Blessings for Special Friends

Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, Texas  was the setting Sunday morning for the church’s blessing of the animals, an opportunity to remember the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.   Bestowing those special blessings was Father Trey Garland, the church’s rector.   Father Garland has done this service a number of times in the 12 years since he’s been ordained.   A notable event was in Greenville, South Carolina, where he blessed, among other things, a giraffe!   He says his favorite, however, was in Marble Falls, Texas, where he blessed a pair of horses pulling an antique carriage.   Sunday’s was special, too.   Griffin, a bearded monitor, was the only lizard in attendance, but received his blessing calmly!   A few random barks never once took away from the solemnity of the occasion.    Some of these images accompanied a story I wrote for the Williamson County Sun

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