WHAT: Blessing of the Animals
WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday
WHERE: Calvary United Methodist Church
304 E. Trinity Ave., Durham
WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday
WHERE: Front steps of Immaculata Catholic School
721 Burch Ave., Durham
WHEN: 9 a.m. Sunday
WHERE: St. Philip's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
403 E. Main St., Durham
WHEN: 3-4 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Outside at Duke Chapel
Duke University, Durham
BY DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN
dvaughan@heraldsun.com; 419-6563
DURHAM -- The annual Blessing of the Animals services in Durham are getting busier than Noah's Ark.
There is large turnout for the blessings that commemorate Oct. 4 as the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, and his appreciation for all God's creatures, great and small.
The two major annual blessings in Durham are held at Duke Chapel and Immaculata Catholic School. St. Philip's Episcopal Church downtown also holds a blessing. Now another church is holding its own, smaller Blessing of the Animals as a way to show love for our animal friends.
Calvary United Methodist Church in the Old North Durham neighborhood will hold a blessing in its courtyard Saturday morning. It was the idea of member Robin Joseph, a self-described lifelong lover of animals, from her first pet, a cocker spaniel named Lady, to her current pets, a greyhound and a Pekingese. Over the years she has had several dogs, including mutts, beagles and another greyhound -- plus some birds, turtles, fish and a cat.
When Joseph and fellow Calvary member Sally Schauman started planning the blessing, they turned to Kathy Rudy at Duke, a professor who has administered the animal blessings in previous years at Duke Chapel. Rudy told them how busy the Duke event is. About 100 animals are blessed annually, and have included hamsters, iguanas and horses.
Because most people go to Duke Chapel and Immaculata, Joseph said, her idea was to make Calvary's blessing a neighborhood festival for the surrounding areas, including Duke Park, Trinity Park, Watts-Hillandale, Central Park and Old West Durham. They don't expect to draw hundreds, and that's fine, she said.
"It's an opportunity for fellowship, grace and blessing of the animals," Joseph said. "They're part of our community."
Calvary's senior pastor, the Rev. Laurie Hays Coffman, will give a homily. The Rev. Gayle Felton, Christian formation minister, and Calvary laypersons will give the blessings. There will also be music by Toddie Stewart. The blessings will be in the church courtyard, rain or shine, under a canopy. Joseph expects at least one duck, a few bunnies, cats and lots of dogs.
"Animals are such wonderful companions and give such unconditional love. It's so remarkable to me," Joseph said. She is a cancer survivor who still undergoes treatment and was forced into early retirement. Having her dogs at home has been a wonderful, calming presence in her life, she said. Joseph's dogs have taught her about patience, unconditional love, grace and accepting what is, she said.
"They're just here, in the now. They're not concerned about what happened five minutes ago," she said. And aside from meal time, they're not concerned about the future either, Joseph said.
That animals are such accepting and welcoming creatures made a Blessing of the Animals ideal for Calvary UMC, she said. Calvary is a "Reconciling" United Methodist church, which means it welcomes all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Just like my dogs are welcoming when I come home, that's what Calvary is for me. Calvary is my home and offers unconditional love," Joseph said. As do pets.
"Animal companions are often heaven's witness that life should go on," she said. "A lot of people go home to an empty house except for those four-legged animals waiting for them. It's so wonderful to be welcomed home."
Schauman loves animals, too, and has two dachshunds. When a family of mice moved into her Caswell County retreat, she caught them in live traps and released them into the woods.
Schauman said that people might bring their animals to be blessed at Calvary UMC because of the good feeling it extends. Plus, it's popular with children.
"I think people love animals so devotedly, it's hard to measure," she said. The United Methodist Book of Worship has a program for animal blessing services.
At Duke Chapel, as the animals are blessed, the ministers on staff will say, "O sweet maker of all, we ask your blessing on every creature gathered here today, the large and the small. May they live peacefully in praise of you. Bless us all to love your creation, and revere its sacredness. We ask this blessing in the name of the one who was, is, and always will be, our Creator, to whom every creature belongs. Amen."
