Blessing of the Animals 2025
On Sunday, September 28, we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis and St. Clare by welcoming our animal companions to worship with us and receive a special blessing. Many dogs attended, as well as some guinea pigs and even a lizard! Debie Thomas preached a lovely sermon on the healing gift of Creation and Rev. Liz Milner blessed our beloved pets. Our Music Director, Matthew Burt, led our choir in lovely songs honoring St. Francis and St. Clare. Huge thanks to our Sexton, Ole Neves, and our A/V team, including Romain, Marius, and Don, for making this outdoor service successful and accessible. And thank you to Jonathan and Joe for taking pictures that let us enjoy this fun event long after it ends.
After the service, we enjoyed an Agape from the Fellows-Hartung family and an adorable petting zoo featuring chickens, ducks, bunnies, piglets, and goats. Enjoy these photos!
Parishioner Ruth brings her dog Dandy to be blessed. Psalm 150 says “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Our St. Francis and St. Clare services lets our dog friends participate in our worship service with their loving presence – and some even add their voices to our songs!
Rev. Liz had her hands full blessing all of God’s creatures, but each animal received a blessing in its own way. Pet dogs appear throughout both the Old Testament and New Testament!
Guinea pigs Vincent and Nutmeg receive blessings from Debie Thomas and Rev. Liz Milner. Originally from South America, guinea pigs do not appear in the Bible, but some of their rodent cousins, such as rabbits and rats, do!
Our Children, Youth & Families Minister, Lily Dodge, brought her bearded dragon Blaise to be blessed. Blaise is named for St. Blaise, the patron saint of the throat, because bearded dragons can “puff out” their throats in a threat or mating display.
For animals who were unable (or unwilling) to attend church, particularly our feline friends, special items like toys or photos could be blessed in their stead. Animals who have passed away also received blessings in this way. As our Children, Youth & Families Minister, Lily Dodge, reminds our young people, God is very big and can bless us and our loved ones anywhere, any place! Here, Debie Thomas blesses a cat toy brought by one of our young people.
A few St. Mark’s families participate in training and volunteering with service dog organizations such as Canine Companions. Here, golden lab Blanche, who attended with Zareen and Spencer, shows off her calm demeanor and obedience.
One fun aspect of the Blessing of the Animals is getting to meet other people’s pets! Vincent the Guinea Pig, brought by the Chen family, was the center of attention and graciously received plenty of cuddles, pets, and carrot treats.
Our church prides itself on being completely intergenerational – and the petting zoo was no exception! Although it is traditionally organized via our Children, Youth & Families Ministry, parishioners of all ages enjoyed meeting these fun visitors. Here, Virginia Rock and some of her local friends are experiencing the petting zoo.
Our young people are always eager to lend a helping hand, and they were immediately on board to help the petting zoo get set up and keep the animals company. Did you know that a pig’s snout has as many touch receptors as a human fingertip? Watching the two piglets root through the hay and explore their new surroundings at St. Mark’s was very fun.
Not everyone wanted to step inside the animal pen in their church clothes – but fortunately, the friendly petting zoo visitors were happy to hang out near the edges and be petted through the fencing!
Even the Flower Guild and Altar Guild showed some love for our furry friends on this unique day, with cat treats featured in our liturgical decor! In the upper left, you can see Randy at the piano – he lent his musical talents on the trumpet and piano to the lively music.