It was a true St. Francis day, perhaps not unlike what life would have looked like in the 13th century when Friar St. Francis lived in Assisi!  This year we scheduled the service at 6pm and tweaked our normal service at that hour to accommodate our furry friends. It was amazing!  Over 250 people with bunnies, dogs, cats and birds showed up. After the prayers where we prayed in gratitude for God’s creation, and after the blessing of the communion elements, we processed outside through the great south doors and into the churchyard. Music was already playing out there and we had 3 communion stations set to go. As people marched out, they received communion, and then went to the next station which was our animal blessing station. From there, they were welcomed into an animal/human coffee hour complete with animal and human treats!  This unique outdoor ending was handled by the tower bell band, which all had their dogs and treats in hand. Thank you bell band!

Like any liturgy, we always ask, what is the purpose, why do we do what we do?  Well, on that night we stopped our normal lives to say thank you Lord for your creation. Bottom line, it is a great opportunity to transform hearts of humans by acknowledging the love they have for their pets. A tremendous moment for evangelism, as people could hear a straightforward Gospel message and prayerfully experience conversion or a recommitment to the Lord. It’s also a great surprise to people that church can be fun, loud and chaotic!  If St. Francis were there, I believe he would have said…Amen.