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ARMONK, N.Y. - To celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi the St. Stephens Episcopal Church had a special Blessing of the Animals service on the churchs front lawn Sunday October 9 led by Father Josh Condon.
He even blessed his own dog Casey, a Bernese Mountain dog.
We do it to recognize the importance of creation and recognize our friends who are a part of our family and the gift that they are to us, Condon said. We also do it to recognize what they have to teach us about priorities and slowing down to take in the things that are beautiful and important in this world.
Condon adopted Casey from Adopt-A-Dog in Armonk and the church has collected donations throughout the last few weeks for the shelter.
Adopt-A-Dog staff member Sharon Haught brought shelter dog Nell for the blessing Sunday.
Its a great thing because animals are a part of the family and it helps include them in church activities, Haught said.
Nell, an American Fox Hound, just finished nursing a litter at Lions Head Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Haught is very appreciative of the churchs efforts to collect donations and hopes that the generosity continues well into the future.
We take pretty much any pet related items people are willing to give because we always need things, Haught said. We also receive donations from St. Stephens thrift store when theyre switching things season to season, like blankets and things like that. It just really helps make the animals more comfortable at the shelter.
Last year, according to Condon, about 20 pets were blessed but this year was slower, which he guessed was a result of people being out of town for Columbus Day weekend.
Its a true blessing to have animals as a part of our lives and were giving thanks for that.
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