I stood outside with my Lutheran pastor on Sunday afternoon in our little town square to bless the animals. It had been a moment of blessing that I really loved when I was a full time pastor. It was a chance to recognize the vastness of God’s goodness, witnessing to something special that mostly doesn’t show up on Sunday morning.
None of the congregations I served were keen to have this blessing on Sunday morning when the animals might stain the carpets in the sanctuary. It always happened later.
My UCC pastor, in the congregation where I am officially called and serving, is looking for some resources to make that happen. There was bad weather for what he had planned and he’s looking to do something new. He sent me a note for inspiration.
I started looking for what liturgies I could find out there on the internet, including this one for progressive congregations and this one from the United Methodists. I also liked this one from the Season of Creation. Natalie Sims collects a wide assortment of songs and hymns for this particular celebration.
Most of these liturgies are a little more formal than what this church might want. Did you see that recent meme about denominations? Mine is apparently a tradition most likely to use fog machines in worship. I think they confused us with another, but we in the UCC are often more informal in our style. My pastor is interested in not preaching. He wants something with a bit more conversation among the pews.
Maybe that would come through a series of reflections, poems and prayers from this book. I also liked these eco-minded prompts to connect this particular feast day to a broader care for creation.
I’d be tempted to create a worship around storybooks. There are lots of wonderful storybooks about animals that could be used in worship. There are even some good ones about Saint Francis. For a worship experience that feels more like a lessons and carols moment, I’d opt to read Tomie dePaola’s The Song of Francis in snippets. Or worship might be framed around Psalm 8 and Ashley Bryans’s All Things Bright and Beautiful.
Another beginning for worship would be to read Nancy Tillman’s On The Night You Were Born with Psalm 139 or even the first creation story. I’d invite some time in the pews to muse on that last line, which for some will be about pets and for others about other relationships, where never “before has the world ever known a you and it never will…”
Worship might not flow all that differently than it would on any other Sunday until there is a storytelling moment around Oliver Jeffer’s The Moose Belongs to Me. I might love this book especially because I live in Alaska. Or that I’ve giggled over it with my girls, but I also love the sudden reminder that animals are part of God’s wide wonder and we might get to enjoy their company. We might get to live with them and share their wonder, but maybe ownership is the wrong word. The questions posed here would be worthy of conversation among the gathered community, which might also lead to some response after worship. Maybe there is an opportunity for service. Something to do that reminds us we can’t ever own creation but are always doing our best to steward it.
I was reminded yesterday, standing out there in the cold offering blessings, that there is also grief that comes with our connection to these animals. A woman came with a photograph of a beloved cat. It has died but she still carries that bond with her. To wiggle into that space, I might use Cori Doerrfeld’s The Rabbit Listened. It is one of my absolute favorites. It focuses on listening as these questions explore, which might be an opportunity to reflect on how animals listen to us and then pivot to how we listen to all of creation.
I’d add one more to the mix from my favorite storybooks. Bear is a Bear is our most reread book. It would work best if you are blessing stuffies on Sunday morning more than pets. Or maybe it would work for both. It’s another one to celebrate the wonder of connection, and how that changes over the years of loving so much.
I don’t think these books need to be read in the sanctuary. It might be something you read on a blanket outside with all the wild beasts gathered around and share in a conversation about what the story evokes.
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