For our July 19 worship entitled “The Feast” we will also be holding a Blessing of the Animals service. Bring your well-behaved pet or a picture of your pet(s) and we will offer blessings for them. Well-behaved pets of all kinds are welcome! There will be a short liturgy service followed by laying on of hands for blessings and prayers, and then some yummy ice cream treats. Please join us Wednesday July 19 at 6:30 pm on the lawn in the lower lot of the church. If it is raining, we will find shelter in the garage.
The Gift of Animals
When God made the animals and gave them to the first human being in the Garden of Eden, though they weren’t precisely the companion Adam needed, not all was lost. According to Genesis 2, God gave Adam the privilege of naming them all, and when you name something or someone, you bond with that being in a special way. Ever since creation, humans and animals have been connected.
Trisha McCagh, a renowned animal communicator, writes: “Animals are the bridge between us and the beauty of all that is natural. They show us what’s missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves more completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are and to the purpose of why we’re here.”
I would say animals also show us how to love other people, nonhuman beings and the earth more completely and unconditionally. And they call our attention to God’s creativity. Praise God for the gift of animals with whom we share this planet!
—Heidi Hyland Mann