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Rev. Chris Jimmerson
February 2, 2025
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org
Join us for an all-ages service to bless the beloved animal companions in your lives. All friendly, well-behaved creatures, young, old, great and small, furry and scaly, are invited to this cherished annual tradition. In these challenging times, let us honor our animal companions, who are such a vital source of our joy and resilience.
Chalice Lighting
This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.
Call to Worship
DOGSOLOGY
Rev. LoraKim JoynerFrom all that dwell below the skies
Let songs of hope and faith arise
Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung
Or barked or howled by every tongue!
Affirming Our Mission
Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.
Reading
JOB 12, 7-10
Ask the animals and they will teach you. Or the birds in the sky and they will tell you. Or speak to the Earth and it will teach you. Or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know the breath of the divine has done this. In whose care is the life of every creature and the breath of all humankind.
Sermon
Well, it’s been a challenging couple of weeks, hasn’t it?
How many of us are feeling a little overwhelmed by all of the meanness, incompetence, pettiness, and authoritarianism emanating from our federal government? Raise you hand if you are comfortable doing so. I think I even saw a few paws go up.
How many of us are wondering how in the world we are going to find the resilience, non-anxious presence, not to mention joy and comfort, to make it through the next few months and years?
The cats are like, “yeah, yeah, just don’t forget to feed me.” Now, look around at the beings gathered here for worship today. When we think about the community of love and support we will need to weather the hard times, sometimes we don’t remember to turn to our animal companions.
And yet, they can be such sources of love, joy and support.
I was so moved by Sol’s description of how their Kittan is “a living reminder of love, a promise that no one is ever fully lost.”
All of my current animal companions, all Basenji dogs, are named after well-known Unitarian Universalist ancestors.
Slide
Meet Louisa May Alcott and Benjamin Franklin.
Last year, after my spouse, Wayne, went on hospice care, I can tell you that Ben and Louisa somehow absolutely knew what was happening, or at least that something difficult for us was happening. And they were such a comfort to us.
They were glued to one of our sides almost constantly, except, when, you know, occasionally a squirrel needed running off or something, they are dogs after all – they read the situation and were so loving and affectionate and cuddly.
During the day when I had to be gone, they took care of Wayne for me.
In fact, near the end, when Wayne got really sick and was pretty much confined to one room, I had to put in a gate to keep them out and bring them for supervised visits because they tried to be a little too “cuddly” after he became too fragile for them to do so.
Years, prior, when it had come time to let our older dog, Virgil, go, the hospice vet that came to our house told us it was important for us to let Ben and Louisa be present as Virgil’s life ended.
She said that they would be upset and confused if Virgil just disappeared without them ever knowing why, and that they would know what had happened if they witnessed Virgil’s death. And so we did let them be there, and they did know.
Because of that, Wayne had told me that he wanted me to bring them in after he died, so they would know. And the morning that it happened, I did. And they did know.
Back when Wayne had still been mobile enough to move around the house, I had trained them so that I could say, “Where’s the Wayne?”, and they would go running off to find him and check on him for me.
A few days after Wayne died, and I was still in overwhelming grief, I suddenly found myself crying out, “Where’s Wayne?” They didn’t run off to try to find him.
Louisa came over and sat beside me, laid her head on my shoulder, and looked up at me. Ben came and laid against my leg. They knew, and they helped me through, and they wanted me to help them through.
Slide
And this is the newest member of our pack, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who I am convinced Wayne arranged for him coming into our lives, but that’s a longer story.
Ralph has come in and decided the rest of us all need more fun, joy and play in our lives, whether we like it or not!
And, you know, I joked about cats earlier, but as Sol’s story illustrated, they too are incredibly aware of our needs and will bring us comfort, even if they do it in a different way than dogs do.
So, my beloveds, as we face the challenges ahead, remember and respect our animal companions.
They can bring us such great comfort and joy, no matter their species – fur, feathers, scales, shells or otherwise!
If you for whatever reason do not have animal companions in your life, you can still enjoy them vicariously though other’s people’s pets or the millions and millions of online videos you can find.
And even our animal friends who have left us to go over the rainbow bridge are always still in our hearts.
Our Basenji Dog, Virgil, who I mentioned earlier was so regal and imperious that we called him, “Sir Virgil”.
And I plan to bring some of that Vigil attitude with me as I confront the forces of division and harm at our state capital in the days to come.
Bless the animals my Beloveds and accept the ways in which they bless us.
Extinguishing the Chalice
We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction
BENEDICTION FOR A PET BLESSING:
SOME WISDOM FROM OUR CAT AND DOG FRIENDS
by Rev. Chris JimmersonShow exuberant joy when you first see your loved ones after being apart.
Delight in simple joys.
Play a lot.
Except in the most dire of situations, retract your claws (unless it is all in good, playful fun).
Knock something off the shelf every once in a while, it’s fun
AND it can open up new possibilities.
Never try to persuade humans to be reasonable.
Purr loudly or wag your whole body when you’re happy.
Sometimes a good howl or some hissing can help a lot, just avoid biting, which can get you in lots of trouble.
Nap just for the pleasure of it.
Comfort others: accept comfort when you are able.
Love freely, but never lose yourself in doing so.May the congregation say, Amen and Blessed Be.
Go in peace.
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