St. John's holding pet blessing this weekend

BEATRICE - St. John's Lutheran Church in Beatrice will hold their third annual pet blessing this Sunday. 

The event is at the church and kicks off at 1:00 p.m.  Renae Koehler is the church pastor and will lead the blessing ceremony. 

"People bring their pets that they love because they comfort them and they comfort their pets," Koehler said. "It's just a nice time to bring them and bless them and it's also close to the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi who is the patron saint of pets."

The event began in 2019, and a wide array of animals come to get blessed. While cats and dogs may be the most common, it's not limited to just them. People can bring any pet they have, including livestock. 

"The biggest thing I've ever seen someone bring to a pet blessing I've done is a camel. That was pretty amazing," Koehler said. "I thought people were kidding when someone ran in and told me there was a camel outside, but people can bring anything, horses, cattle, a guinea pig, fish."

In addition, your pet doesn't have to be in attendance to receive a blessing. 

"If you don't want to bring your pet, maybe you have a cat that wouldn't like the pet blessing, you can bring a picture," Koehler said. 

St. John's is located at 701 N. 6th St. in Beatrice.