St. Paul’s Blessing of the Animals

animal blessingSt. Paul’s Episcopal Church held their 20th Annual Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, Oct. 4 in the church courtyard, to pray over domestic animals in the community.

Pet owners brought their dogs, cats, geese and even a horse to receive the blessings of St. Francis of Assisi.

Church members say the traditional service has attracted both interfaith and non-denominational participants alike over the last few years.

The Blessing of the Animals is held each year in the remembrance of the patron saint of animals, St. Francis on the day of his feast, held on October 4th. St. Francis is widely known by Christians for the love and compassion he had for all living creatures.

Franklin resident Laura Turner, a 30-year member of St. Paul’s, was the speaker for this event. She could not believe how the time had flown since the inaugural Blessing of the Animals in 1995, which Reverend Porter Taylor officiated.  Turner still remembers when Taylor said to her, “Laura, people are thirsty for this.”

“I will never forget those words and I believe people have and continue to be thirsty for spiritual validation of the love and bond they share with animals,” Taylor said.

This year’s Blessing of the Animals was dedicated to an organization called Noah’s Ark. The organization has a sanctuary in Locust Grove, Georgia for previously neglected animals.

Turner says their mission statement epitomizes what God and St. Francis have called the church to do in the world that is shared by all living things, and in Pope Francis’ own words, “our common home.”

Turner went on to tell the audience members about how she is connected to Noah’s Ark through her own experience with a small kitten her friend found in May 2014.

When Turner first saw the feline, she noticed that it had unusual fur and a short stub of a tail. After researching the kitten’s physical features, she discovered this was no ordinary kitten, it was a young bobcat.

After taking the infant bobcat into her family, nursing him back to health and giving him the name, Baby Bob, Turner realized he was probably a victim of nuisance wildlife trappers, who likely trapped his mother and left him behind. In several states, including Tennessee, it is not required by law to see if an animal is currently nursing young.

“I know now God brought Baby into my life,” Turner said. Her family immediately bonded with the bobcat but as he began to mature, she knew her time with Baby Bob would soon draw to a close.

She began to research sanctuaries for animals similar to Baby Bob, where he could be loved and cared for. That’s when she and her son came across Noah’s Ark.

“God gave me the courage and strength to go with my family to Noah’s Ark where Baby would be able to continue to grow into the amazing animal God created him to be,” she said. “And prayer gave me the ability to love this creature of God’s so unconditionally that I could sacrifice my need to touch and hold and hear Baby’s rumbling purr and see in his eyes his complete trust in me. I had to do the right thing for Baby.”

On December 16, 2014, the Turner family brought Baby Bob to his new home in Locust Grove, where he remains to this day. “We left without Baby but our hearts were full of unconditional love,” she said. “Suddenly, it was clear and sunny and I felt God’s handprints on it all.”

When Turner had finished her story, the congregation was led into a time of worship. The pastors of St. Paul’s led the group in prayer for all animals present, deceased, elderly and sickly. They laid their hands on all the animals brought to the courtyard, and offered to their owners St. Francis medals, to represent that each animal is blessed by God.