Blessing of the Animals
A look at our pet friends; and Bob's Lunch nostalgia
By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
I’m going to devote today’s newsletter mostly to animals, but will offer a closing thought on the relatively viral “Bob’s Lunch” post on our Facebook page.
I have these two waiting for me to finish this newsletter. Give me a minute, Olaf and Harley!
Yes, we don’t care if they eventually wear out the furniture. It’s only Taft stuff anyway. Both are from pounds and were generally unwanted. The one on the right had been adopted two other times and returned. The one on the left is missing an arm. Not to act like a “hero,” but if we didn’t take them in, who would?
Our wire service sent us this graphic:
So, apparently I’m not alone in thinking of pets as family.
But, then again, this show on Max (formerly HBO) is really hot right now:
It’s called “Chimp Crazy” — made by the same people as “Tiger King” — and the producers seem to have found an exotic animal owner just as eccentric as their last antagonist.
I’m not that nutty of a pet owner.
I’m only up to episode 4, so please don’t spoil it for me, but let’s just say owning a chimp never seems to end well.
Want to Rescue a Dog?
Locally, Our Best Friend Rescue has nine 9-week-old beagle mix puppies and two corgi puppies ready to go to their forever homes. Two of them are pictured above. First shots have been completed. They reportedly are adorable and affectionate. For adoption information, visit www.ourbestfriendsrescue.org.
Blessing of the Animals
I know it may be odd for a newspaper to pair with a church, but we’re friendly with local churches, and I thought this was a good thing to do to lend publicity to this effort.
Whether you believe such blessings are real or just spiritually symbolic, it’s an upbeat thing to do, to get your pet blessed.
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 1 Grove St. in Schuylerville will be hosting a Blessing of the Animals on Saturday, Oct. 5, starting at 10 a.m.
The Journal & Press has signed on as a promotional sponsor. Recently we spoke with one of the organizers, Sarah Cartwright, a member of the congregation working with Deacon Helene Patterson on this project. The event is free. Donations accepted. Pet treats will also be available.
Here is our conversation:
Journal & Press: How did you get the idea for a Blessing of the Animals?
Cartwright: God gave us dominion over animals and His creation. We are called to be respectful and loving stewards of His works. I’m sure we’ve all experienced pet ownership as a blessing and a responsibility just as important as our relationship with humans. October 4th is St. Francis of Assisi day. He is most well known as patron saint of the animals and environment and has said, “All things of creation are children of the Father and thus brothers of man...” This day is often used as a Christian celebration of that relationship and to provide thanksgiving for our animals.
Journal & Press: Have you ever done this before?
Cartwright: Our church, St. Stephen’s Episcopal, hosted a blessing of the animals many years ago. We want to revive the event and bring the community together through our shared love of all God’s creatures!
Journal & Press: Sounds like it can be chaotic. Anything unusual ever happen before at one of these? How do you keep order?
Cartwright: We are asking that pet parents please keep their animals leashed or crated for the safety of all attending. Please practice safe animal etiquette (for example, asking owners if it’s okay to pet before touching, don’t allow your dog to rush other dogs or people). Also, please pick-up after your pet.
Journal & Press: How many animals are you expecting on the date?
Cartwright: We don’t have an exact number we’re expecting, but we’re hoping at least 20+ pet families will attend!
Journal & Press: Is there a rain date?
Cartwright: No rain date, this will be a rain or shine event. We’re praying for good weather and will have a few pop-up tents available.
Journal & Press: Why do you think it’s important to bless the animals?
Cartwright: Just as our Lord loves us unconditionally, so too do our animals. Pets share their life and love with us, and some serve us as police canines, search and rescue, therapy animals, etc., without asking for much in return. We are their voice and their caretakers. Through blessing our animals and caring for them we are being faithful stewards of God’s creation.
Journal & Press: What is the blessing process? For example, holy water?
Cartwright: Our Deacon Helene Patterson will offer a prayer for the health and well-being of the animals and for a loving, respectful relationship with their owners. Deacon Helene also will have a prayer for the healing of sick animals if requested. Deacon Helene will pray over the animals and then sprinkle the animals with Holy Water from the aspergillum, the wand-like instrument used to sprinkle the Holy Water. If any pet parent feels their animal would not like the water sprinkle they can opt out and still receive the verbal blessing. This is meant to be a relaxed event to honor God’s love of our animals and engage with our community. We are happy to offer a blessing however participants feel comfortable!
Journal & Press: What kind of animals do you expect?
Cartwright: We’re anticipating mostly dogs, but we anticipate a few cats may attend as well. I would love to see animals of all kinds – goats, reptiles, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. All are cherished members of God’s creation. If a child has a favorite stuffed animal, we’ve got a blessing for them too.
And Now It’s Time for the Comics — ‘Animal Crackers,’ of Course…
This may be the scene after the animal blessing event, but it still will have been worth doing it!
How Soon Is Now?
Now, onto a different story.
This post went relatively viral on our Facebook page.
We really don’t have any details on this. I just happened to take a photo of this deteriorating building a few weeks ago while out doing Salem stuff and grabbed the second photo yesterday while delivering The Salem Press.
It was called Bob’s Lunch most recently (the building seemed to be in operation until a decade ago) and also had been called Jim’s and Sausville’s (you can see the faded yellow Sausville’s sign bottom left).
Here are the post stats over the last 24 hours.
Lots of people have posted their memories of the place. I don’t think 11,811 people even live in the greater Salem area anymore, so many are also waxing nostalgic from outside the region.
I have a mixed feeling about nostalgia. While I do add some nostalgic elements to the newspaper, and do notice that nostalgia dominates local Facebook groups, nostalgia can also lead to inaction. I think sometimes we celebrate nostalgia but don’t support people right now operating businesses and doing cool things in our towns — people are pining for old restaurants from their youths, but how about new ones? The people who are running businesses now are creating the nostalgia of tomorrow.
Maybe that person can be you? This building is gone, but maybe there’s some other local building that needs help. Maybe you’d want to add a coat of paint, put out a sign and create new memories for the community?
As the song says, “How Soon Is Now?” Maybe give community service a try, if you don’t already.
Thanks, Dayle!
And that’s it for today — more tomorrow! Subscribe to our print edition or this newsletter, or both, if you can. If not, we also offer free options.