The choir at All Saints Episcopal Church in Lehighton sounded more like play time at the local SPCA on Sunday afternoon.

Around 10 dogs and their owners turned out for the church’s annual “Blessing of the Pets.”The Rev. Jane Arrington Bender blessed each dog individually and the roughly 35-minute ceremony concluded with the reading of the Prayer of St. Francis.“Every year, we hold this ceremony in honor of St. Francis,” Bender said. “We have done the blessing every year in the six years I have been with the church. St. Francis was a man of peace and in this time of turmoil, we need more role models who are peacemakers.”Blessing of the Pets is held nationwide each year around Oct. 4, which is also the Feast Day of St. Francis Assisi.St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment, began blessing animals between 1210 and 1215.Around this time, he penned a Canticle of the Creatures, a prayer celebrating all things created by God.It is also believed St. Francis preached to birds and blessed fish, before releasing them back in the water.Many attendees on Sunday were bringing their pets for the first time.“Our dog is a people dog and we wanted to come out and let him socialize,” said Ron Carlson, who brought Pepper, his six-year-old Norwegian Elkhound. “This is a great opportunity for Pepper to be around other pets and have a great time.”For more on the ceremony, read the Times News print edition.