Brothers,

Below are the first two paragraphs of an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2004.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP ARE REACHING OUT TO A FLOCK OF PETS

"Purr Box Goes to Communion at St. Francis Episcopal..."

By Elizabeth Bernstein

For the frist time in 10 years, Mary Wilkinson went to church one Sunday in January. She sat in the back pew at St. Francis Episcopal church in Stamford, Conn., flipping through a prayer book and listening intently to the priest's sermon.

What drew Ms. Wilkinson back into the fold was a new monthly program the church introduced--Holy Communion for pets. As part of the service, the 59-year-old retired portfolio manager carried her 17-year-old tiger cat to the altar, waited in line behind three panting dogs to receive the host and had a special bendiction performed for her cat, Purr Box Jr. "I like that the other parishioners are animal people," ms. Wilkinson says.


The unfortunate thing is the initial read through indicates that "Purr Box" received Holy Communion. A second read, paying close attention to the grammar, allows you to believe that the owner only received Communion. But which is it? It is unclear in this article. If the answer is the former, then the ECUSA has just proven that anything is possible once you leave Christianity. If the answer is the latter, its just weird.

Blessings,
Erich+

PS I have transcribed the article this from my copy of the Journal. You must be a subscriber to their website to access their articles so I can not link it for you. The article goes on to describe how many churches and synagogues are becoming "pet friendly."
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