St. Francis Day

On October 5, Roman Catholics and Episcopalians the world over celebrate a very special Saint's day. . .St. Francis of Asissi. Francis is well-known for his great love of all animals, and statues of him always feature (you guessed it) birds!

One of the beautiful ceremonies that center around St. Francis Day is the blessing of all animals. It was customary in farming towns that the animals would be brought to church to receive their blessings for a fruitful and healthy year. We continue this tradition today at some of our churches, and instead of bringing cows and sheep, (well, now, that would make it REALLY fun!) we bring our pets--our dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, lizards. . .

Here in Chicago, several churches have blessing ceremonies, one of which is St. Albans Episcopal Church on the Northwest Side. The ceremony is held outside, weather permitting, in their Shakespeare Garden. The ritual is beautiful, and gives blessings to all the creatures, and keeps us mindful of how protective we need to be of all animals, even the whales and tigers! Of course, you bring your animals to the blessing, and it's always a riot to see all kinds of animals and their owners going up to receive their blessings. Hopefully, this year's weather will cooperate and we can get not only Topaz, our Siberian Husky blessed, but bring along the birds, too!

The St. Francis Blessing will be held at St. Albans on Saturday, October 7 at 11:00 a.m., RAIN OR SHINE!!!! Mark your calendars, and for more information, call Father DeLion (yes! it's his real name!) at St. Albans at: 773-763-8845. Hope to see you and your creatures there!

Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club Bird Fair

Saturday, September 23 is the date for the next Bird Fair! From 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., you'll be able to browse among lots and lots of suppliers of food, toys, cages, other related bird items, and of course, BIRDS! There are prize raffles and it's a nice chance to meet up with other bird lovers.

The Bird Fair is held at the Hattendorf Center in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. For more information, call 847-705-6260.

For information on the Greater Chicago Bird Club, call 847-705-6260. You can also take a look at their website: www.gccbc.org.

Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club 68th Annual Cage Bird Exhibition
and Bird Seminar

On Saturday, November 4, the GCCBC will hold their yearly Bird Exhibition and Seminar at the Ramada Inn in Harvey, Illinois. Sessions on Behavior, Nutrition, Breeding, and Veterinary Practice will be held along with a Bird Fair and commercial vendors featuring food, toys, cages, supplies and BIRDS!

Strictly Birds will have a booth there, be sure to look for us! For more information, call 847-705-6260, or check out their website at: www.gccbc.org.We hope to see you there!

--Deb