Blessing of the Animals Service This Sunday
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Dog at Blessing of the Animals service
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Dog at Blessing of the Animals service
Dogs, cats—and other animals!—will join ministers and the Durham Children's Choir for this Blessing of the Animals worship service this Sunday, October 8, at 3:00 p.m. on Abele Quad (by the James B. Duke statue).
Pet owners are welcome to bring their animals to receive a blessing as part of the service. Those bringing pets are responsible for their animals and are asked to bring only pets that will be safe around children and other animals. The service will last about thirty minutes and includes music from the choir, scripture readings, and a sermon. Individual animal blessings will take place immediately after the service.
Paid parking is available on a first-come-first-served basis in the Bryan Center Garage at 125 Science Drive. ADA parking is available in the surface lot at the same address.
The Blessing of the Animals service is inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, a thirteenth-century Italian Catholic friar who lived a life of voluntary poverty and is known for his love of animals. He believed the natural world could give glory to God, writing in his song Canticle of the Sun, "Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures."