We had a delightful morning (but I'm not sure Poppy did!) heading over to church with the Whites at St. Steven's in Laurelhurst for the annual Blessing of the Animals Service in honor of the feast day of St. Francis. Poppy was an amazing sport in the sanctuary with dogs and cats in the mix. I sure loved one of the dogs who added a few howls and whines through some of the songs.
All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voices, let us sing. Alleluia!
Lord purge our eyes to see
within a seed a tree,
within the glowing egg a bird,
within the shroud a butterfly.
Till, taught by such we see
Beyond all creatures, thee
And hearken to thy tender word
And hear its "Fear not; it is I."
-Christina Rossetti
Apprehend God in all things,
for God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God
and is a book about God.
Every creature is a word of God.
If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature-
Even a caterpillar-
I would never have to prepare a sermon.
So full of God is every creature.
-Meister Eckhart
For all your creatures that breathe and move and have life,
We thank you, O Lord.
That we may love and honor the work of your hand,
We thank you, O Lord.
That each companion animal here may be treasured with care,
We thank you, O Lord.
For those, O Lord, the humble beasts, that bear with us the joys and sorrows of the day, and offer their guileless lives for love and companionship: we supplicate Thy tenderness of heart, for Thou has promised to save both mans an beast, and great is Thy loving kindness, O Master, Savior of the world. Amen. Eastern Orthodox prayer
Beloved creatures, live without fear... your Creator loves you, makes you holy and is always with you.
a vision of the peaceable kingdom this morning :)
So thankful Poppy had Anna and Taylor holding her and keeping her safe. I think her heart has just settled back down and she is breathing easy now that we are back at home. :)
with Caroline and Ellie White and their pastor Stephanie from St. Steven's
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