Animal Blessing To Be Held Outside Duke Chapel

On Sunday, Oct. 7, area residents are invited to bring their well-mannered pets to the Blessing of Animals outside Duke Chapel.

The service, which begins at 3 p.m. on the quadrangle in front of the chapel, will feature the Durham Children's Choir. Local animal protection and welfare groups will be on hand to distribute information from their respective booths.

(In the event of rain Oct. 7, the service will be held Oct. 14, the following Sunday.)

"The Blessing of the Animals service is one of the ways we acknowledge the sacred role that pets play in so many of our lives, and it also reminds us of the diversity, and even humor, in God's creation," said Meghan Feldmeyer, worship coordinator for Duke Chapel. "The service is filled with howls, barks, and meows, and that is part of the joy of it."

The Blessing of Animals is an outdoor worship service held each year on the Sunday in October closest to the Feast Day of St. Francis (Oct. 3). This year marks the 16th year Duke Chapel has hosted the Blessing of Animals, a worship tradition made notable by the camels and other circus animals blessed each year at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Last year, Duke Chapel ministers blessed a horse, iguana, snake and even a caterpillar, in addition to many cats and dogs.

For more information, contact Feldmeyer at 684-8478.