July 7th, 2022Looking back

BACK in September 2013, Glenlyon Anglican Church held a wonderful Blessing of the Pets service, above.
Father Andrew Eaton met with a 20-strong crowd with their beloved pets – all canines on the day.
He sat, in his robes, face-to-face with each dog and offered them the Blessing of the Lord and a dab of sanctified water.
Father Andrew said the Blessing of the Pets was a way the community could give back to their best friends.
“Pets instill in us wonder and awe of the creation around us,” he said.
Father Eaton, who also blessed his own dogs, ended the service with handshakes all round for the two-legged partipants, and a sprinkling of Holy Water.
The Local is looking back at a few of its early photos and stories. This first ran in The Local on October 14, 2013. For all the back issues head to www.tlnews.com.au
Father Andrew is now the parish priest at St Luke’s at Wallsend. He is also the Anglican Chaplain at the University of Newcastle, the chair of the Anglican EcoCare Newcastle, and a member of the Diocesan Domestic Violence Taskforce, the Hunter Interfaith Network and the Sodality of Mary, Mother of Priests.
He moved to Wallsend with his wife Monica and two girls in February 2017 from Diocese of Bendigo.
Father Andrew celebrated five years at St Luke’s in February this year.