Unleashed Community Church is dog-friendly! In our services, which are now being held twice a month, we have families coming who are accompanied by their dogs, who are members of their family. We are the only church in the Eugene/Springfield communities in Oregon that allows friendly, well-mannered dogs on leash to be in the worship service, whether they are service dogs or family pets. Why do we allow dogs in service?
- First, dogs show, in part, God’s unconditional love and acceptance of all people. They are a great example to us of how to have a loving and accepting attitude toward people from all walks of life. We need that example, as well as the bridge to relationship with one another that dogs provide.
- People and their dogs are more strongly bonded in this current decade than ever before; there are 320 million people in the U.S. and over half of U.S. households have one or two dogs in the family. Doesn’t it make sense that such an important member of the family spend this extra time with busy families?
- Dogs are part of God’s creation–a creation God loves and cares about as seen in scripture in the accounts of creation in Genesis 1 and 2; the description of the covenant God made with animals after the flood; and Jesus’s words in Matthew 6 about God knowing when any sparrow falls, to name just a few.
- Dogs, as part of creation, help people in a highly technical world connect with God as the Creator of all living things. People used to have a firm connection with animals when our culture was more rural and agricultural, but now dogs serve as our way of experiencing the animals God made and cares about.
- Lastly, dogs are part of God’s plan to restore creation to its perfect condition as described in Genesis 1 and 2. When we relate to dogs while learning about God, we are anticipating a future time when animals and humans will live in harmony together forever.
These are only a few of the reasons Unleashed Community Church holds dog-friendly services. There are many more! Come check out our service, with or without your dog, and meet a community that is learning to share God’s unconditional love through their dogs. We are using dog stories to tell God’s story!