Hallelujah! Creation Care Church to Hold First-Ever Virtual Blessing of the Animals for St. Francis’ Feast Day
Ben Madilynn
Contact:
Maddy Missett 202-483-7382
Norfolk, Va. –
For the feast day held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, PETA’s faith outreach division, PETA LAMBS (“Least Among My Brothers and Sisters” from Matthew 25:40), has teamed up with San Francisco–based Creation Care Church to offer a safe and humane Blessing of the Animals. The entirely virtual service will feature a slideshow of photos of animal companions sent in by their guardians and prayers for each animal—which will allow sick, elderly, or timid cats and dogs to receive a blessing from Pastor Craig Wescoe without being subjected to stressful travel, an unfamiliar environment, or a large, crowded gathering.
“Blessing animals is a beautiful remembrance of St. Francis’ love for all living, feeling beings, but hauling cats and dogs to crowded church services could be confusing, upsetting, and even terrifying for them,” says PETA Faith Outreach Coordinator Sarah McFarlane. “PETA encourages guardians everywhere to honor the patron saint of animals by allowing beloved animal companions to receive a blessing in the comfort and safety of their own homes.”
PETA LAMBS notes that St. Francis of Assisi loved all of God’s creatures—whether furred, feathered, or finned—and encourages those who wish to honor his legacy to extend their compassion to all animals by going vegan. The group points out that animals aren’t included in Genesis 1:29, which states that God intended “every seed-bearing plant” and “every tree whose fruit contains seed” as food for humans.
Creation Care Church, a nondenominational church that holds online services every Friday, teaches “a Bible-based approach to caring for the Earth and all its inhabitants.” This includes “advocating for and practicing a compassionate vegan lifestyle that shows mercy to all of God’s creatures.”
The service will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube
on Friday, October 4, at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). Families who didn’t send in photos in advance will have an opportunity to request blessings for their animal companions during the service.
PETA LAMBS opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. Its motto, a variation of PETA’s, is “Animals are not ours. They’re God’s.” For more information, please visit PETALambs.com or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
