The Feast of Saint Francis

I recently changed churches, for many reasons, not the least of which was the commute. So I am no longer a member of the Church of the Holy Trinity on East 88th Street in Manhattan, I am now a member of Grace Church Brooklyn. I belonged to Grace Church in Manhattan for many years, and was married there, so I appreciate the irony that I now am at the church founded because Grace Church Manhattan was too difficult a commute once they moved up to Tenth Street.
Our schedules last Sunday were too difficult to get Augie to church to be blessed at the 5:00 PM service (and I think he could use it), but there's coverage on the Brooklyn Heights blog (link above).

The Day the Dogs Come to Church

In the midst of my rehearsal excitement, I'd forgotten that this coming Sunday, October 5th, is the Feast of St. Francis at my church, the Church of the Holy Trinity. This is the day the animals and their humans come to be blessed, from all over the neighborhood. I have seen a lot of dogs, cats, birds, turtles and some water from the East River, all be blessed by the priests. This year, there will be animal blessings at the 8AM, 10:30AM and 6PM services. I'm always at the 10:30, and it fills up fast. Holy Trinity is the most dog-friendly church I've ever belonged to- it was written up in the New York Post in the past year. For the history of the church and dogs, click on the title above to see Dr. Stephen Hamilton's insightful essay on the church's website. The address is 316 East 88th Street, between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan.