Full Description
Gazelles and geckos, bees and bears, whelks and elks, cats who skip and dogs who read stories to children, stags and stag beetles, neon tetras and harlequin rasboras, mice and rats and other critters - The Blessing of Animals teems with God's amazing creation. You can hear the voice of God on every page:
'Woof!' 'Miaow!'
Along with many beautiful prayers and poems to dip into, this book also includes:
‾ Reflections on feline and canine theology
‾ An all-age communion service for the Feast of Saint Francis
‾ A litany for the blessing of animals
‾ A service for the blessing of animals
‾ Thoughts on losing an animal friend
‾ A lamentation and prayer to the whole of creation
For every Border collie and sheepdog,
for every golden retriever and Great Dane,
we give you thanks.
For every squawk and tweet,
for every flitter and flutter,
we give you thanks.
For every tortoiseshell, marmalade and Russian Blue,
for every loquacious Siamese,
we give you thanks.
(From a litany by Thom M. Shuman)
Contents
Contents
Poems
Christmas 2020, Bonnie Thurston 10
Feathered friends, Bonnie Thurston 11
Winter's breakfast guests, Bonnie Thurston 12
Words like birds, Bonnie Thurston 13
Sutton's warbler, unconfirmed sighting, Bonnie Thurston 14
Rats, Brian Ford 15
Dancing in the desert, Janet Lees 16
Everybody knows that cats like to rumba, Neil Paynter 16
Blackstone's journey, Katherine Rennie 19
Blackstone's love, Katherine Rennie 20
Emptiness, Katherine Rennie 20
Eyes, Tom Gordon 21
Patience, Tom Gordon 23
Feline theology, Brian Ford 24
Theology lessons, Tom Gordon 25
Unconditional, Tom Gordon 27
Gibbs is my spiritual director, Thom M. Shuman 28
Sniffing, Tom Gordon 29
Robins, Brian Ford 30
I dream of Ginger (To those who dream about their pets), Rodney Aist 30
Dusty's eyes, Thom M. Shuman 32
Mourning, Tom Gordon 33
Preferences, Tom Gordon 34
Even the sparrow, Brian Ford 35
Extinct, Janet Lees 36
I know a cat (A skipping poem), Neil Paynter 36
The last return of the prodigal, Brian Ford 41
Toby, Glendon Macaulay 42
Prayers
The God of all creatures, Thom M. Shuman 48
Bless to me my dog, Joy Mead 48
Bless my cat, Rosie Miles 49
The blessings of birds, Janet Lees 49
Awareness, Tom Gordon 50
Why are you doing this?, Rebeka Maples 51
Thank you, Tom Gordon 52
Bless us, O Lord, Rebeka Maples 53
A stag beetle on the Greenwich Meridian Trail, Janet Lees 54
Keep moving, Janet Lees 55
For ordinary wonderful things, Richard Sharples 55
Reflections and stories
St Hubert and the stag, Annie Heppenstall 58
An incarnate God, Annika Spalde 60
Ask the animals, Ghillean Prance 61
God bless you, Dusty, Thom M. Shuman 63
Scooby, Tom Gordon 65
Cocoa the Wonder Dog I, Thom M. Shuman 67
God's world, Ghillean Prance 68
Cocoa the Wonder Dog II, Thom M. Shuman 69
Hope, Alastair McIntosh 71
All-embracing compassion, Annika Spalde 74
Liturgy
A litany of blessing, Thom M. Shuman 76
Celebrating love for all God's creation: An all-age communion service for the Feast of Saint Francis (including a blessing of animals), Nancy Cocks 80
Creatures worship together: A service for the blessing of animals, Rebeka Maples 90
A lamentation and prayer of contrition to the whole of creation, Richard A. Nisbett 98
Sources and acknowledgements 104
About the contributors 106
