Blessing service for pets

Fr Neil Fernando conducts annual service for animals

Around 50 people accompanied by 24 dogs, one cat, a parrot and two horses attended a successful Blessing of the Pets Service at the end of last molnth. The service was held on the lawns outside Christ Church Anglican Church Mount Gambier.

Two speakers, Laurie Mann with his assistance dog Indy and farmer Virginia Kuhl ,spoke about the role animals had played in their lives. Indy enabled Laurie, an army veteran to have a much better quality of life as she assisted him when his health issues flared up. Virginia described life on a busy farm and how satisfying it was to see newborn calves. The number one lesson she had to learn on marrying a farmer was – shut the gate.

Fr Neil Fernando (pictured above)blessed all animals present and spoke about the importance of pets in our lives and how they often extended the lives of their owners. As well as blessing pets at the Service, some people had brought photos of much loved pets who had died, including a much loved farmyard duck called Daffy. All blessed pets past and present received a certificate. The Blessing of the Pets is an annual service held around this time every year. All members of the community are welcome and are encouraged to bring their pets with them.