Ministry Today

It's official: Church has gone to the dogs. Starting this month, Covenant Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles is turning God's house into a doghouse by inviting dog lovers to bring their pooches for a 30-minute canine-centric worship service. Intended as a weekly community outreach event, the services come complete with doggie beds, doggie treats and—we're not making this up—doggie prayers.

Pastor Tom Eggebeen thought of the idea three years ago to spark growth among his dwindling congregation and, as an avid dog-lover, believes the "Canines at Covenant" services meet a need for a largely ignored segment of believers.

"The Bible says of God only two things in terms of an 'is': that God is light and God is love," Eggebeen says. "And wherever there's love, there's God in some fashion. And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that's a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that."

According to a recent Associated Press story, Eggebeen isn't alone but is part of a "growing trend among churches nationwide to address the spirituality of pets and the deeply felt bonds that owners form with their animals." Though calling this a definitive trend is debatable—one nationwide survey found a grand six churches involved in similar woof-oriented worship services—it does reveal a broadening attitude about pets and spirituality.

"It's the changing family structure, where pets are really central and religious communities are starting to recognize that people need various kinds of rituals that include their pets," says Laura Hobgood-Oster, a religion professor at Southwestern University who has studied the role of pets among Christians. "More and more people in mainline Christianity are considering them to have some kind of soul."

Whatever, er, dogma churches adopt, one thing is certain for Eggebeen: his plan is working. Of the more than 30 humans who attended the church's first service, three-fourths were newcomers. [AP, 11/4/09]

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