'All of what God created was good'

The tradition's origins might be obscure, but local pet owners still arrived at Trinity Anglican Church Oct. 4 to receive God's blessing. New Trinity pastor, Father Bill Burt, said the event is held each year to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi.

"He was probably the best example of a Christian who ever walked the face of the earth," said Burt. "What we do as a tradition is to bless animals, all animals, but we limit that to pets here because that's what most people have in town."

He said the blessing the animals on Saint Francis of Assisi Day probably came about with the traditional story of Francis preaching to the birds and referring to all of creation as brother or sister.

"In blessing these animals, we acknowledge God's blessing on all of creation, which is what Francis was certainly about, that all of what God created was good."

This event marked Burt's first Saint Francis of Assisi Day since taking over as rector Sept. 1.

With Scottish roots in New York city and New Jersey, Burt said he arrived here after a long journey, literally and figuratively.

"This is where I've wound up for the long haul," he said. "I'm finding it to be a very warm experience. Within a week the next door neighbours introduced themselves to me, and there were people just acknowledging me already. That's a nice sign."

He said he was "a little nervous" with his first service after arriving in Digby, but will make the step from deacon to priest on St. Nicholas Day, Dec.6, in Halifax.

"One of the things that attracted people here at Digby-Weymouth parish to me was the fact I was a little older, and had a lot of life experience - then they saw at the very bottom that I also play the bagpipes."