can do any more for you (or your pet) than God can.
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ted wood
What are you kidding? : Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:15 PM
I am by far a perfect man. Do you really not see the error in this bless the animals ordeal? Are you really doing God's work, meaning what Jesus Christ said? If you are using this animal blessing as a means to bring people to Jesus Christ and his true salvation then maybe it could be viewed as a good thing, although that type of "advertisement" is not really endorsed anywhere in the Bible (Scofield 1611. God does not use trickery/marketing to get his word to the unsaved. His word is simple, humanity is flawed and God knows this, why else would he send his Son to earth?
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Fr. Ken Saunders
Blessing Animals and Praising GOD! : Thursday, October 02, 2008 6:42 AM
Question: Do animals have a soul? Answer: As a rule, the complete question involves concern about animals, especially pets, being in heaven. The original creation. When we visit the creation, we discover a number of truths. One apparent truth is the uniqueness of man compared to the lower animal creation. Only to man was it said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…." (Gen. 1: 26). Animals are next mentioned in the verse, but from the standpoint of their subservience to man. The fate of man and animals. The wise man had much to say regarding man, his birth, life, and destiny. He wrote, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). Earlier, he wrote regarding man and the beast: "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" (Eccl. 3:21.) This question is clearly answered in the above noted chapter twelve, verse seven. Animals have a soul in the sense that they possess life. A common Hebrew word translated life (soul) is nephesh. Nephesh is used for the life or breath of both animals and man (Gen. 1: 20, 30; 19: 17). Life is that state that is the opposite of death. It is a state of animation, breathing, and awareness. Humans and animals alike possess a soul in the sense of breath (nephesh). However, in the sense of possessing a part or element that lives forever, as man possesses, animals do not possess an eternal spirit (cp. Matt. 25: 46). The animal simply and totally returns to the dust, the spirit of humans continue to exist (Eccl. 3:21, cp. 12:7). The fact that animals do not possess an eternal soul in the sense that man does, does not de-emphasize their value as companions to man. Pets can and do become an important part in the lives of millions. Also, in man's charge over the animal kingdom, it behooves man to protect and not abuse the animals (Gen. 1:26-28). Psalm 150 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 69:29-36 But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.
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CLH
I'm sorry you feel that way... : Wednesday, October 01, 2008 4:17 PM
Obviously you have never had the opportunity to experience the love and affection you recieve from these little "no soul" creatures. What does it matter to you if people want to take God's creatures to have them blessed? The church wants to take one day out of the entire year to do this..whats the harm in that? I don't think God is going to banish these people to hell for this. And if He didn't want animals in our lives..why create them? Think about that for a little bit.
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Rebecca
Blessing of the Animals : Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:48 PM
We also have a Blessing of the Animals scheduled for Sunday at St. Luke's Episcopal on Council Street after the regular 10:30 service.
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JW2020
REPRIORITIZE : Wednesday, October 01, 2008 8:39 AM
This is a ridiculous waste of time. Animals don't have souls, men can't bless ANYTHING, only God can. To pray over animals is a waste of time. Why don't you try spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to all these people who will come and teach them how their souls can be saved? Sounds to me like these churches seriously need to refocus and get their priorities straight. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." -Romans 6:23 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." -Romans 10:9
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