Houses of Worship Are Reaching Out To a Flock of Pets
For the first time in 10 years, Mary Wilkinson went to church one Sunday in January. She sat in a back pew at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Stamford, Conn., flipping through a prayer book and listening intently to the priest's sermon.
What drew Ms. Wilkinson back into the fold was a new monthly program the church introduced -- Holy Communion for pets. As part of the service, the 59-year-old retired portfolio manager carried her 17-year-old tiger cat to the altar, waited in line behind three panting dogs to receive the host and had a special benediction performed for her cat, Purr Box Jr. "I like that the other parishioners are animal people," Ms. Wilkinson says.
With pews hard to fill, a small number of otherwise-traditional clergy are welcoming animals into the flock. Some are creating pet-friendly worship services, while others have started making house calls for sick animals. Some are starting to accompany pet owners to the vet when they euthanize a beloved pet. Occasionally, clergy are even officiating at pet funerals and group "bark mitzvahs." Congregants at temple Beth Shir Sholom, in Santa Monica, Calif., have an animal prayer sung to the tune of "Sabbath Prayer," a song from "Fiddler on the Roof": "May our God protect and defend you. May God always shield you from fleas."
All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has doubled attendance at its Sunday evening service since it began last summer to invite pets once a month. It wanted to attract people who walked their dogs on the church grounds. "We call it evangelism," says Rector Sherod Mallow. "It's opening your doors to the different needs of the community."
Pet services are aiming to draw in the elderly, many of whom rely on pets as their only companions, and people who have strayed from religion because it no longer seemed relevant. The effort is part of a larger movement among houses of worship to attract worshipers by offering amenities considered important to modern lives. In recent years, churches and synagogues have added everything from in-house Starbucks cafes and sports clubs to special worship services for children and singles.
Churches such as Manhattan's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine have long held annual services to bless everything from rabbits to elephants. Catholics have long revered Saint Francis as a protector of animals.
Rabbi Isaac Jeret, of Temple Emanu-El, in Palm Beach, Fla., recently took that tradition to a new level when he began making house calls to ailing animals. Noticing the popularity of animal benedictions in churches, Rabbi Steven Fink of Temple Oheb Shalom in Baltimore organized a similar event for his own worshipers last May. More than 100 owners and their animals showed up, including guinea pigs and a king snake. "It touched people who saw the temple as not relevant to their lives," says the rabbi, who is planning a second pet blessing in May.
Helping the trend along: the $30 billion pet-products industry, which is marketing spirituality in new ways. After pet gravestones became one of its five most-requested products, Petco introduced memorial stones in 2002. Customer requests also prompted the company to start carrying kosher dog food and Hanukkah treats last year. Hallmark, which annually ships 500,000 pet sympathy cards, introduced several with spiritual imagery last year. One features a drawing of a little bear with wings and a halo flying up to heaven and the line "Such a sweet little soul could never be forgotten."
Skylight Paths just published a book called "What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality." "Peace to All Beings: Veggie Soup for the Chicken's Soul," (Lantern Books) contains prayers for all sorts of creatures, including insects. (One prayer: "Peace and compassion prevails on Earth for our tiny brothers and sisters everywhere.") Pet boutiques, such as Miami Beach's Dog Bar, carry plush toy dreidels, Stars of David and St. Christopher pendants for collars, and kosher pet food (production supervised by a rabbi).
For devout pet lover Kathleen Eickwort, of Ocala, Fla., these developments are welcome. When her dog, Sarge, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in June, she made religion a part of his treatment. In addition to chemotherapy, Sarge received a 20-minute visit from the rector of Ms. Eickwort's Episcopal church, who touched him and prayed for his recovery. Sarge also went to church twice. Now, his cancer is in remission. "There is no reason why prayer healing shouldn't work for animals," says Ms. Eickwort.
Last summer, a member of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Stamford began bringing her King Charles Spaniel on Sunday mornings; soon, several other attendees were regularly bringing their dogs. "They felt that they would be welcomed, because we have long had a blessing of the animals," says Frank Baker, the church's former treasurer.
Not everyone at St. Francis was happy to share the pews with furry creatures. One longtime congregant sent an e-mail to the church saying that his son-in-law suffered an allergy attack because of the animals. The parishioner, who won't allow his name to be used for fear of backlash from the "animal people," warned that dogs at the after-church coffee hour might bite children eating cookies.
In response to the concerns, the clergy created the monthly pet-friendly service, similar to the one at All Saints in Fort Lauderdale that they had read about in an Episcopal newspaper. "We thought we could bring people in," says the Rev. Mark Lingle.
The new service, introduced in November, is abbreviated, with readings tailored to animal lovers. At the recent service that Purr Box Jr. attended, Rev. Lingle read a psalm about a ram, prayed for "all creatures everywhere" and individually blessed each animal in attendance.
Oliver, a 7-month-old Clumber Spaniel, chewed through his leash and took off after a red cardinal he spotted outside the window while Enoki, an 8-year-old black cocker spaniel, growled. Rev. Lingle took the commotion in stride, grabbing a roll of paper towels and a bottle of Nature's Miracle after the service and inspecting the altar for drool while pets and their owners milled about. "For a lot of people, the relationships they have with their pets are central to their lives," he says. "They like to be in a place that recognizes and honors that."
Mary Wilkinson was happy that she had brought Purr Box Jr. in to be blessed for his digestive problems. Now, she says she plans to come back each month, rotating her 11 other cats.
教堂向宠物敞开大门
玛丽?威尔金森(Mary Wilkinson)在一个周日走进教堂──这是十年来的头一次。她坐在康涅狄格州斯坦福德市的圣弗朗西斯主教堂的长椅上，一边翻阅祈祷书一边专心地听牧师布道。
把威尔金森女士重新引回教堂的是教堂最新实行的每月项目──动物圣餐。作为仪式的其中一部份，这位59岁的退休组合基金经理领著她17岁的虎猫Purr Box Jr排队等候，准备在祭坛上接受牧师给猫咪的特别祝福。排在她前面有三头喘气的狗。"我喜欢看到有其他的教区居民也养狗，" 威尔金森女士说。
面对教堂内空荡荡的板凳，有一小部份不太传统的牧师开始欢迎动物加入祈祷的行列。有些牧师发明了一些对动物有利的礼拜服务，有些开始打电话到教民家里关心生病的宠物，有的则会在兽医给亲爱的宠物施安乐死手术时陪伴在动物主人的身边。偶尔，牧师甚至还主持宠物丧礼，召集"bark mitzvah"（以狗为主题的亲友聚会）。 在加州的圣莫尼卡Beth Shir Sholom教堂的教民用《安息日祈祷》（出自电影《屋顶上的小提琴手》）的调子来歌唱给动物的祈祷。"但愿上帝保护你。但愿上帝保佑你不受虱子的骚扰。"
弗罗里达州劳德代尔堡(Fort Lauderdale)市的万圣主教堂自从去年夏天开始每月邀请宠物进教堂后，周日晚参加礼拜的人多了一倍。教堂想借此吸引在教堂周围平地上遛狗的人参加礼拜。"我们把这个称作传福音。"教区长希罗德?马洛(Sherod Mallow)如是说。"这样做是为了向社区敞开大门，满足不同需要的居民。"
宠物服务的目标是要吸引依赖宠物为唯一伴侣的老年人，还有那些觉得宗教似乎不再与生活关联而渐渐游离的人。为了吸引教众，教堂提供许多被认为对现代生活很重要的有益身心的项目，上述的例子仅仅是这场大规模运动的其中一部份。近年来，教堂和礼拜堂增加了各种服务，包括在星巴克咖啡厅和运动俱乐部提供服务，还有专门为动物和单身人士提供的祈祷。
像曼哈顿的圣约翰大教堂，很长时间以来每年都举行祈祷仪式，为一切生灵祈祷，从兔子到大象，范围甚广。主教堂一直把圣弗朗西斯敬奉为动物的保护神。
佛罗里达州棕榈滩Emanu-El教堂的艾萨克?杰力(Isaac Jeret)博士近来把这个传统发展到了一个新阶段──他打电话到教民家里慰问生病的动物。巴尔的摩市Oheb Shalom教堂的史蒂文?芬克博士(Steven Fink)也注意到了宠物祈祷服务的受欢迎，去年五月也开始为自己的教民提供类似的项目。有一百多宠物主人带著动物参加礼拜，包括几只天竺鼠和一条蛇王。"这个服务感动了那些原以为教堂与他们的生活无关的人们，"博士如是说。他打算在今年五月举行第二次宠物祝福仪式。 为这个趋势推波助澜的是有300亿美元规模的宠物产品产业。厂家们正在以新的方式推销宠物的精神意义。宠物墓碑是Petco的五项最受欢迎的产品之一，它在2002年又引进纪念石。去年，为适应消费需求，该公司开始生产卫生狗粮和光明节宴会食品。Hallmark每年售出50万张宠物温情卡，去年推出几款富有宗教色彩的图画卡片。其中有一张卡片画著一只头带光环、展翅飞向天堂的小熊，纪念话语是：永远都忘不了这个可爱的小甜心。
Skylight Paths刚刚出版了一本书，名为《动物在精神上教会了我们什么》。《愿所有生灵都得安息：献给小鸡的菜汤》（Lantern Books出版）里面有给各种动物的祈祷话语，包括给昆虫的祝福。（其中有句祈祷是这样的："愿大地每个角落的小兄弟姐妹都得到安宁和怜惜。"）不少像Miami Beach's Dog Bar这样的宠物商店都出售毛线玩具、有Stars of David和圣克里斯托弗画像的挂坠、卫生宠物食品（由一名法师监督生产）。
对于佛罗里达州奥卡拉(Ocala)的宠物爱好者凯思琳?艾克沃特(Kathleen Eickwort)来说，这些变化是很受欢迎的。自从她的爱犬Sarge去年六月份被诊断患有淋巴癌后，她就把宗教祈祷作为给它治疗的一部份。Sarge除了做化疗以外，还接受艾克沃特女士所在主教堂教区长达20分钟的拜访。教区长抚摸它，祝它早日康复。Sarge去过教堂两次。现在它的病情正在减轻。"没有理由说祈祷治疗不适用于动物，" 艾克沃特女士说。
去年夏天，位于斯坦福德的圣弗朗西斯主教堂的一名成员开始在星期天早晨带她的查尔斯王犬上教堂，很快其他一些居民带著爱犬定期来教堂做礼拜。"他们觉得在这里会受到礼遇，因为我们早就有给动物祈祷的服务了，"教堂的前任财务员弗兰克?贝克(Frank Baker)说。
然而，并不是每个到圣弗朗西斯教堂做礼拜的人都愿意和这些毛茸茸的家伙共坐一张长凳。一位到教堂参加礼拜多年的教民发电子邮件给教堂说他的女婿对动物过敏，吃了不少苦头。这位担心遭到宠物爱好者的攻击而不愿公开姓名的教民还说，在礼拜结束后的咖啡时间，这些宠物狗有时会咬正在吃饼乾的孩子。
考虑到这个问题，牧师创造了每月一次的宠物友好服务，类似他们在主教报纸上看到的在劳德代尔堡的万圣教堂里举行的服务。"我们认为我们能把人们吸引进教堂"教士马克?林格尔(Mark Lingle)说。
这项在去年11月份开始的新服务很简短，在仪式上，牧师会朗读一些为动物量身定做的诗。在Purr Box Jr最近参加的一次聚会上，林格尔朗读了一首关于一只山羊的圣歌，为"每个角落的所有生物祈祷"，并逐个祝福所有出席的动物。
Oliver是只七个月大的克伦伯犬，一次它看见窗外一个红衣主教，于是咬断颈绳，追踪而去，旁边八岁大的黑色可卡犬Enoki狂吠不止。林格尔控制住混乱的场面。礼拜结束后，他拿起一卷卫生纸和一瓶Nature's Miracle ，收拾宠物和他们的主人在混乱时在圣坛周围留下的脏东西。 "对于很多人来说，与动物之间的关系是他们生活的中心，"他说。"他们喜欢到一个承认并尊重这种关系的地方去。"
玛丽?威尔金森很高兴她带了Purr Box Jr去接受祈祷，因为Purr Box Jr消化有问题。现在她说打算以后每个月都去，还要带上另外十一只猫。
