Blessed event for pets at St. James church

Under cloudy skies, during Sunday morning worship services, four-legged friends from the animal kingdom were gathered to participate in the annual Blessing of the Animals outside St. James The Great Episcopal Church in Newport Beach.

The Rev. Canon Cindy Evans Voorhees welcomed about 36 furry loved ones in a grassy area near the 3209 Via Lido church.

Her message was about the divine connection between humankind and beast and the loving companionship that has developed throughout history.

Voorhees gave each pet a tag of St. Francis with a dog on the front and a quote on the back, “Bless and protect my pet.”

Moments before she called upon the animals to for their blessing, Voorhees expressed insight about pet ownership.

“Take a look into the eyes of your beloved family dog and they will show you the unconditional love of God,” she said. “They make us almost monastic in that they set the time of feeding them, cleaning up after them [going] for a walk, and how to love them at the end of a hard day.

“Because I am a lover of nature, of animals and our wonderful pets, I prefer to embrace C.S. Lewis’ theology that if the creator gave us pets to take care of and love then they become a part of our very souls. We give them eternal life through our bond with them just as Christ gives us eternal life through his bond with us.”