On the first Friday of October, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Kimberling City hosted the Blessing of the Animal Service to honor the Feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and ecology. He gloried in the beauty of the world God created and had affection for animals and valued their trust in him. At this service we thanked God for the gift of this beautiful world filled with animals. We thanked God for his creation of all animals including those in the air, in the sea, on land and especially those in our own homes. We thanked God for this abundant and vast tapestry of life to which we are all interwoven and prayed for God to make us instruments of good stewardship for all creation. We thanked him for the gift of our own animal companions, for the joy and unconditional love they bring to us, and we asked God to help us to be better caretakers as they give us so much.
Usually, the fur babies attending this service are very quiet and calm during the sermon. Once our Priest, Anne Cheffey, begins the service it is like they have been attending church all their lives and know how to behave. This year was just a little different. We had more puppies than we usually have. They were big pups as they were larger breeds, but still just puppies and not all of them were able to contain their excitement when hearing something in the service that moved them. So, every once in a while, during the sermon we would hear a loud “AMEN!” barked out. They were just feeling the joy! At the end of the service Mother Anne went to all 27 fur babies and humans to give individual blessings while Darrel Croy provided another blessing with his musical talents on the organ. After everyone was blessed, the fur babies were told that they could now take their humans home and water and feed them.
We will see you all next year!
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