Archbishopric of Good Hope: Fun and games at the St Mamas’ Pets Blessing Day

Children, ponies and pets, poster paints and sticky fingers are a fail-proof recipe for fun and happy memories!
On Sunday 1 September, we welcomed the first day of Spring with our fourth annual St Mamas Pets Blessing which took place in the grounds of the Metropolis in Rondebosch.
Despite fears that the rain would spoil everything, our prayers for sunshine were answered by St Mamas and the afternoon turned out to be a resounding success.



The children and their parents and families turned up with their beloved pets to be blessed by Pater Nikolaos and it was a rather rowdy start to the afternoon with dogs getting to know each other but everyone soon settled down and had a terrific time. His Eminence Archbishop Sergios and our new Greek Consul, Mr Thomas Matsoukas, were instantly swept up in all the excitement and also joined in the fun.
We had dogs and cats, birds and two tortoises this year which added an exotic touch and of course, Deanne Hathaway’s popular ponies were very much in demand as even the tiniest tots wanted to have a ride.
Pater Nikolaos welcomed everyone with a prayer for animals and their keepers which was followed by a little story about St Mamas and then everyone lined up to have their pets blessed.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to fun competitions where kids were sorted into two teams and Pepe taught them how to make garden bird feeders which became a feast of peanut butter fingers and birdseed!



Afterwards Nicholas set up an art jamming session where the children painted pictures of animals on canvases and needless to say that was a delightfully messy experience.
Yummy refreshments were served and finally it was time to wind down with the traditional marshmallow toasting bonfire. Everyone went home with super pet goody bags and prizes that were sponsored by Purina again, to whom we are always very grateful for their generous and ongoing support.
So treasure your pets and help spread St Mamas’ goodwill to all living creatures.

By Pepe Sofianos.

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