Blessing of the Animals October 4 at Yorktown Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown will offer a Blessing of the Pets, remembering St. Francis of Assisi and his feast day on October 4th. The custom of blessing animals and pets in the fall of the year recalls St. Francis who was known for his love for all of earth’s creatures and celebrates God’s spirit in all living things. As a poor friar, the story goes that he and his colleagues allowed themselves to be ousted from their poor hovel by a donkey. St Francis wrote a canticle that said “All praise to you Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.” The blessing of animals reminds us to celebrate creation, and God’s message that we shall be faithful stewards of the earth. Members of the community are invited to bring their pets and gather in the back parking lot at 2:00 p.m. for the ceremony and individual blessings led by Pastors Chip Low and Tami Seidel . Families may wish to bring a picture of a pet that is too infirm to come, who may be temperamentally unable to attend the ceremony, or who has died in recent years and for whom the family is thankful.

This year a member of the church’s youth group is collecting Friskies canned and Purina dry cat food for a local pet shelter. You are welcome to contribute to this project.