St. Mark's Pet Project is a Blessed Event

In the print business, we'd call a story like this a sidebar.

But actually, it was the main event, as far as blessings of the animals go.  About 150 pets and people came to the old Geneva Courthouse lawn on Third Street for a Sunday-afternoon celebration of life on Earth with animals, hosted by St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Mark Tuscan and Assistant Rector Claudia Nalven had their hands full, giving blessings and individual attention to each pet and pet owner.

The blessing of the animals honors St. Francis of Assisi, the 12th Century patron saint of animals, who created the Christmas creche, saying, "Surely the animals praised the new Messiah just as the shepherds and angels did."

The photos here were contributed to Geneva Patch by a St. Mark's church volunteer. If you have additional photos, let us know by e-mailing editor Rick Nagel at rickn@patch.com.