Duke Chapel Celebrates 20th Animal Blessing Service Oct. 5
The service is at 3 p.m. on the Chapel lawn.
Duke Chapel will hold the Blessing of Animals service at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5. The service, to be held on the quad in front of the Chapel, is open to the public and all well-mannered pets are invited.
The rain date for the service is the following Sunday, Oct. 12.
This year's event includes a performance by the Durham Children's Choir and information booths staffed by local animal protection and welfare groups.
"We invite everyone in the community to attend our 20th Animal Blessing at Duke Chapel, hopefully with your animal companion," said Nancy Ferree-Clark, pastor to the congregation at Duke Chapel and this year's preacher. "It will be a great occasion to celebrate the wonders of God's creation with our furry, feathered and finned friends."
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. Duke Chapel has hosted a Blessing of Animals since 1989, 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 animals ranging from hamsters to horses.