MOORHEAD — Approximately ten rowdy, adorable dogs sat beneath the Dovre Campanile awaiting a blessing from Pastor Dave Adams on Thursday, Oct. 3, accompanied by the attendees of Campus Ministry’s annual Blessing of the Animals. The service is held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who is often recognized as the patron saint of animals.
“We’ll do our blessing of the animals and observation of the feast of Francis of Assisi, which this year falls on Friday, but we’ll do it on Thursday. So, people are invited to bring their pets, or animals if they work over in the in the ISC, they’re welcome to bring animals from that department, you know, and we’ll bless them. And just to be reminded that we are all a part of creation, as four-legged creatures or two-legged creatures,” Adams of Concordia’s Campus Ministry, said.
The Blessing of the Animals is a relatively long-held tradition at Concordia, pre-dating Adam’s arrival at the college. The event, though inherently Christian, is open to all students who wish to worship all creatures, great and small.
The service began with a hymn sung by the congregation and additional music was provided by Adams, who sang during the event, and a guitarist who accompanied. Additionally, there were group prayers and scripture readings before the blessings themselves took place.
“So, in the middle of the service, we’ll just invite people to, you know, based on how comfortable their animals might be, maybe walk around with bowls of water, and we’ll just sprinkle water on them as we just say a little blessing over them,” Adams said.
Pets can also look forward to treats provided by Adams during the service, though they’re not the only ones offered something to nosh on. Campus Ministry also provides treats for the two-legged attendees of the service, including coffee and cookies, which offer warmth and temptation to passersby.
“I look forward to (The Blessing of the Animals). I like to be outside. I like to see that there are some different people who come that maybe don’t come to other things that we do. I love it when people bring their animals and it’s, it’s fun to just see how being amongst those different, you know, creatures brings out a totally different side of people, you know, yeah, it forms a different community,” Adams said.
While the event was successful, attendance can sometimes be low due to a lack of knowledge about events that Campus Ministry hosts, according to Adams. To keep up with Campus Ministry’s events, students can utilize their CobberConnect, which is kept up to date and holds key information about Campus Ministry events on campus.
