Canceled animal blessing ceremony held after about 30 show up anyway

Roughly 30 animals whose owners took them to the canceled blessing of the animal ceremony Sunday were blessed anyway in Capaha Park.

The second meeting of the Blue Sky Church was titled "All Creatures Great and Small" and was canceled Sunday afternoon because of strong winds that blew through the area all day.

"There was so much wind that the PA system wouldn't work for technical reasons," said the Rev. Robert Towner of Christ Episcopal Church on Sunday afternoon. "The musicians wouldn't come, and the crowds probably wouldn't come."

But a small crowd did come, Towner said later. He canceled the event at around 3 p.m., but he and Deb Tracy went to the park at 4:30 just in case.

"About 25 to 30 people came anyway so we blessed the animals," Towner said. "When you've got 25 dogs that are all groomed and ready for the blessings, you go ahead and bless them."

Towner said one cat -- Puddy -- was brought and the rest were dogs. He said attendance was probably only a quarter of what it would have been in good weather.

Sunday was the second in a three-part series of outdoor services arranged by the Downtown Council of Churches, a loosely affiliated group of congregations that plan activities in Cape Girardeau such as the Lenten Way of the Cross walk. The first service, held May 4, blessed nature. The third will bless food producers Sunday.

"We're still inviting [the animals] back next Sunday," he said.

For the "Stone Soup" service at 5 p.m. May 18, in the band shell in Capaha Park, organizers are asking people to bring small bags of washed and chopped vegetables and poultry to make a pot of soup for sharing at the event.

The National Weather Service recorded steady winds at 26 to 30 mph and gusts up to 41 mph Sunday in Cape Girardeau.

charris@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246