Time to bless pets at Sutton Coldfield church
Pet owners can give thanks to their faithful and lovable companions at a church in Birmingham later this month.
Wylde Green United Reformed Church in Sutton Coldfield is to hold a pet blessing on August 15, from 11am.
It’s to coincide with the feast day of St Roch, the patron saint of dogs, who lived from around 1295-1327 in France, Spain, and Italy.
Reverend Chris Dowd said: “We are inviting people to come along and get their pet blessed on the field behind the church.
“Hopefully it will be a nice day and people can stay and have a picnic.
“Obviously, pets who are brought along will need to be on a leash or in a cage.
“All pets are welcome but if they are edible or escapable, they does need to be in something where they are safe!”
He added: “This is a good way of thanking God for animals and celebrating creation.
“We will talk about nature and it’s importance.
“In terms of our pets, during lockdown, how many of us have animals which made such a difference to our lives?
“We’d love people to come along. We want the entire community to see our church as something to do with them.
“It’s somewhere you can laugh and have fun.”
The church is also supporting animals through the rescuing of chickens after linking up with the British Hen Welfare Trust, who rescue battery hens.
There will be a collection for the British Hen Welfare Trust on the day of the blessing.
Since 2005, the British Hen Welfare Trust has been saving and rehoming commercial laying hens throughout the United Kingdom.
Working closely with leaders in the egg industry, the BHWT designed and developed the existing rehoming model, and to date have rehomed more than 800,000 hens.
Wylde Green United Reformed Church work alongside the trust as a place where hens can be collected.
