Animal lovers will be in for a heavenly treat this weekend at St. Luke’s Church.
The Saanich church (located at the corner of Cedar Hill Road and Cedar Hill Cross Road) is holding a Blessing of the Animals service Sunday morning.
“It’s a service that we do every year. We’ve done it for a number of years,” said Marlene Mitten, rector’s warden at St. Luke’s. “The service is completely geared to a blessing of the animals – all the music is centred around that, the prayers are centred around that.”
You could say St. Luke’s resembles a modern-day Noah’s Ark for the service, which runs about 30 minutes, beginning at 9:15 a.m. and geared towards children, families and pet lovers of all ages.
“Everybody brings in their pets, we have everything from cats and dogs to lizards,” said Mitten.
Last year, 69 people attended the service, along with 12 dogs, three cats and a bearded lizard. She said even the cats and dogs put aside their differences for the service, knowing they need to be on their best behaviour in church.
“They do, they behave really well. There’s no fights, it’s actually quite amazing how all the animals get along.”
Everyone is encouraged to bring their pets for a blessing during the service. You can also bring a picture of a pet (living or deceased) so that the pet can be blessed or remembered. For more information about St. Luke’s Blessing of the Animals service, call 250-477-6741 or visit www.stlukesvictoria.ca.
