Tampa’s St. Clement’s Episcopal Church is an inclusive and welcoming church that’s anchored in love for everyone, including pets. On the third Sunday of every month, it hosts a pet-friendly service where furry companions are welcome.
Its People & Pet Ministry strives to keep people and their pets together during challenging times. The ministry was created in 2022 after the church saw heartbroken families being forced to surrender their pets because of rising costs of pet food.
Riverview resident Christa Rochford is tremendously grateful for the support that her family received from the ministry. Her family fell under hard times and was having trouble paying bills and feeding their dogs.
“A couple years ago, we fell on hard times. When some of our pups were babies, it was a lot. Puppies eat a lot of food. We fell in a spot where we couldn’t keep up,” Rochford said.
Rochford posted on Facebook and was told about the People & Pet Ministry.
“It was a blessing because we were set for a couple weeks and we could catch up on our own things,” Rochford said.
Rochford and her family now volunteer with the ministry collecting donations and working on distribution days.
Rochford is taking in pet food donations locally. They can be dropped at Flooring USA in Valrico, located at 3654 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Donations can also be made online through Chewy at www.chewy.com/g/st-clements-episcopal-church-people-pets-ministry_b103462405.
The need is great. In April, the pet food bank helped more than 60 families and then ran out of pet food and was unable to do a distribution in May. In June, it served more than 65 families. September’s distribution was canceled because there wasn’t enough food to support the families. October’s distribution is scheduled for Saturday, October 18.
On Saturday, October 4, St. Clement’s is hosting its annual Blessing of the Animals. Pet dogs, cats, birds, skunks, gerbils, horses, geese, bearded dragons, lizards and more — all are welcome. Each will receive a blessing and a St. Francis medal.
St. Clement’s Episcopal Church is located at 706 W. 113th Ave. in Tampa. To learn more, visit https://stclement.net/bota/ or email stcpeopleandpets@gmail.com.
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