CRITTERS INVITED FOR OWN SERVICE; CHURCH SETS BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS.Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer Elephants and giraffes are cordially invited to a Blessing of the Animals service at St. Mark's Episcopal Church St. Mark's Episcopal Church may refer to one of hundreds of Episcopal churches throughout the United States, including:
``We're really not expecting elephants and giraffes,'' said Hull, who has been with the Van Nuys church for two years. ``A church in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden hosts a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi with a blessing, and they've had some of those. We are going to have a horse, and my daughter is bringing a chicken named Molly. We've had fliers up for a number of weeks in pet stores, veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. offices and the dog park. But we don't really have an idea of what kind of pets might show up.'' The courtyard ceremony will be in celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is Monday. St. Francis of Assisi is traditionally regarded as a champion of animals and nature. Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła also proclaimed pro·claim tr.v. pro·claimed, pro·claim·ing, pro·claims 1. To announce officially and publicly; declare. See Synonyms at announce. 2. him the patron saint patron saint Saint to whose protection and intercession a person, society, church, place, profession, or activity is dedicated. The choice is usually made on the basis of some real or presumed relationship (e.g., St. of ecologists in 1980. Diana Berrones, a financial marketing consultant and a volunteer with a pet therapy program at local hospitals, suggested the idea of the service to Hull. She said she is thrilled that St. Mark's St. Mark's could refer to:
``St. Mark's is not a church that is entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in the `same old, same old.' It's important for us to stay innovative and sometimes to step away from the customary Sunday services. It's important to have religious festivals, and this is super for children to take part in,'' said Berrones, who has two dogs and two cats. The service itself will consist of songs praising all God's creations, lessons read from Genesis and Matthew, the peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, and Holy Communion. Hull, three other Episcopal priests and four acolytes will bless the animals. They will ask the name of each animal and, using a juniper branch, then sprinkle water on it while reciting the blessing. ``I think people who come for the blessing feel it's important to them to bring spirituality to their animals,'' said Linda Lesniak, who wrote the liturgy for this service. ``I hope that they will come away with a greater sense of the vastness of creation. There are `tiny miracles' here with us. We should look upon animals and all of nature with gratitude. ``The way I look at it,'' she said, ``we need to look at the big picture. We're a part of all of God's creation. We need to understand the unity that we have with all of God's creatures. . . . God put us in charge of the animals, so we have to take care of them. It's up to us to care.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: From left, Steve Beavers, Linda Lesniak, the Rev. Norman Hull, Diana Berrones and friends will celebrate St. Francis of Assisi with a Blessing of the Animals on Sunday. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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