"God Blesses Us through Our Pets"

      This coming Sunday, June 9th, my congregation will be observing a special Sunday of "Blessing the Animals."  We will gather for Worship in the Meriden City Park, rather than our church Sanctuary.  Everyone who has a special pet--whether it's a dog or cat or hamster or snake or horse or something else--is encouraged to bring it to the worship service for a special, individual blessing.  After the worship service, we will stay in the park for a combination cook-out/pot-luck meal, together.  The blessing goes like this:

          "Bless, O God, these creatures [cat, dog, etc.]; fill our hearts with thanksgiving for

           their [his, her, its] being; Give us wisdom and a caring heart that we may be good

           stewards and promote their [his, her, its] flourishing."

 

      The theme of my proclamation for the service will be that God blesses humans through our pets.  My proclamation will include numerous stories how individual persons, including myself, have been blessed by the pets we keep.  There will also be an opportunity for individuals in the congregation to stand and share their stories of blessing through their animals. 

 

       My proclamation will be grounded in Isaiah 11: 6-9.  This passage is a prophetic description of what God's Kingdom will look like at the End Times, when it is completed.  According to the prophet, Isaiah:

 

          ^"6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf

         and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. ⁷The cow

         and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat

         straw like the ox. ⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the

          weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. ⁹They will not hurt or destroy

          on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

          as the waters cover the sea."

 

This passage of scripture, which is recommended by The United Methodist Book of Worship for services that Blessing the Animals, powerfully reminds  us of God's love for all animals and for Creation.  It's not just that God blesses us in the present through our pets.  No.  Instead, all animals and Creation are part of the plan for God's Kingdom, when it is fully established at the End Times. 

 

      I have to confess that this coming Sunday's is one of my favorite Sunday's in the year, as we recognize and give thanks for the many ways that God blesses us through our pets and other animals.

 

      If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  This Sunday, we are worship at the Meriden City Park, located on South Owen Street, behind the Jeff West Football Stadium.  Every other Sunday, we worship in our building, located at the corner of Dawson and Main Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.