Adults and children are invited to bring a pet or favorite stuffed toy to the second annual Blessing of the Animals, from 10:15 to 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30 at The United Church of Rowayton.
Do “All Dogs Go to Heaven”? We don’t know, but based on the video (see link, below) where we found this image from last year’s ceremony, more dogs than cats seem to be churchgoing.
“It is like turning the church into to a virtual Noah’s Ark,” said Pastor John Livingston.
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— an announcement from the United Church of Rowayton
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Dogs, cats, gerbils, birds, turtles and stuffed toy animals or any other kind of pet are welcome.
“The animals enjoy coming together in a large group and behave very well,” said Pastor Livingston. “Everyone in the community is invited.”
Each pet will be brought forward by its owner to be individually blessed by name. Pet owners are asked to keep pets on a leash or in a cage or box.
Contributed photo
United Church of Rowayton (contributed photo)
The 800-year-old ceremony honors St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment.
The church is located at 210 Rowayton Ave., just beyond Tokeneke Road.
For more information, email Ray Meurer at jmeurer@optonline.net.
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Editor’s note: Darienite.com found the attached 21-second video of a bit of last year’s ceremony on Youtube. You can watch a longer (53-second), better video of the event here. The links below are provided by Darienite.com and were not in the church’s announcement.
Can Animals Go to Heaven? Three Essays About That
We think the bottom line here is that nobody in this world really knows. The idea clearly isn’t just for little kids:
- Christianity Today: “Do Pets Go to Heaven?” (only part of the essay is online)
- PetHelpful.com: “Do Dogs Go to Heaven? A Christian Perspective“
- IntellectualTakeout.org: “Do Animals go to Heaven? C.S. Lewis’ Answer Might Surprise You“