Unconditional Love

Please join us on Sunday morning, April 20, at 9:30 AM, for a special Blessing of the Animals Service. You are warmly invited to bring your pets to be blessed at 9:30, and stay for our 10:30 worship service. Free pet-sitting will be provided. Further details are below.

Blessing of Animals Service at First Christian Church

First Christian Church of San Marcos will hold a special Blessing of Animals service on Sunday April 20, at 9:30 AM. All members of the community are invited to bring their pets to this unique service, to be held outside on the church property.

The blessing of animals is an ancient tradition usually associated with the October 4 feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), a Roman Catholic friar and the founder of the Franciscan Order. Saint Francis is known as the patron saint of animals, birds, the environment and Italy.

First Christian Church chose to hold the service to coincide with the annual Mutt Strut in San Marcos on April 19, to help raise awareness of the need for pet adoptions, neutering, and spaying.

"Most importantly, the Blessing of Animals service provides pet owners an opportunity to give God thanks for the blessing and companionship of our beloved pets," according to David Green, Senior Minister of First Christian Church. "So many people, myself included, appreciate the fact that our pets show us unconditional love - a love that reflects the unconditional love God has for all of us. Pets truly enrich our lives. Many studies have shown that pet owners are happier and more fulfilled, and I believe that comes in part from having a pet to take care of, enjoy, and love," Green says.

"I've been amazed at the positive healing effect of having 'visitation dogs' spend even a few moments with hospital and nursing home patients, and I've known so many folks who genuinely grieve the loss of a pet almost as much as they would another family member," according to Green. "So, our pets are obviously important to us, and we need a way to express that, to thank God for them, and ask that God would bless them with happy, healthy lives."

Following the Blessing of Animals service, free pet-sitting will be provided by the church's youth for pet owners who wish to attend the church's 10:30 worship service. All pets must be on a leash or have a pet carrier. For more information or directions to the church, call 396-1926.