Pet Blessing
We had our first ever Pet Blessing today on the grass outside of our church building … it was such a joyful celebration, a beautiful time of expressing gratitude for and blessing towards one another, both people and pets, with Songs, Prayers, Scriptures, Blessings, a P.E.T. Talk, Treat Bags for dogs & cats & bunnies, and Cookie Decorating for pet parents & friends. God blessed us with a gorgeous and sunny spring afternoon (following several days of rain and more in the forecast). It was an absolute blast and exceeded all of our expectations with about fifty people and many beloved pets in attendance! Joy and gratitude abounded as we shared this special time together.
So many hands and hearts prepared and prayed, imagined and invited, in order to make this idea a reality … it is truly a joy to be a part of an “everybody gets to play” kind of church. I’m so enjoying my pastoring journey, incorporating all kinds of classical, contemporary, and creative ways to love God and people!
P.E.T. Talk, Pet Blessing – March 24th, 2024
We are here today to bless our pets. Some of us have pets on leashes, some in crates, some in our arms, others needed to remain at home.
A pet is simply any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately. Raise your hand if a pet belongs to you. Raise your hand if you belong to your pet! Aren’t they wonderful?
British author C. S. Lewis wrote, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.” French poet François-Anatole Thibault penned, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
Our primary focus today is on blessing. As pet parents we understand full well that our pets do nothing to deserve our blessing. They choose us and we choose them, we adopt them, we raise them, we feed them, we care for them. Some require more attention than others, some require more training than others, some require more patience than others. And through it all, they bring us such joy!
I believe pets are one of God’s great gifts to us to help us to better understand who God is, who God created us to be, and what God’s love for us is like. We pet parents dearly love our pets, don’t we? Some of our pets are really like children to us. That gives us a glimpse into how much God loves us – God wants us to know that first and foremost, we are, each and every one, God’s dearly and beloved children! God created and cares for each one of us with patience and provision, training and tenderness. And as imperfect as we all know we are, we somehow bring God great joy!
In closing, here’s an acronym to remind us of who God is and who we are:
P – Present
God: “Here I am”
Us: “And here I am”
E – Embraced
God: “I embrace you”
Us: “And I embrace you (God) … and you (others)”
T – True
God: “I am and will always be true to you”
Us: “And I want to be true to you, too”
May God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life, bless you to enjoy life together! May you and your pets overflow with joy in the present with God who is ever present. May you and your pets overflow with love in the embrace of our all-embracing God. May you and your pets overflow with peace in the faithfulness of Christ Jesus, the one who is eternally true to us and to all of creation and through whom we are welcomed to be forever true to God, as God created and intended for us to be!
