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Vancouver church to hold drive through pet blessings this weekend

There's also a walk-through option
petblessings
A variety of pets will be blessed at a Vancouver Anglican church on Oct. 3.

This weekend it might look like Noah's Ark than a church at one Vancouver house of worship, but there's a good reason for animals to congregate at St.John's in Shaughnessy on Sunday.

There'll be drive-through and walk-through options for the Anglican church's annual event, which sees animals of all sorts get blessed.

The church is offering a "short outdoor prayer service followed by a pet blessing."

It's requested that dogs be leashed for the event, and other animals be kept in their carriers.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue

The act of blessing pets in early October is related to the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi; he's the patron saint of animals.

“People really love their animals whether they’re churchgoers or not, and to be giving thanks — people understand that in their own way and there’s something really beautiful about that,” the Reverend John Stephens told the Vancouver Courier in 2016. “It’s something that’s been in the church for a long, long time and it’s a fun way to connect animals with people.”

The blessings will start at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, and run for an hour (ending at 4 p.m.). St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church is located at 1490 Nanton Ave. at Granville Street.