St. Edward's, St. John's and St. Thomas Episcopal churches will offer a joint Blessing of the Animals service in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the environment and animals, on Friday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. The service will be offered outdoors in the courtyard of St. John's Episcopal Church, 321 W. Chestnut St., Lancaster. The courtyard is located off the parking lot on Mulberry Street.

There will be a short service and blessing. The service will celebrate and give thanks for pets and all God's creatures. Lancaster City's Mounted and K-9 units will be on hand for the event. Donations will be accepted for the Pennsylvania SPCA, which provides local shelter and adoption opportunities for dogs and cats.

Pets in attendance should be leashed or in a cage or carrier. Attendees may bring a picture of their pet for blessing if they feel that bringing the pet to the event would be too stressful. Toy pets are welcome, too.

All human participants are required to wear a mask and practice social distancing during the gathering.

For more information, call St. John's Episcopal Church at 717-299-1188 or visit https://stjohns-lancaster.org/.