Pets and their carers can come together in a joyful celebration of love and laughter during a Blessing of the Pets in Grovedale.
St Cuthbert’s Anglican Church will host a family-friendly service from 10am on Sunday, 12 October and all pets are welcome.
Reverend Howard Parkinson said the service was about celebrating pets, animals and the “whole created order”.
“When blessing a pet, you go to the creature and say, ‘God bless you’, and you say some words of encouragement while describing how lovely it (the animal) looks,” he said.
“Our hymns or songs refer directly to animals, there are readings from the Bible that refer to the position of animals, there’s an address, and then each of the pets will be named, presented and blessed by me.
“The whole idea in some ways comes from Saint Francis of Assisi, who gave up a very rich life to live simply, and he encouraged everybody at his time to treat the whole of the created order in a loving fashion.”
Mr Parkinson said animals loved “unconditionally” and that it was important to give love back to them.
“It’s a good reminder about keeping them well and loving them, because their love is certainly immeasurable,” he said.
“Most animals now, certainly pets, are dependent on us because they’ve been tamed and lost the capacity to forage or hunt, so they are dependent on us for their food, wellbeing and safety.
“I just look forward to the faces of the animals and the faces of their owners, or perhaps we should call them carers, and people are often delighted to share in somebody else’s happiness with their pets.”
