We took our cat Valentino to church last Sunday. It was
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church’s
annual day for blessing the animals and honoring
St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. Valentino lost his
sister, littermate, and lifelong companion
Garbo to cancer last summer, so we chose him of all of our pets
to come to church this year.
St. Andrew’s was full of dogs and cats and little creatures in portable terrariums
and stuffed animals. There were more dogs than all of the other animals, so
the music had to carry over a certain amount of territorial barking and
squabbling in the pews. The clergy and children read poems and Bible
passages about animals. Of course, we sang the hymn
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All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
We brought Tino in his cat carrier so he had a place to hide but he was calm
enough to come out for a blessing by Rev. Kate Atkinson. The service
was of course followed by a Kibble and Cake Reception.
Tino and John:
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Tino and John and Paul:
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Tino and John and Kate:
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Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson
KatysBlog 
Ah. Leave the poor cat alone. It doesn’t need to be ‘saved’ as her great great great grandparents did not eat any forbidden fruits.
To the Anonymous Poster:
When I read passages like the following, I can’t help but believe that God takes joy in animals just as they are: "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider." (from Job 39)