St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast held a paw-culiar ceremony for patrons and their pets yesterday.
The service is now a tradition, but this is the first year that it has returned since the pandemic.
Dean Stephen Forde said: “It is quite fun, people don’t really expect to bring their pets into God’s house and the service celebrates the diversity of God’s creations and the fact he gives us a call to be stewards of it too.”
Dean Forde said pets are valued members of families and the church makes an effort to acknowledge this.
“Some people don’t have any other family and it is the pet that they focus all their care and love on.
“Those pets are really important for them, and for others within a family a pet is another person.”
Emma Lawless with Bert
The clergyman admitted he was nervous that the pets may not behave during the service.
“You wonder what might happen and expect it to be a little bit chaotic, but all the pets were really well behaved and in some of the prayers they were just very quiet.
“They seemed to respond to some of the music. When the organ was playing there was a bit of barking, so I think they might have been joining in,” he said.
The Dean revealed that the service sparks a lot of interest from the local community and is hopeful it will lead to more people attending regular services.
Angela Masterson and Fergus Drummond with Dove and Tinker
“As we have advertised this service, we have had more responses than to many of our services,” he said.
“Sometimes people think churches and cathedrals are all very serious, and of course at times it is, but sometimes we need to be able to enjoy ourselves and enjoy God’s creation as he gives it to us.”
Jenny Miller and Sarah Thompson attended with their two dogs, Bella-Trix and Willow.
“We would come to church most Sundays, so I felt it was important for us to bring the dogs to celebrate as they are a part of God’s creation,” Jenny said.
“Your pets are important to you, they are your emotional support. I have a really stressful job and when you come home from work just sitting with the dogs really brings you back down.”
Jenny Miller and Sarah Thomspon with Willow and Bella-Tix
She confessed that she was nervous the dogs weren’t going to be able to sit through the service.
“We nearly got back in the car when we first got here, they were zig-zagging and I was thinking, ‘what have we done here?’ But as soon as we got in they settled, this one (Bella-Trix) is music mad, and as the organ started she got up in the seat to listen to it,” Jenny said.
Angela Masterson and Fergus Drummond decided to bring their dogs, Dove and Tinker, to the service to be blessed.
“We came just because of the love we have for the dogs and Tinker is getting old so we will take everything we can to help him along the way,” Angela said.
The pair told of how they were surprised by how nice the service was.
“It was really touching and it was so impressive whenever they (St Anne’s Cathedral’s clergymen) asked for the dog’s name and they put their hand on each dog’s head and gave them and their family a blessing,” Angela said.
Dean Stephen Forde
Emma Lawless brought her dog Bert.
“We came to one they did before Covid and we really enjoyed it. I think it’s nice that they get the dogs involved and personalise it for them.
“It’s lovely to see the church takes the time to do something like this,” she said.
Emma praised St Anne’s for celebrating the role pets play in families.
“We couldn’t have our own children and the counsellor you go to help with the grief suggested getting a dog and I sort of thought, ‘no that will not help’.
“But then eventually I did decide to try it and it really does help, it helps heal your heart, it gives you somewhere to put all that love,” she said.