Blessing the Community

By Jonn Lavinnder

photo jonn lavinnder

PETS OF ALL FAITHS WELCOME — St. Saviour’s, Nelson, celebrating the feast of St. Francis of Assisi with a community blessing of the animals,Sunday October 5.

Every year Anglican churches around the world conduct animal blessings on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. This year, as usual, St. Saviour's in Nelson continued the tradition. And, as usual, many children came bringing their pets. For some of the congregation, it is a time not to attend because of allergies. Nevertheless, this year some effort was made to advertise the event to the general public by sending out press releases and putting a poster up outside the church. The result was heartening: for every member of the parish that stayed away, a new person came bringing their pet and family too. It is true that for most of the newcomers getting their pet blessed was the reason for their attendance, and some left early; however, others stayed for the whole service.

Good news travels fast. On the Tuesday following the service, the news of the event had reached the UK. More specifically, a Quaker animal rights organization had heard about this "wonderful service." They emailed the church, as they had also heard that St. Saviour's rents space to The Society of Friends. They wanted to make contact with local Quakers regarding animal rights initiatives. In itself this may seem a small thing, but it generated a certain amount of enthusiasm amongst those who had attended the service. They discussed the possibility of organizing other events that focused on a different segment of the community. For example, a few years previously, St. Saviour's had a very successful "first responders" service that took place just after hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans.

Involving the community into church life maybe the formula for growing the congregation. The only thing that would be different than usual would be to focus on inviting special interest groups, such as service clubs; or hosting events that sponsor social action, such as a Kairos event or PWRDF partnership.