‘We share the Earth with them’: Blessing of the Animals in West Seattle

Story and photos by Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

“God’s animals inhabit the skies, the land, and the sea; we share the Earth with them, and like them rely on God’s blessing to sustain and preserve us.”

Those were the words spoken by Rev. Elise Johnstone marking today’s “Blessing of the Animals” at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Admiral, where a wide menagerie gathered. Around 35 people came together with their families and their pets to receive the blessing, which customarily occurs around the day marking the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology. This year, the blessing coincided exactly with the date of the feast, which occurs every year on October 4th.
Rev. Johnstone and Fr. Robert Stevens presided, delivering a small sermon. We recorded her reading Psalm 104 along with the crowd:

After the readings, the presiders then blessed a basket of St. Francis medals meant to confer the blessing onto the animals as the annual blessing is in honor of the patron saint of animals’ feast day. They then went out into the crowd to hand out the medals.

The event drew a variety of animals with their people. Many brought their canine companions:

We also saw someone who had brought their cat along:

Robbie, age 7)

A guinea pig was in attendance too:

(Boba)

One person even brought their stuffed dog Ginger, which they said had kept them company through many difficult times for more than 40 years.

Reverend Johnstone wanted to emphasize that the event is for all animals, no matter the size or species. She said unique highlights of past years have included people bringing stick bugs, and even a multiple-feet-long python.

The event ended with a fairly traditional and formal recitation, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord … Thanks be to God.” Before ending, Reverend Johnstone added: “But let’s go out with a good bark as well.” And as soon as she finished speaking, the chorus of dogs started up.

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