St Faith's Pet Service 2009

We had lots of folk at our Pet Service in June, complete with animals in the congregation, including fish, rats and birds and a good number of cuddly animal toys, not to mention a tortoise in the choir stalls, and a dog joining in with the music group playing for the hymns.

During her talk Charmaine was amused to note that one small child who was clearly fascinated by everything going on around him had decided that one of the dog carriers (fortunately not at that moment occupied by it’s doggy owner) might be a nice place to crawl into for a sleep. This game seemed to keep him and several other children around happily occupied for a while. Charmaine went around the church asking those present the names of their pets and cuddly toys. At the back was the owner of a large white tiger cuddly toy which had had to be carried up to the altar by two children because of it’s size. “What is your large white tiger called?” Charmaine asked the child, who with a hint of isn’t that obvious in his voice, replied “Large White Tiger” !

At this service we also had the opportunity to welcome and meet some recently baptised babies and their families. As always we had enjoyed seeing one another’s animals, inviting the uniformed organisations and their pets to our service, and the family atmosphere which such services bring to our community.

The scouts very kindly donated a cheque to the church for the windows appeal, this money they had raised from their refreshment tent at the Walsworth Festival and Charmaine thanked them warmly for all their hard work.