David, the Rector, has written to explain:
"The Animal Blessing service last year (2012) was very poorly attended. There were 37 adults and 10 children present even though the occasion was attended by the Borough Mayor and the Wokingham M.P. In earlier years we have expected and received attendance figures between 100 and 150 combined adults and children but in recent years this figure has not been achieved. In earlier years there has been a wide diversity of animals present but in 2012 there were 10 dogs only.
Therefore the church Worship Committee reviewed the event and concluded that the current format had run its course as people were no longer choosing to attend. This was in spite of the greater publicity efforts that had been made in 2012 compared with previous years. The Worship Committee has concluded that a new format is needed.
All Saints Church remains absolutely committed to a Christian understanding which acknowledges other sentient creatures as partakers of God's love and care.
As a church we would like to continue to stimulate and enable our local community to celebrate the divine gift of animals, and the life and world humans and other animals share together. But we recognise that a church service in the traditional format may no longer serve this purpose.
We needed more time to consider a new approach and this, coupled with a staff vacancy in the clergy team which we are carrying during this latter half of 2013, meant that we decided not to run an Animal Blessing Service this year.
We welcome sugggestions for a future event format which will meet our objectives"
No comments:
Post a Comment