At a recent Christian service with proper social distancing, attendees still were allowed to touch noses.
And lick others on the face.
So it was at First United Methodist’s annual Blessing of the Animals, a sun-splashed event in which pets captured heaven’s heart. And in true Biblical, lambs-lie-with-lions unity, cats and dogs seemed to enjoy each other’s presence on the church’s north lawn at Eighth and Lafayette streets in downtown Columbus.
“I see that Dan (Fleming) brought his big dog,” joked Senior Pastor Howard Boles.
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In the back of a gathering of 22 people and 14 animals, Fleming and his wife, Lynne, stood with CC, their shiny, 30-year-old quarter horse, who was calmly munching grass as if he were having a simple snack at home.
“Things like this out here don’t bother her at all,” Dan Fleming said. “She’s so well-behaved. She actually likes to go for rides in the trailer.”
At this, she humorously happened to raise her head from her munching and shook it up and down as if she were agreeing with her owner. She also sweetly allowed people to pet and nuzzle her nose.
Boles told his small assembly that pets serve as more than comfort in God’s world, and he reminded people that God blessed animals just after he created them in the book of Genesis.
“I believe that it’s a very special thing to do this, especially right now,” Boles said. “I think that’s even more so right now, amid our isolation and our loneliness, out pets are that constant companion. When we can’t easily be together on occasions like this, we can at least have occasions where that beloved pet that comes running up to us when we walk through the door.
“That love and attention means a lot.”
When it came time for Boles to bless the horse, the clergyman wearing the coronavirus masked decorated with comical cat figures and the stole adorned with doves, displayed an especially compassionate manner.
“Cece, you are a blessing,” he said, reaching his hand gently to the flat part of the animal’s nose. “You are a gift. You are filled with goodness and laughter, and may that blessing you give to family and friends — may it be yours as well on this day. Amen.”
“Look at that,” Dan Fleming said as Cece cocked her head toward Boles during the prayer. “She even stopped to listen.”
Not far away, Spots, an 8-month-old blue heeler, seemed to reach his curious nose toward every person and animal within a few feet of him, relishing rubs and pats. Nearby, other dogs rolled ecstatically in the grass.
“They’re part of the family,” said Spots’ owner Anthony Perfetto.
Boles and Associate Pastor Sarah Campbell carried that we-are-family sentiment through the brief gathering that included Scripture, prayers of gratitude for all of God’s creation, including animals — and even mosquitoes and snakes.
“Snakes are a blessing, and help in so many ways,” Campbell said afterward.
The she laughed and added, “I’m not so sure about the mosquitoes.”
First United Methodist Church staff member Jen Riddle and husband Eric Riddle bought their tiny kitten, Ollie, for a blessing. They left their older cat, blessed in 2019 at this gathering, at home this time.
“She cried the whole time last year,” she said.
Ora and Julia Pemberton sat in a front row of chairs with their dog, Marley May. The husband smiled when asked why they brought their pooch.
“Everybody needs prayer, don’t they?” he asked.
Standing near the back of the crowd was Susi Gentry, a first-time visitor, with her dog, Freckles. Gentry had a quick, timely answer for those asking what the pooch is.
“Right now, she’s a registered Democrat,” Gentry cracked.
Since she got Freckles a year ago, Gentry’s overall health in the wake of cancer has improved tremendously because of regular walks and more.
“We go to the park every single day, regardless of weather,” Gentry said.
And Freckles apparently is a Christian, or at least a seeker. Because the dog watches the livestreamed First United Methodist Church services every Sunday, plopped next to Gentry.
In four years of these services and close-up pastor-to-pet praying, Boles never has been nipped or scratched.
“The thought does always go through my mind,” he said with a laugh. “But everyone always has been well-behaved.”
A service sheet distributed to attendees before the service began featured a painting of the Catholic St. Francis blessing animals perched in front of him. He is known for his love of animals (his feast day was the following day), and it is said that he preached to birds and other creatures. Boles might as well be a modern-day St. Francis. He and his wife have a dog, three cats, four chickens and a turtle.
“The kids go off to college, and you’re stuck with all those animals,” Boles said with a laugh.
But Campbell knows animals’ unrestrained love and inexplicable power to soothe.
“I was having a rough day yesterday,” she said. “And my kitten (Indie) just snuggled up on my lap. And it made everything better.”
