By Charly SHELTON

The feast day of St. Francis of Assisi is Oct. 4. Each year on or around Oct. 4, churches around the world celebrate Francis’ life and works with a favorite activity of his – blessing of animals. St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church in La Crescenta held its annual blessing of the animals service on Sunday, Oct. 7 in the courtyard of the church.

Fr. Hartshorn Murphy performed the blessings for household pets that came to church with their families. Dogs of all kinds and some very nervous cats filled the courtyard for hymns, prayer and a splash of holy water administered to each pet. One dog, Little Buddy, and his family came to receive a blessing and to pray for the soul of his recently departed older brother, Mr. Freckles.

After the service, the humans retired to Sadler Hall for coffee and snacks and the pets retired to the back patio for some treats.

Photos by Charly SHELTON

  Charly Shelton