Blessing of the Animals

The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness will offer a “Blessing of the

Animals” on Sunday, October 4, at 4:00 p.m. in the new outdoor Wilderness Chapel located behind

the Parish Hall at 1905 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock.

Pets and furry or feathered companions are invited to this special annual service to receive a

blessing. Cats, dogs, snakes, chickens, horses, birds, goats, in fact all domestic animals, are

welcome! As an option, a stuffed animal or pet photo may be presented to receive a blessing. Our

outdoor gathering space will create a lively atmosphere for all creatures involved.

"The Blessing of the Animals is a special worship service that playfully restores us to be the

creatures that we were made to be,” said the Reverend Joshua P. Stephens, Rector of St. John in the

Wilderness. We pause each year at this time to offer thanks and blessings for our animal

companions who love us so very well. In so doing, we discover solidarity with them before God who

gives all of creation life and sustenance. What a joy it is to be given life and friendship with each

other and our pets! We will thank God for all of it on October 4th."

The service occurs the same day as the annual Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a man with a true spirit

of love and peace that could have only come from God. He turned the cerebral, inward-leaning

theology and scholasticism of the Middle Ages on its head by his radical commitment to living a life

of poverty and service in the pattern of Jesus of Nazareth.

Those who encountered St. Francis were drawn into the peaceable Kingdom of God to know

more fully the Prince of Peace. Even animals, it is said, were attracted to his Christ-like

gentleness. In one story, he preaches to a flock of birds. In another he makes peace with a wolf that

had been terrorizing a village calling the creature “Brother Wolf” and reconciling him to the village.

In the event of rain, the service will be relocated inside the Parish Hall.

For more information call the church office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.

Community event in Flat Rock, Surry County, NC 28731.