Now, it is true and usually apparent that the Owl is not very church-y. But there is one event at least per year that is likely to bring her into the fold, so to speak. No, not Christmas Eve though I see you once-a-year carol singers and can one-up you…it’s time for the Blessing of the Animals this Sunday, October 1st at 10:30 AM at the First Parish Church (FPC).

The FPC’s annual Blessing of the Animals honors the interdependence of all existence. The event is held each year around the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4) who is everyone’s favorite saint because he likes animals and they liked him. I was reading up this morning over on Catholic Online (a great site for filling in knowledge of the 8 billion saints in the church) and what a guy, that St. Francis. Born rich, died at 45 poor and blind (and happy according to the site). He could preach to birds and they would not leave. I often preach to birds and they are having none of it, unless there is bird seed and then they appear to be willing to hang out a bit.

In any case, you are invited to bring your (friendly, housebroken, well-behaved) animal friends to be celebrated and blessed. The Owl does not currently have blessable-in-person animals–Katie Puppy is not very social, preferring the woods as her church–and Bobby Sweetface (aka Shadow) is a house panther who prefers to watch the world from the inside of the house. We’ve discussed the birds here and they prefer to just stay where they are. If you too have animals present or past who are not going to be available to visit church in person, you can bring a photo or even their memory in your heart.

The First Parish Church is the big stone church located at 349 Boston Post Road in Weston.