September 6, 2024
The Blessing of Animals
I received an email in June of 2021, shortly after Susan and I arrived in Seattle and a few weeks before we met in person for worship for the first time. It contained a curious request. This email came from a member of our church who mentioned how many families had acquired "COVID" pets during the pandemic and how important they were to their and their families’ wellness during the unwell season of the pandemic. The request was to have a blessing of animals near the Feast of St. Francis (October 4) that year. (This is commonly done by churches of all sorts on or about this day.) I was not opposed to the idea but wasn’t able to pull it off that Fall. So, I kept the idea on the back burner, but never moved forward with it. When Pastor Lauren was called to serve our church, I thought this would be right up her alley. And so, Pastor Lauren and our Vashon community group have been organizing such a worship service for our church on Saturday, September 21 on Vashon Island at 11:30 am.
This means that weekend we will have two worship services, one on Vashon on the 21st and the other at church, 400 E. Pike on the 22nd. You are welcome to attend both, but the intention is that you might attend one or the other. For those of you who have never (or seldom) been to Vashon Island, we encourage you to make this your excuse to go. Our friends on Vashon make great sacrifices to be a part of our church, given life held hostage by ferries—their schedules and their “reliability.” Going to this service could be a nice way of saying “thank you” to them for the lengths they take to be a part of our church family.
So please join us as we gather to bless the animals God has graciously put in our lives, those that are still with us and those that have passed on. This will be hosted at Dick and Carol’s home, outside in their orchard (weather permitting) or in the barn. After a short service, we will share a meal generously provided by the Vashon Island community group. If you have camping chairs or picnic blankets, bring those along. Some chairs will be provided.
Even if you don’t have a pet, we encourage you to join us as we celebrate God's beautiful creation together.
Questions: If you have any logistics questions about getting to Vashon Island and the Sundholm property, please contact Jeff HansPetersen (352-359-6965). If you have questions about the service or including your animals, please contact Pastor Lauren.
Please come as you are able or have interest and celebrate the blessing animals have been in your life or the lives of others.
Not horsing around,
~ Pastor Lauren and Pastor Todd