Wild animals Loose in St Faith's Church

On Sunday 13^th June among the congregation at our family service were a tiger, a snake,  quite a lot of dogs, (a Westie, Jack Russell, Labradoodle, Cocker Spaniel and other breeds) also cats, a bird and some very pretty rats.  

Just in case this might put you off from visiting our church I hasten to add that not all of these animals were real, the tiger and snake in particular were of the cuddly toy variety, but the rats were live and very well behaved, sitting in a box under the chair of one of the flute players in the music group and being cuddled by their owner when she wasn’t occupied playing her flute.  Children and adults alike do enjoy bringing their pets, whether real or toy, to our annual pet service and everyone is invited up to the altar rail to receive a blessing with their pet.

We sang a lot of hymns about God’s creation and were reminded that our animals give us unconditional love.  The prayers led by the Sunday School gave thanks for our pets and the children prayed for the various organisations which help to care for animals and rescue them. 

The choir sang a special arrangement of a rousing number called “The Animals are Coming” - about Noah’s Ark.  At the end of the service this was repeated with encouragement to the congregation to join in.  Although there were a few barks and a budgie who sang throughout the service, once again this delightfully informal service went off without mishap and it was good to be reminded of the wonder of God’s creatures and all the comfort and joy they bring to their owners.

Elizabeth Hill