Should Churches hold Pet Blessings?

Archivist said:

Two years ago two little kittens arrived at my house. They have managed to rip my couch apart, brought down four sets of drapes, and destroyed various items ranging from a wall clock to an antique beer stein. They have also become my two great loves and I cannot imagine life without them.

My home church has a yearly pet blessing where people bring pets ranging from dogs and cats to lizards and turtles to hamsters and Guinea pigs to be blessed by the Pastor. The church that I have been attending since I moved doesn't do this at the church, but when the Pastor visits homes he gladly sprinkles pets with holy water and blesses them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

I think blessing pets is wonderful. What do you all think?

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Paidiske said:

I've found that the benefits of pet blessings tend to run in two different directions.

One is more ecological; in suburban life, we no longer tend to go out and bless fields, herds and so forth as churches once did when most people farmed for a living. But by blessing pets we remember that all of creation belongs to God (not just humans), and we seek God's blessing on that creation (and seek to orient ourselves to wise stewardship of that creation).

The other is more pastoral; for a lot of people, their pets are very important to them. They might live alone with no other company. Their pet might have been their companion through crippling grief, mental health issues, or disability. By blessing their pets we acknowledge the goodness of those relationships before God and provide an opportunity to give thanks, and that can be very profoundly meaningful.

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Sketcher said:

Has there ever been a problem with people attending that week who were allergic to cats, or afraid of dogs, or pets that just didn't get along with other pets?

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Paidiske said:

Not in my experience. I'm not a fan of large dogs, but it's surprising how well behaved they tend to be for this. As for pets getting along, cats in cages, dogs on leashes, and any other sort of pets suitably restrained, is usual practice.

Oh, as something of an arachnophobe I do tend to tell folks I don't want to bless any pet tarantulas, and so far I haven't been confronted with one...

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Sketcher said:

And is this part of the regular Sunday service, or is it just an event that takes place at another scheduled time?

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Paidiske said:

You can do it either way. In my tradition, lots of churches will do this as part of their regular Sunday service on the Sunday closest to St. Francis' day (in early October). Or you might have a special service at a separate time for that purpose.

My experience is that you get a much better turn out if you do it as part of the regular service, and it is an easy day for people to invite first-time visitors along.

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Archivist said:

Two years ago two little kittens arrived at my house. They have managed to rip my couch apart, brought down four sets of drapes, and destroyed various items ranging from a wall clock to an antique beer stein. They have also become my two great loves and I cannot imagine life without them.

My home church has a yearly pet blessing where people bring pets ranging from dogs and cats to lizards and turtles to hamsters and Guinea pigs to be blessed by the Pastor. The church that I have been attending since I moved doesn't do this at the church, but when the Pastor visits homes he gladly sprinkles pets with holy water and blesses them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

I think blessing pets is wonderful. What do you all think?

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Archivist said:

I think Paidiske said it well in her post 7.

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