DATE: Monday, October 6, 1997               TAG: 9710060075

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   63 lines

PRAYING FOR PETS CREATES JOY CELEBRATING ANIMALS PROVIDES A ``SENSE OF WHAT'S SACRED'' FOR MANY

Sunday was a special day for pets and their owners.

At Christ and St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Norfolk, some members of the congregation were forgiven for squirming in the pews.

And for whining and scratching and panting and licking the backs of people's heads, and, yes, even for baying during the reading of Matthew 11:28.

That's because the church was celebrating the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi - along with churches throughout Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore - with a blessing of the animals.

``God bless Happy,'' said the Rev. James W.H. Sell, getting down on his knees to address the bounding collie nose-to-snout. ``May you have a long and abundant life, and bring your owners years of enjoyment.''

Sell blessed Zeus, a Great Dane, rabbits, turtles, cats, Sleepy the hamster, gerbils and a wide array of stuffed animals.

``In one sense, it's absolute insanity,'' Sell said. ``But in another sense, it's such joy. People, through their pets, get a sense of what's sacred, of what God has created.''

Several churches on Sunday celebrated the feast day of St. Francis, which actually falls on Oct. 4. Trinity Episcopal in Portsmouth will have its 41st blessing of the animals on Oct. 12.

At Christ and St. Luke's, two horses from the Virginia Beach Mounted Patrol waited for blessings in the courtyard. The Norfolk Police Department's canine patrol was also supposed to attend, but got detained on a police call.

Five-year-old Beth May had her hands full with a Brittany spaniel on a leash and a turtle in a box.

``We're going to let him go today,'' said Donna May, Beth's mother. ``We thought this would be a good sendoff.''

It is said that St. Francis preached to the birds. But at St. Charles church in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore, the birds - and piglets, and dogs - seemed determined to get the last word.

At noon Sunday, Father Michael Breslin and 50 others gathered for the blessing. Dogs strained on their leashes. Cats cowered in carrying cases. Breslin's parrot called loudly from a screened porch nearby. Two huge Percheron draft horses stood quietly in the road, and a caged, frightened turkey gobbled nervously.

``Holy! Holy! Holy!'' sang the assembled pet owners as their dogs barked along.

Breslin urged the pet owners to take their responsibility to care for their animals seriously, because pets cannot care for themselves.

Breslin gave each pet owner a medal of St. Francis, and encouraged them to visit the petting zoo in the church yard. There, piglets, goats, a bunny and a pony patiently endured the affections of small children.

``We did this in honor of St. Francis,'' said Breslin. ``He really is the patron of pets and the environment. He really cared about all God's creatures.'' MEMO: Staff writer Karen Jolley Davis contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

At Christ and St. Luke's Episcopal Church, ``Jordan'' the golden

retriever and 5-year-old Katharine Miller's stuffed Dalmatian wait

for a blessing from the Rev. James W.H. Sell.

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