Last Sunday, all creatures great and small were welcome at the pet service at Ripple Church in the south of the Diocese. Alongside nearly 40 people were 21 dogs, 1 cat, 2 chickens and even a pony!
The service was organised by churchwardens Wendy Phipps and Anita Marsland and was completely lay led, with short readings from different people and prayers led by Roger Gillard, a Reader in the parish. Roger also spoke about St Francis of Assisi during the service and all the names of the animals present were read out and offered to God.
Wendy said: “This was our third year of hosting a pet service in church and it continues to be enjoyed by those who come. We wanted to do something that would bring non-regular churchgoers into the church and help them to feel like they belong there. It is a fun and very light-hearted service! The animals and their owners were all very well behaved and the dogs even joined in with the hymn singing!”
There were refreshments for everyone present after the service, including bags of dog and cat treats, chicken food and even carrots for the pony!
