Churchgoers weren't the only ones milling around the Chapel Quadrangle Sunday-it was filled with animals from dogs to hedgehogs for the annual Blessing of the Animals.
The service is held every year on the Sunday closest to Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, who is the patron saint of animals famed for driving the snakes out of Ireland. Lasting around 45 minutes, the ceremony focused on recognizing the blessings animals bring to their owners.
Passersby making their way around campus looked on curiously as dogs, cats, iguanas, hamsters, parrots, rats and members of other species sat with their owners on the quad.
"I want to suggest to you that where we are and where we're going is not so different from the rest of creation," said Kerri Hefner, associate pastor for the First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, N.C., who gave a reflective sermon about the things animals can teach humans.
Following this, the congregation prayed for animals and participated in a "Time of Sharing," in which animal owners brought their pets to the altar and introduced them to the crowd.
Members of animal organizations such as Students for the Protection of Animals and Safe Haven for Cats attended the service as well. Stop Animal Exploitation Now of North Carolina circulated a petition during the service to stop research using rats at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Though the warm breeze and clear sky gave the event a peaceful atmosphere, tension abounded among the numerous animals in close quarters. Dogs growled at each other, cats howled at passing dogs and an iguana fidgeted nervously in its owner's lap. A few short bursts of barking broke out at different times during the service.
"Please consider the wisdom of bringing aggressive animals," read the Chapel website about the event. Despite the potential for more dramatic disturbances among animals, the service Sunday ran smoothly.
"I've been to services in Florida, New Mexico and Arizona. This is definitely bigger than the ones I've been to before," said Susan Perry, owner of Oscar, a retired greyhound race dog recently rescued from living in a crate in Florida. Perry added that the tradition of blessing animals is strong among not only followers of St. Francis but also among Native Americans.
Martha Zeman brought her dog Skippy and her parrot, which calmly sat on her shoulder during the entire service.
"It's good to have something like this. I think animals are very necessary in this life. They make people laugh," Zeman said. "They make me laugh."
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