Those inside and outside of the church’s congregation are invited to stop by to receive a blessing on Oct. 6.
For the United States, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated each year on Oct. 4.
Known as the patron saint of animals and ecology, many churches in the United States honor St. Francis by scheduling special days in early October each year where members of the community can have their pets blessed.
Now one local church is hoping to use its first-ever “Blessing of the Animals” on Oct. 6 as a way to bring its church even closer to the greater Marlton community.
From 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 6, members of the community inside and outside of the congregation of Marlton United Methodist Church are invited to stop by the church to receive a blessing for their pet from Pastor Anna Gillette.
“It’ll just be a time to gather with our pets,” Gillette said. “In the past, when I’ve done it with other churches, we’ve had dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, pigs, gerbils — but this is the first time we’ve held it at this church.”
According to Gillette, she and the church decided to hold the event this year as a way to spend time with the Marlton community while also celebrating the community’s animals and their interdependence with humans.
“We depend on them for unconditional love, and they depend on us for care. It’s just a time to celebrate that,” Gillette.
In addition to the blessings, Gillette said the event would feature other fun such as homemade snacks for dogs and cats, rabbits for children to pet and representatives from the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees to speak about the organization and animal adoption.
Gillette said Marlton UMC has given donations to the AWA in the past, so AWA volunteers at the event would allow the two groups to continue to work together to support animal rescue efforts.
To keep with the event’s animal theme, Gillette said the church’s Blessing of the Animals will also feature representatives from Heifer International — the global nonprofit group that works to fight hunger and poverty in less-developed nations through the distribution of animals and agricultural training.
As a whole, Gillette said the event would allow Marlton’s community to celebrate the impact animals have on the lives of humans.
“We can ask God to keep them safe and healthy and to continue to bless us through them, and bless them through us,” Gillette said. “It’s a way receive a blessing for our pets and to also celebrate them.”
Gillette said Marlton UMC would also use the event as time to hold an open house for the remodeled “Tomlinson House” mansion that’s also on the church’s property.
Gillette said teen members of the Marlton UMC congregation have been working for the past year or so to clean, paint and remodel parts of the building to create a new space to share with the community for events,
With the Blessing of the Animals and open house, Gillette said the day will help the church continue its goal to become more of a partner with the Marlton community.
“It’s not to bring people in, it’s to take us out and be in the community and enjoy working with and being in partnership with community members,” Gillette said.
To learn more about the event, visit the Marlton UMC website at www.marltonumc.com.
