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‘Everyone can use a blessing’
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Father John Wigle, retired associate pastor of St. James Episcopal Church in Boardman, blesses Brandy, Canfield resident Gretchen Carlson’s dog, during the pet blessing Sunday at the church. Sunday was Rogation Sunday, a traditional time to give thanks for God’s creations.
By Denise Dick
BOARDMAN
God’s creatures great and small arrived at St. James Episcopal Church on Sunday for their chance to get blessed.
Among the great was Stuart, the 115-pound, mixed-breed hero rescue dog owned by Tom and Cindy Simerlink.
Mary Moulin’s two yorkies, Muffin, 13, and Rocky, 8, were among the small.
Moulin, of the township, also brought Chloe, a shepherd mix she found four years ago at a house on Hopkins Road.
“I would drive by every day going to work and see her in the hot weather,” she said.
She decided to bring her home.
Sunday was the first time Moulin brought her crew to the animal blessing.
“Rocky had emergency surgery last November, Muffin is on seven heart medications, and with everything that Chloe has been through, they need a blessing,” she said.
Father John Wigle, retired church associate pastor, blessed the roughly 30 animals whose owners braved the rain Sunday afternoon. Most were dogs, but a few cats and a guinea pig also made the trip.
Rogation Sunday, the sixth Sunday after Easter, is a time to give thanks for God’s creation.
The Rev. Mr. Wigle said the church has been blessing animals for about 10 years.
“We’re here to celebrate their unconditional love and thanking them and blessing them,” he said.
Stuart, whom The Vindicator featured in a February story after he alerted his owners when a gas burner on their stove was left on, has been an annual attendee at the blessing.
Mary Ellen and Bob Maruschak bring their shelties, Mikey and Mitzi, both 5, every year, too.
“Everyone can use a blessing,” Mary Ellen said.
The couple isn’t sure the annual event makes a different to their pets, but “to us, it does,” Mary Ellen said.