Our Annual Blessing of the Animals will be Wednesday, October 2 on the Terrell Commons grass area! Bring your lawn chair or blanket to enjoy a hot dog dinner together that starts at 5:30pm, blessing of the animals will be after we eat.

The Blessing of the Animals is an annual ceremony celebrating the human-animal bond, originating as part of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. St. Francis was admired for his deep and genuine respect for all creatures and his belief in the interdependency of humans with the rest of creation. He was a fiery preacher, and not many wanted to hear his message so he preached to animals instead. This ceremony helps us to remember how important our animal companions are and how they show unconditional love for us.

If you have an older less mobile pet, or maybe one that doesn't handle social gatherings very well, feel free to bring a picture of that animal and we are happy to bless those.