03/10/2004: "Episcopalians go to the dogs"

I'm not a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal, but fortunately Dr. Kendall Harmon, South Carolina Episcopal priest and theologian, is. At his blog Titusonenine, I found this absolutely priceless piece of insanity, taken from the WSJ:

For the first time in 10 years, Mary Wilkinson went to church one Sunday in January. She sat in a back pew at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Stamford, Conn., flipping through a prayer book and listening intently to the priest's sermon. What drew Ms. Wilkinson back into the fold was a new monthly program the church introduced�Holy Communion for pets. As part of the service, the 59-year-old retired portfolio manager carried her 17-year-old tiger cat to the altar, waited in line behind three panting dogs to receive the host and had a special benediction performed for her cat, Purr Box Jr. "I like that the other parishioners are animal people," Ms. Wilkinson says. With pews hard to fill, a small number of otherwise-traditional clergy are welcoming animals into the flock. Some are creating pet-friendly worship services, while others have started making house calls for sick animals. Some are starting to accompany pet owners to the vet when they euthanize a beloved pet. Occasionally, clergy are even officiating at pet funerals and group "bark mitzvahs."

I serve a congregation that was a national Protestant pioneer in holding "blessing of the animals" services back in the late 70s. So folks in these parts have seen dogs, cats, hamsters, snakes, and all kinds of other critters come down the aisle. But they've never seen them served Communion. I believe this officially qualifies as blasphemy, if the word still has any meaning. Either that, or the priest in question is auditioning for the part of Balaam's donkey in Mel Gibson's next biblical epic.

Next up: a rat is consecrated as an Episcopal bishop. Oh, wait...

Replies: 7 Comments

on Thursday, March 11th, Laura said

Wow. Pretty unbelievable. Our priest blessed our dog at our house blessing...but that's about as much church involvement as I think she should have! She tried to catch the Holy Water as it was sprinkled on her...

on Thursday, March 11th, Reepicheep said

"... with pews hard to fill..."

I suppose the rationale is that the end justifies the means? Yet another gimmick just to get people back to church. Next thing you know, a pastor at a church named, ironically, "Messiah" will suggest dumbing down the Gospel to attract parishioners... DOH!!!

on Thursday, March 11th, Hal Duston said

Holy cow!

Well, why not.

Dr. Peter Singer would indeed be pleased.

"... with pews hard to fill..."

Well, the animal population _is_ a lot larger than the human one ... ... ...

on Thursday, March 11th, Havdala said

I had a squirrel run down a tree and take a piece of antidoron right out of my hand once. I told the priest and he laughed and wondered if it was the squirrel who sat on the window ledge listening to Mattins on the days he does it alone. As for blessing animals, well, wouldn't those folks glorify God more by taking some action against cruelty to animals?

on Thursday, March 11th, gary said

Fortunately, I think a close reading will reveal that it it was the parishioner, not the pets, who received communion. Another nail in the coffin for journalism schools and English departments who can't make a plain sentence.

on Thursday, March 11th, Athanasius said

On second look, I think you're right--it was the expression "Holy Communion for pets" that threw me off. Oh, well. I have written what I have written...

on Thursday, March 11th, Greg S said

I wonder if any of these cat owners had Chinese food after church.