September 24, 2024 • 29 mins
What makes a community celebration truly unforgettable? Love—and pets.
In this episode, I talk with Father Justin Briggle of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church about the story behind Harvest PawFest, a joyful festival created to honor the deep bond between pets and their people.
Originally an Oktoberfest-style event, Harvest PawFest has grown into a heartwarming community tradition centered on animal blessings, family fun, and the unique connection we share with our pets.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- How one local event became a meaningful celebration of animals and togetherness
- The planning, stories, and surprises behind pet blessings—from dogs to hedgehogs
- Why community events like this create stronger bonds between people and pets
This episode is filled with warmth, laughter, and thoughtful moments that will make you appreciate the role pets play in connecting us all. Whether you're an animal lover or a community builder, you’ll walk away inspired.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HARVEST PAWFEST:
Harvest PawFest on Facebook
P.S. You may hear us refer to the show as Starlight Pet Talk during this episode. That was our original name before we embraced the fur, mess, and mayhem. Same content, just a name that fits.
We'll be back with new episodes August 10!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amy Castro (00:00):
In today's special episode of Starlight Pet Talk, I
sit down with Father JustinBriggle of Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswood,texas, to talk about this
year's Harvest Paw Fest.
For the very first time, myrescue organization, starlight
Outreach and Rescue, ispartnering with the church to
combine our reach and resources,aiming to make this the best
event ever for our community.
(00:20):
In our conversation, we'lldelve into the history and
purpose of Paw Fest, explore thetradition of pet blessings and
share stories that highlight thepowerful connections between
humans and pets.
Whether you're a pet parent orsomeone who cherishes community
spirit, this special episodeprovides insights into how we're
working together to celebrateand support our pets and each
other.
Join us as we uncover whatmakes Harvest Paw Fest a
(00:42):
uniquely impactful event.
Stay tuned.
You're listening to StarlightPet Talk, a podcast for pet
parents who want the best petcare advice from cat experts,
dog trainers, veterinarians andother top pet professionals who
will help you live your verybest life with your pets.
Welcome to this bonus episodeof Starlight Pet Talk.
(01:04):
I'm your host, amy Castro, andtoday we have a special guest,
father Justin Briggle, who hasbeen the rector at Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswood, texas, for more than two years
, with a rich background inministry spanning more than
eight years, father Justinbrings a unique perspective to
his role, having transitionedfrom an eight-year tenure as a
chemistry professor beforeanswering the call to the
(01:25):
priesthood.
On a more personal note, fatherJustin is a family man who's
married with two teenage boys.
When he's not engaged in hispastoral duties or spending time
with his family, he enjoyswatching and playing cricket and
brewing beer.
Father Justin, welcome toStarlight Pet Talk.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Fr. Justin Briggle (01:42):
Thank you, Amy, for having me.
I appreciate this.
Thank you.
Amy Castro (01:46):
Sure, sure, and I know Harvest Paw Fest is a
pretty new thing to me and we'regoing to talk about the history
of it, but I first got involvedas part of Starlight Outreach
and Rescue and we were a vendorat the event last year.
I was super impressed by all ofthe volunteers that you had and
how well run the event was, sothat was really nice, because we
(02:06):
go to a lot of events andthey're not always as well
organized as yours is.
But that was kind of my firstintroduction to it.
So could you tell us a littlebit about Harvest Paw Fest and
how it came about and itshistory?
Fr. Justin Briggle (02:20):
Sure, yeah, first I want to say we have such
a great group of volunteers atthe church that are willing to
support the mission and ministryand this is just one of those
outreaches and so it's reallybeen a fun thing to be a part of
and so we're really excited tobe offering this for the second
year in a row.
So before Harvest Paw Fest,prior to the pandemic really, we
(02:41):
would celebrate a Harvest Fest.
Prior to that, we had anOktoberfest that was more of an
in-house thing for our membersand families, but then it was
reimagined to involve thecommunity more and the pandemic
got us to rethink.
Things took a few years off andthe governing board here
reimagined that and was able toassociate or really look at the
(03:07):
associations with fall and theFeast of St Francis and our pet
blessing and try to reimaginewhat Harvest Fest is and how we
can invite the community to bemore of a part of the things
that are going on with thechurch but with pet blessings
just to yeah, I just re-imaginedthis event.
Amy Castro (03:27):
I would imagine that having an event that involves
pets, I would think would be abig draw for the community.
Fr. Justin Briggle (03:33):
Yeah Well, so the Episcopal Church has a
history of really honoring thatrelationship with pets as a part
of God's creation in the petblessing, and so it kind of made
sense to take that aspect andthen invite the community to be
a part of it.
Amy Castro (03:48):
So you had mentioned St Francis and I did a little
bit of homework beforehand, butI'm sure my knowledge level is
not set the same as yours.
I feel bad, looking back on it,that I didn't do more homework
when we attended last year and Ididn't realize until I got to
the event and saw the blessingof the animals and then realized
(04:08):
the tie to St Francis.
But can you tell us a littlebit more about that?
Fr. Justin Briggle (04:13):
Yeah, so the church historically celebrates
St Francis on October 4th everyyear, and that's a date that we
also share with churches likethe Catholic Church, where they
celebrate the Feast of StFrancis and he has, basically,
because of the stories that havebeen associated with him and
his involvement with creation,in a way that is really unheard
(04:36):
of, an involvement with part ofcreation, like the birds, like
lambs, like grasshoppers, likethe fish.
There are stories where he issaid to have preached to the
animals.
The famous preaching to thebirds is something that you
might see.
There's a very famous paintingthat depicts this preaching to
(04:57):
the birds.
And so as a young man he was abit frivolous.
His father was wealthy, but hesort of had a conversion event
and in this conversion eventfelt called to preach, and one
of the aspects of his preachingwas to part of God's creation,
and he would often refer to thebirds as sisters or brothers.
(05:19):
And so there was a sense thatanimals shared some kind of
origin with people through ourcreation, and so there was a
sense of honoring all ofcreation, including the pets,
not just us as human beings.
And so that link formed and inthese stories we hear, they all
(05:42):
invariably end with St Francisblessing those animals before,
for instance, the birds fly away.
So they always involve thiskind of blessing.
Amy Castro (05:52):
Yeah, and that's probably why I know that.
You know, it seems like anytimeyou see somebody has a statue
or maybe a medallion orsomething of St Francis, there's
always a bird, always a bird inthe depiction.
So that makes a lot of sense.
Fr. Justin Briggle (06:06):
Not only did St Francis see animals as a
beloved part of creation, but hesaw animals and creatures all
creatures as praising God, thecreator, with the way they
carried about their normal lives, if you will Birds singing was
(06:29):
a part of the birds praising God, and so Francis saw animals as
going about their sort of normalthing, doing their normal thing
as a way of praising God, andso he wrote this hymn or song
that's quite famous, and he saidpraised be you, my Lord, with
(06:51):
all your creatures.
So there was a sense that notonly people praised God, but
that the animals praised God too, and so that was really
important, I think, to StFrancis, and especially as I
looked more about St Francis andhis connections with animals,
that came up as a constant theme.
Amy Castro (07:08):
So as far as the relationship between people and
their pets, I know one of thethings that we always stress on
this show and we stress in theanimal rescue is that when it
comes to having a relationshipwith pets, everybody's
relationship is going to be alittle bit different.
But I always think of myself asa pet guardian.
You know, it's like there's alot of terminology out there.
(07:30):
Some people call themselves petowners, some people call
themselves pet parents, but youknow, to me I think of myself as
a pet guardian, whatever animalit is that I've taken on
responsibility for, whether it'sthrough the rescue or whether
it's my own personal pets itdoesn't matter if it was a
hamster, a bunny rabbit to apony who we just found a home
for.
She actually went on her waytoday is that we have a real
(07:54):
responsibility to look out forthat?
Do you feel like that kind ofstems from some of those lessons
from St Francis?
Fr. Justin Briggle (08:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
St Francis is sometimes seen asthe patron saint of the
environment.
Even so, the idea that StFrancis sort of perpetuates us
being good stewards of all ofcreation and that creation
obviously includes God's belovedcreatures.
So it makes sense what you'resaying being a pet parent or
(08:23):
guardian versus an owner.
Right, it's not about havingany kind of dominance or
dominion over no, it's aboutliving in harmony in creation,
with animals and our pets as abeloved part of creation.
Amy Castro (08:38):
So in hosting and I do want to talk about some of
the events that are associatedwith Harvest Paw Fest, because
there's a lot that's going to begoing on I'm really excited
about attending again this year,but you've got a lot of people
that are involved in pulling offthis event and I know it takes
a tremendous amount of work.
What are people hoping thatpeople get from Harvest Paw Fest
(08:59):
and how you know, as far as theimpact on the community, the
impact on animals, ourcompassion towards, whatever it
is, another human, anothercreature what's the goal from
that perspective?
Fr. Justin Briggle (09:11):
Wow, that's a really good question.
I wish I had some of theleaders who were involved with
Harvest Paw Fest here to answerthat, but what I can say is to
be able to use our facility andinvite the community in.
I think compassion is a goodword, whether it be compassion
towards our neighbor as otherhumans or compassion towards our
(09:32):
neighbor as pets and animals,and part of God's creation Just
having an atmosphere where we'reall coming together, we're
sharing our time and enjoyingour time together and growing
closer as a community.
I think that that's reallyimportant.
I think there are a lot ofthings in this world that aren't
(09:52):
very helpful in bringing ustogether as a community, and
anything we can do to bringtogether people as a community,
I think is important.
I think it's part of being agood steward of creation.
Amy Castro (10:04):
I think is important .
I think it's part of being agood steward of creation.
Yeah, and certainly needed inthese times and, you know, I'm
sure in lots of times in ourhistory as well.
You know we've done severaldifferent episodes about the
impact of the human and animalbond and what animals can do for
people.
And one of the things isconnection and social connection
.
And several experts have come onthe show and said things like
(10:26):
you know, somebody that is notparticularly outgoing or maybe
somebody wouldn't approach.
I had a friend of mine, donnaMack, came on the show and she
is blind and she said previously, if she was just walking down
the sidewalk with her cane,nobody stopped to talk to her,
nobody stopped and asked her howher day was, you know, just
like she was invisible.
But once she got her guide dogand there was that connection of
(10:49):
the dog, people connected withher.
You know they'd ask about Wellaand what kind of dog she is and
how long you've had her andit's really for her.
She said it really helped withthat social connection and is
that one of the reasons youthink why, or maybe I shouldn't
put words in your mouth?
No-transcript.
Fr. Justin Briggle (11:14):
Yeah, that's a great illustration of how
relationships can grow stronger,maybe through pets.
I think that it just it madesense to have some form of a
harvest fest, like we had doneprior with the community, but to
involve this facet of showingthe value that we have for God's
(11:37):
creation in the form ofpeople's pets right, or animals
that they're their guardians for, and so it just made sense.
One of the aspects of blessinganimals and pets is it usually
appeals to a much largeraudience than something like a
church service right, thansomething like a church service
(11:58):
right, because there's somethinguniversal about people's pets
and the love that they have fortheir pet and the love that they
feel from their pet.
We talk a lot in the churchabout the call to love our
neighbor as ourselves and thechallenge to love one another,
and I think we know somethingabout the love of God in the
(12:20):
love we experience from a pet,because you could almost say
that's close to a veryunconditional kind of love,
which I think is what we ashuman beings are really called
to, and so I think pets can helpto demonstrate a kind of love
that is even hard for us.
Amy Castro (12:37):
Yeah, and something that's sometimes missing in our
human relationships is that youknow that unconditional love and
you know your dog doesn't careif you've had a bad day.
Your dog doesn't care if youmade a mistake your cat
sometimes might, but justkidding, but you know it's like,
yeah, they just they're goingto love you anyway, as long as
you show up and you come home,at the end of the day they're
(12:58):
happy to see you regardless.
And and how forgiving I thinkanimals are too.
I mean, we've seen so manyanimals in rescue that have been
tremendously.
And this is just my littlerescue, you know.
I'm not even talking about thethings we see on television, the
horrors that animals sometimesexperience, that animals
sometimes experience, but justin my small world, how an animal
(13:22):
that has been so let down byhumans will still give them a
second chance.
It's the level of forgivenessthat they have.
I think that's sometimesamazing to me that an animal
would trust and put their trustback in a human being after what
they've been through, and Ithink people see that in their
pets.
Fr. Justin Briggle (13:39):
Yeah, it sounds like there are lessons
for us to learn from pets, rightAbout being loving and being
able to offer forgiveness.
So, yeah, those are really goodpoints.
Amy Castro (13:50):
Yeah, definitely.
So I know that you arerelatively new to Good Shepherd,
and so what are you hoping foras far as I mean not necessarily
like attendance numbers per se,but what are you hoping for as
far as the growth of this eventfor this year or even beyond?
Fr. Justin Briggle (14:11):
You know, I think we just want to be
faithful in offering a space forpeople to form relationships
and for pet lovers to find aplace where they can also form
relationships with other petlovers and where vendors can
offer services or things thatcan help other pet lovers.
Really it's, I think it's justabout giving people a space to
(14:34):
form relationships around.
You know, not only this themeof a harvest fest but over love
of their pet Right and and alsohaving sort of our part of of
holding up the sort of sacrednature of creation and blessing
a pet and saying you know, youare, in a way, beloved by God
(14:55):
and you are an instrumental partof creation, and I think that's
a great thing to offer for acommunity and I love that we're
doing this.
Amy Castro (15:05):
One of the things that I've often thought about
over the years is kind of theway that we live when I lived in
.
Well, now I live on a dead enddirt road and I'm on seven acres
, so I'm sort of spread out frommy neighbors.
I do know who they are, butit's not like we necessarily
hang out.
But even when I live in asubdivision where my driveway
basically touched my neighbor'syard, you know, I feel like
(15:25):
sometimes the way that we liveis we get in our air conditioner
, get air conditioned car, wedrive to work, we may or may not
interact with our coworkers.
It kind of depends on your job.
You come home, you drive rightback in your garage, you go in
your house and people don't likea lot of houses, don't even
have front porches to make thatconnection with other human
beings, and so if you don onlyhave a venue to put on an event
(15:46):
like this because it is atremendous opportunity, as
somebody who has tried to lookfor venues to put on events for
our, for our rescue, it's tricky.
(16:08):
There's not, you know.
There's not places that are bigenough or that have the space
or that have that.
You know the amount of help andsupport that you're getting
there, but just to give peoplesomeplace to go to make all of
those different connections withother like-minded people.
Because I feel like anybodywho's there, even the vendors,
even if they're not sellingsomething that is pet related,
(16:28):
they're generally there for thatreason to connect with other
people or they love pets orwhatever it might be so there's
a camaraderie.
I think that goes on.
At least I felt like that lastyear.
I mean, people would come by.
They're trying to man their owntable or their own vendor booth
, but they come by to see thekittens we had at the Starlight
table or something like that, orbought a t-shirt or whatever it
(16:48):
might be.
It's such a nice opportunity tohave in our community.
So let me ask you this as faras you were the one and I think
I met you for the first timelast year after the whole event
was over and everybody was kindof packing up, but you were the
one that actually did theblessings last year Are you
going to be doing them againthis year?
Fr. Justin Briggle (17:09):
Yes, so I was doing the blessings and I
was sharing some of thatresponsibility with another
priest who often attends hereand helps here.
He's a retired priest and so heand I will both be doing some
of the pet blessings this year,like last year.
In our faith tradition,blessing is usually something
that a priest would do, and so,as a priest I have.
(17:31):
One of the privileges I have isblessing, sometimes things or
objects or, in this case, petsor people, but in this case pets
.
Or you know people but in thiscase pets, and so it's, it's a
privilege.
Amy Castro (17:44):
Do you have time to interact with the people or
interact with the pet at all, oris it?
I hate to say it's an assemblyline cause?
That sounds awful, but is itlike?
I have to be quick becausethere's a line of 40 people
standing in the sun waiting fortheir blessing?
Fr. Justin Briggle (17:54):
I'm just I'm curious the types of
conversations that might havegone on as people are bringing
their pets.
Yeah, there's some time wherepeople will share some stories
or will come to know how thispet became a part of their
family or things like that.
So there's a little time, maybenot quite as an assembly line,
(18:17):
so that's good.
We had people come by and signup so that we could have sort of
blocks of people come throughand so that we could manage our
time better.
So, no, it was good.
Amy Castro (18:28):
And I don't want to put you on the spot.
So if this, if you can't answerthis question, but it just
popped into my head like arethere any, any stories that
people have told you about theirpets that that stand out to you
at all?
Fr. Justin Briggle (18:40):
Hmm, I don't know about stories.
I do know last year, I thinklast year we had a baby goat
come for the blessing, ok, and Iseem to remember the same
family had a baby hedgehog too,oh, wow.
So I think they have some landand a farm and so they brought
(19:00):
they brought a fairrepresentation of their crowd
from the farm, so that waspretty fun.
Amy Castro (19:07):
Yeah, that's interesting and it's interesting
too.
I know that I was at acommittee meeting for the event
the other day and people weretalking about you could tell
that obviously the event, thechurch, their involvement in the
church was very important tothem.
But their pets were obviouslyvery important to them.
So they were talking about,like I'm going to come, I'm
going to do this, I'm going tohelp set up that, I'm going to
leave, I'm going to go back, I'mgoing to get my dogs.
(19:28):
It's like it was very importantto them that they had that
opportunity to have their havetheir pets blessed and and, like
you said, like to try to bringa goat and a hedgehog.
Like that's two different ballsof wax.
As far as transportation goes,you know it's one thing to bring
a dog and another dog, but Ithink it shows the importance of
(19:48):
having that done for the peoplethat are doing it.
What are your thoughts on that?
I mean is that people will goto that, because it would be
just as easy not to bring yourpets right.
Just come to the event, eatsome great food from the food
trucks, participate in some ofthe activities and go home.
But now I got to bring my dogor my hedgehog, walking around
with a hedgehog all day.
Fr. Justin Briggle (20:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, I think it says
something about the love thatthey have for their pet to say,
yeah, I'm going to attend thisevent, but I'm also going to go
out of my way and do everythingI can to make sure that I'm
bringing my pet here for forthis blessing and maybe for the
costume contest and otheraspects.
Yeah, I just think it speaks tothat relationship that we're
(20:33):
valuing by putting on an eventlike Harvest Paw Fest All right,
and what about?
Amy Castro (20:39):
and I don't, you know, I don't want to get too
too, too, too deep, and I don't,you know, I don't want to get
too too, too, too deep, but youknow the fact that somebody
would bring a hedgehog to beblessed.
What?
What is?
What is it that it does for ananimal or for a human being to
be blessed, or an object to beblessed Like?
What is the implication of that?
Fr. Justin Briggle (20:58):
Well, so so I, you know I was thinking about
this, right, I was thinkingthrough what is, what is the
theology of blessing our pets?
Why do we do this?
Why is this important?
And I think you know one of thebig things, one of the reasons
St Francis is associated with,is because he he understood that
animals in general were abeloved part of creation and he
(21:24):
valued that.
And and pets are companionsthat we love and we receive love
from, and we bless pets andanimals because we're trying to
acknowledge them as the giftsthat they are to us and to all
of creation.
So it's a way of acknowledgingthe importance that they are for
us, sort of setting thatrelationship apart, as this is
(21:46):
important and you are a belovedpart of God's creation,
especially for that, for thatpet family, right, yeah, I mean
there's.
There's this aspect I'm sorry,there's this aspect too of of
you know, wanting to bless a petand ask for God's protection.
So sure, that's a part of it aswell.
Amy Castro (22:08):
Yeah, and I would think, you know, obviously, to
me it shows another level ofcare for that pet that that
person is thinking about thatpet beyond.
You know, I gave it food, Igave it water.
Isn't that enough kind of thing?
You know, this concept oftaking good care of your pet is
so relative in people's minds.
There are people that I havemet who feel like they're taking
pretty good care of their pets.
(22:28):
When they've got it, you know,tied out to a tree all day, it's
got.
You know it's got shade, it'sgot water, you know I feed it
once a day, but it's not gettingany human interaction, it's not
getting interaction with otheranimals.
And so I think there is in thisworld, amongst humans, a very
wide range of belief about whatit means to take quote unquote
good care of their pet.
But somebody that thinks,thinks about it to the point
(22:52):
where they would get their petblessed.
To me that's like a wholenother level, and I, as I've
admitted to you in our previousconversation, I am not a
religious person, but I respectsomebody who cares enough to go
to that level for sure.
Let's talk about the eventitself and then if there's
anything else we want to closeup with.
So, as far as activities go, Iknow there's a lot going on, but
(23:13):
can you give us just kind of aquick overview for those who are
listening to this, who will,you know, have the opportunity
to come out and attend PAW Fest?
What are they going to see anddo while they're there?
Fr. Justin Briggle (23:23):
opportunity to come out and attend PAW Fest.
What are they going to see anddo while they're there?
Sure, so yeah, we've got a lotmore this year than we did last
year.
So those that came out lastyear will notice that the event
is bigger.
There are more vendors, moreactivities, more things going on
.
So and of course, you knowwe're here talking to you, amy,
because we're partnering.
We're partnering with you thisyear, starling Right, and so
(23:45):
we're happy to do that, and Ithink that's helped us to branch
out and to do more.
And so this year we're going tohave some new entertainment.
We're going to have theMonsters Dog Show.
Amy Castro (23:57):
I'm looking forward to that.
That's going to be cool.
Fr. Justin Briggle (23:59):
Yeah, I was looking at that online earlier.
And then we've got the BBBarnyard Petting Zoo.
So this is a converted bus,it's a petting zoo, so they'll
be out there.
There's going to be some otherthings that aren't necessarily
related to pets, right, butwe're going to have a car bash
which is going to raise funds,silent auctions, a lot is going
(24:20):
to be auctioned off and somereally great raffle items.
We've got a wine pool and, ofcourse, we've got the pet
costume contest and it's themedthis year, so it's going to be
an 80s.
Amy Castro (24:31):
I saw that that's right up my alley.
That's my era.
Now I'm dating myself, but OK.
Fr. Justin Briggle (24:40):
So then we've got some carnival style
games too for kids.
So we've got a lot foreverybody.
And we've got a lot of foodtrucks coming as well, so people
can expect to come to buy stufffrom vendors.
They can be entertained withsome of these pet shows, have
their dog in a pet costumecontest, a pet costume contest.
(25:01):
We've got food trucks like A&KKing's Wonder Waffle, jell-o,
italian Ice, backdraft,lemonades, jack's Burgers,
magnolia, cajun Comfort andSaloon Door Brewing, to name a
few of the things that we haveavailable.
Amy Castro (25:17):
That's nice to have that variety of options there.
Great.
Fr. Justin Briggle (25:22):
Yeah, yeah.
So you know, I have to say that, yes, it's geared for pet
lovers, but I think there's somuch going on there that, even
if you yourself aren't a petlover, this is still, in a way,
a harvest fest and a gatheringof the community, and so I think
there's still a place foreverybody there.
Amy Castro (25:40):
Yeah, definitely, and I know last year the weather
was I'm a fall person and Iknow fall in Texas is not, you
know, super cool.
But it's probably one of thebetter times of year to have an
outdoor event like that, becauseif we were doing this in July
that would be a whole notherball of wax pm at Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswoodand we are going to put links to
the event information in ourshow notes so that people can
(26:08):
see that.
But yes, and even last yearthere was a lot going on.
I mean I didn't get a lot ofchance to wander around because
I was working our vendor booth,but it was quite a variety.
But yes, your folks have reallyupped the ante and ramped it up
this year.
And the door, not door prizes,but the just went right out of
(26:28):
my head the raffle.
The raffle items and the silentauction items.
There's a boatload of them andthere's a lot of good stuff
that's going to be available forpeople there.
So definitely need to come andcheck it out.
And you're right, I mean it wasperfectly fun to have your pet
there, but it's also, you know,an event where there's so much
to do that you don't have tohave your pet there or you could
(26:49):
bring your pet for a littlewhile and take them home and
then come back and do some otherstuff.
So you know there's plenty oftime during that day to do that,
all right.
Well, father Justin, thank youso much for taking that time out
of your busy day to talk to ushere about Harvest Paw Fest and
about the history and about StFrancis.
I know I learned a lot and Iwas already looking forward to
the event, but now I hope that alot of other people are
(27:10):
listening and looking forward toit.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
Fr. Justin Briggle (27:14):
Well, thank you, amy, for giving me this
time to talk about Harvest PawFest.
I really appreciate it and wantto give a shout out to everyone
that is making this possible.
They have done tremendous workand we look forward to the day.
Amy Castro (27:27):
Yes, yeah, you've got a great group of people that
are working really, really hardand been working on this for a
while.
I mean, my initialcommunication with partnering
and helping with the event wasprobably a year or so ago, so
that people were already in theplanning mode for this.
So we hope that everybody youknow comes out to attend the
(27:48):
event.
Again, the date is October 5th2024 at Good Shepherd Episcopal
Church in Friendswood, texas,and for all of you who are
inside the loop because I knowinside the loop people you don't
like to venture outside theloop this will be worth it.
Come outside the loop, see whatit's like down in Friendswood,
check us out and, you know, hopefor a beautiful day and
(28:09):
beautiful weather.
And for everybody who'slistening, thank you once again
for listening to another episodeof Starlight Pet Talk.
We will see you next week.
Thanks for listening toStarlight Pet Talk.
Be sure to visit our website atwwwstarlightpettalkcom for more
resources and be sure to followthis podcast on your favorite
(28:30):
podcast app so you'll never missa show.
If you enjoyed and found valuein today's episode, we'd
appreciate a rating on Apple, orif you'd simply tell a friend
about the show, that would begreat too.
Don't forget to tune in nextweek and every week for a brand
new episode of Starlight PetTalk, and if you don't do
anything else this week, giveyour pets a big hug from us.
In today's special episode of Starlight Pet Talk, I
sit down with Father JustinBriggle of Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswood,texas, to talk about this
year's Harvest Paw Fest.
For the very first time, myrescue organization, starlight
Outreach and Rescue, ispartnering with the church to
combine our reach and resources,aiming to make this the best
event ever for our community.
(00:20):
In our conversation, we'lldelve into the history and
purpose of Paw Fest, explore thetradition of pet blessings and
share stories that highlight thepowerful connections between
humans and pets.
Whether you're a pet parent orsomeone who cherishes community
spirit, this special episodeprovides insights into how we're
working together to celebrateand support our pets and each
other.
Join us as we uncover whatmakes Harvest Paw Fest a
(00:42):
uniquely impactful event.
Stay tuned.
You're listening to StarlightPet Talk, a podcast for pet
parents who want the best petcare advice from cat experts,
dog trainers, veterinarians andother top pet professionals who
will help you live your verybest life with your pets.
Welcome to this bonus episodeof Starlight Pet Talk.
(01:04):
I'm your host, amy Castro, andtoday we have a special guest,
father Justin Briggle, who hasbeen the rector at Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswood, texas, for more than two years
, with a rich background inministry spanning more than
eight years, father Justinbrings a unique perspective to
his role, having transitionedfrom an eight-year tenure as a
chemistry professor beforeanswering the call to the
(01:25):
priesthood.
On a more personal note, fatherJustin is a family man who's
married with two teenage boys.
When he's not engaged in hispastoral duties or spending time
with his family, he enjoyswatching and playing cricket and
brewing beer.
Father Justin, welcome toStarlight Pet Talk.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Fr. Justin Briggle (01:42):
Thank you, Amy, for having me.
I appreciate this.
Thank you.
Amy Castro (01:46):
Sure, sure, and I know Harvest Paw Fest is a
pretty new thing to me and we'regoing to talk about the history
of it, but I first got involvedas part of Starlight Outreach
and Rescue and we were a vendorat the event last year.
I was super impressed by all ofthe volunteers that you had and
how well run the event was, sothat was really nice, because we
(02:06):
go to a lot of events andthey're not always as well
organized as yours is.
But that was kind of my firstintroduction to it.
So could you tell us a littlebit about Harvest Paw Fest and
how it came about and itshistory?
Fr. Justin Briggle (02:20):
Sure, yeah, first I want to say we have such
a great group of volunteers atthe church that are willing to
support the mission and ministryand this is just one of those
outreaches and so it's reallybeen a fun thing to be a part of
and so we're really excited tobe offering this for the second
year in a row.
So before Harvest Paw Fest,prior to the pandemic really, we
(02:41):
would celebrate a Harvest Fest.
Prior to that, we had anOktoberfest that was more of an
in-house thing for our membersand families, but then it was
reimagined to involve thecommunity more and the pandemic
got us to rethink.
Things took a few years off andthe governing board here
reimagined that and was able toassociate or really look at the
(03:07):
associations with fall and theFeast of St Francis and our pet
blessing and try to reimaginewhat Harvest Fest is and how we
can invite the community to bemore of a part of the things
that are going on with thechurch but with pet blessings
just to yeah, I just re-imaginedthis event.
Amy Castro (03:27):
I would imagine that having an event that involves
pets, I would think would be abig draw for the community.
Fr. Justin Briggle (03:33):
Yeah Well, so the Episcopal Church has a
history of really honoring thatrelationship with pets as a part
of God's creation in the petblessing, and so it kind of made
sense to take that aspect andthen invite the community to be
a part of it.
Amy Castro (03:48):
So you had mentioned St Francis and I did a little
bit of homework beforehand, butI'm sure my knowledge level is
not set the same as yours.
I feel bad, looking back on it,that I didn't do more homework
when we attended last year and Ididn't realize until I got to
the event and saw the blessingof the animals and then realized
(04:08):
the tie to St Francis.
But can you tell us a littlebit more about that?
Fr. Justin Briggle (04:13):
Yeah, so the church historically celebrates
St Francis on October 4th everyyear, and that's a date that we
also share with churches likethe Catholic Church, where they
celebrate the Feast of StFrancis and he has, basically,
because of the stories that havebeen associated with him and
his involvement with creation,in a way that is really unheard
(04:36):
of, an involvement with part ofcreation, like the birds, like
lambs, like grasshoppers, likethe fish.
There are stories where he issaid to have preached to the
animals.
The famous preaching to thebirds is something that you
might see.
There's a very famous paintingthat depicts this preaching to
(04:57):
the birds.
And so as a young man he was abit frivolous.
His father was wealthy, but hesort of had a conversion event
and in this conversion eventfelt called to preach, and one
of the aspects of his preachingwas to part of God's creation,
and he would often refer to thebirds as sisters or brothers.
(05:19):
And so there was a sense thatanimals shared some kind of
origin with people through ourcreation, and so there was a
sense of honoring all ofcreation, including the pets,
not just us as human beings.
And so that link formed and inthese stories we hear, they all
(05:42):
invariably end with St Francisblessing those animals before,
for instance, the birds fly away.
So they always involve thiskind of blessing.
Amy Castro (05:52):
Yeah, and that's probably why I know that.
You know, it seems like anytimeyou see somebody has a statue
or maybe a medallion orsomething of St Francis, there's
always a bird, always a bird inthe depiction.
So that makes a lot of sense.
Fr. Justin Briggle (06:06):
Not only did St Francis see animals as a
beloved part of creation, but hesaw animals and creatures all
creatures as praising God, thecreator, with the way they
carried about their normal lives, if you will Birds singing was
(06:29):
a part of the birds praising God, and so Francis saw animals as
going about their sort of normalthing, doing their normal thing
as a way of praising God, andso he wrote this hymn or song
that's quite famous, and he saidpraised be you, my Lord, with
(06:51):
all your creatures.
So there was a sense that notonly people praised God, but
that the animals praised God too, and so that was really
important, I think, to StFrancis, and especially as I
looked more about St Francis andhis connections with animals,
that came up as a constant theme.
Amy Castro (07:08):
So as far as the relationship between people and
their pets, I know one of thethings that we always stress on
this show and we stress in theanimal rescue is that when it
comes to having a relationshipwith pets, everybody's
relationship is going to be alittle bit different.
But I always think of myself asa pet guardian.
You know, it's like there's alot of terminology out there.
(07:30):
Some people call themselves petowners, some people call
themselves pet parents, but youknow, to me I think of myself as
a pet guardian, whatever animalit is that I've taken on
responsibility for, whether it'sthrough the rescue or whether
it's my own personal pets itdoesn't matter if it was a
hamster, a bunny rabbit to apony who we just found a home
for.
She actually went on her waytoday is that we have a real
(07:54):
responsibility to look out forthat?
Do you feel like that kind ofstems from some of those lessons
from St Francis?
Fr. Justin Briggle (08:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
St Francis is sometimes seen asthe patron saint of the
environment.
Even so, the idea that StFrancis sort of perpetuates us
being good stewards of all ofcreation and that creation
obviously includes God's belovedcreatures.
So it makes sense what you'resaying being a pet parent or
(08:23):
guardian versus an owner.
Right, it's not about havingany kind of dominance or
dominion over no, it's aboutliving in harmony in creation,
with animals and our pets as abeloved part of creation.
Amy Castro (08:38):
So in hosting and I do want to talk about some of
the events that are associatedwith Harvest Paw Fest, because
there's a lot that's going to begoing on I'm really excited
about attending again this year,but you've got a lot of people
that are involved in pulling offthis event and I know it takes
a tremendous amount of work.
What are people hoping thatpeople get from Harvest Paw Fest
(08:59):
and how you know, as far as theimpact on the community, the
impact on animals, ourcompassion towards, whatever it
is, another human, anothercreature what's the goal from
that perspective?
Fr. Justin Briggle (09:11):
Wow, that's a really good question.
I wish I had some of theleaders who were involved with
Harvest Paw Fest here to answerthat, but what I can say is to
be able to use our facility andinvite the community in.
I think compassion is a goodword, whether it be compassion
towards our neighbor as otherhumans or compassion towards our
(09:32):
neighbor as pets and animals,and part of God's creation Just
having an atmosphere where we'reall coming together, we're
sharing our time and enjoyingour time together and growing
closer as a community.
I think that that's reallyimportant.
I think there are a lot ofthings in this world that aren't
(09:52):
very helpful in bringing ustogether as a community, and
anything we can do to bringtogether people as a community,
I think is important.
I think it's part of being agood steward of creation.
Amy Castro (10:04):
I think is important .
I think it's part of being agood steward of creation.
Yeah, and certainly needed inthese times and, you know, I'm
sure in lots of times in ourhistory as well.
You know we've done severaldifferent episodes about the
impact of the human and animalbond and what animals can do for
people.
And one of the things isconnection and social connection
.
And several experts have come onthe show and said things like
(10:26):
you know, somebody that is notparticularly outgoing or maybe
somebody wouldn't approach.
I had a friend of mine, donnaMack, came on the show and she
is blind and she said previously, if she was just walking down
the sidewalk with her cane,nobody stopped to talk to her,
nobody stopped and asked her howher day was, you know, just
like she was invisible.
But once she got her guide dogand there was that connection of
(10:49):
the dog, people connected withher.
You know they'd ask about Wellaand what kind of dog she is and
how long you've had her andit's really for her.
She said it really helped withthat social connection and is
that one of the reasons youthink why, or maybe I shouldn't
put words in your mouth?
No-transcript.
Fr. Justin Briggle (11:14):
Yeah, that's a great illustration of how
relationships can grow stronger,maybe through pets.
I think that it just it madesense to have some form of a
harvest fest, like we had doneprior with the community, but to
involve this facet of showingthe value that we have for God's
(11:37):
creation in the form ofpeople's pets right, or animals
that they're their guardians for, and so it just made sense.
One of the aspects of blessinganimals and pets is it usually
appeals to a much largeraudience than something like a
church service right, thansomething like a church service
(11:58):
right, because there's somethinguniversal about people's pets
and the love that they have fortheir pet and the love that they
feel from their pet.
We talk a lot in the churchabout the call to love our
neighbor as ourselves and thechallenge to love one another,
and I think we know somethingabout the love of God in the
(12:20):
love we experience from a pet,because you could almost say
that's close to a veryunconditional kind of love,
which I think is what we ashuman beings are really called
to, and so I think pets can helpto demonstrate a kind of love
that is even hard for us.
Amy Castro (12:37):
Yeah, and something that's sometimes missing in our
human relationships is that youknow that unconditional love and
you know your dog doesn't careif you've had a bad day.
Your dog doesn't care if youmade a mistake your cat
sometimes might, but justkidding, but you know it's like,
yeah, they just they're goingto love you anyway, as long as
you show up and you come home,at the end of the day they're
(12:58):
happy to see you regardless.
And and how forgiving I thinkanimals are too.
I mean, we've seen so manyanimals in rescue that have been
tremendously.
And this is just my littlerescue, you know.
I'm not even talking about thethings we see on television, the
horrors that animals sometimesexperience, that animals
sometimes experience, but justin my small world, how an animal
(13:22):
that has been so let down byhumans will still give them a
second chance.
It's the level of forgivenessthat they have.
I think that's sometimesamazing to me that an animal
would trust and put their trustback in a human being after what
they've been through, and Ithink people see that in their
pets.
Fr. Justin Briggle (13:39):
Yeah, it sounds like there are lessons
for us to learn from pets, rightAbout being loving and being
able to offer forgiveness.
So, yeah, those are really goodpoints.
Amy Castro (13:50):
Yeah, definitely.
So I know that you arerelatively new to Good Shepherd,
and so what are you hoping foras far as I mean not necessarily
like attendance numbers per se,but what are you hoping for as
far as the growth of this eventfor this year or even beyond?
Fr. Justin Briggle (14:11):
You know, I think we just want to be
faithful in offering a space forpeople to form relationships
and for pet lovers to find aplace where they can also form
relationships with other petlovers and where vendors can
offer services or things thatcan help other pet lovers.
Really it's, I think it's justabout giving people a space to
(14:34):
form relationships around.
You know, not only this themeof a harvest fest but over love
of their pet Right and and alsohaving sort of our part of of
holding up the sort of sacrednature of creation and blessing
a pet and saying you know, youare, in a way, beloved by God
(14:55):
and you are an instrumental partof creation, and I think that's
a great thing to offer for acommunity and I love that we're
doing this.
Amy Castro (15:05):
One of the things that I've often thought about
over the years is kind of theway that we live when I lived in
.
Well, now I live on a dead enddirt road and I'm on seven acres
, so I'm sort of spread out frommy neighbors.
I do know who they are, butit's not like we necessarily
hang out.
But even when I live in asubdivision where my driveway
basically touched my neighbor'syard, you know, I feel like
(15:25):
sometimes the way that we liveis we get in our air conditioner
, get air conditioned car, wedrive to work, we may or may not
interact with our coworkers.
It kind of depends on your job.
You come home, you drive rightback in your garage, you go in
your house and people don't likea lot of houses, don't even
have front porches to make thatconnection with other human
beings, and so if you don onlyhave a venue to put on an event
(15:46):
like this because it is atremendous opportunity, as
somebody who has tried to lookfor venues to put on events for
our, for our rescue, it's tricky.
(16:08):
There's not, you know.
There's not places that are bigenough or that have the space
or that have that.
You know the amount of help andsupport that you're getting
there, but just to give peoplesomeplace to go to make all of
those different connections withother like-minded people.
Because I feel like anybodywho's there, even the vendors,
even if they're not sellingsomething that is pet related,
(16:28):
they're generally there for thatreason to connect with other
people or they love pets orwhatever it might be so there's
a camaraderie.
I think that goes on.
At least I felt like that lastyear.
I mean, people would come by.
They're trying to man their owntable or their own vendor booth
, but they come by to see thekittens we had at the Starlight
table or something like that, orbought a t-shirt or whatever it
(16:48):
might be.
It's such a nice opportunity tohave in our community.
So let me ask you this as faras you were the one and I think
I met you for the first timelast year after the whole event
was over and everybody was kindof packing up, but you were the
one that actually did theblessings last year Are you
going to be doing them againthis year?
Fr. Justin Briggle (17:09):
Yes, so I was doing the blessings and I
was sharing some of thatresponsibility with another
priest who often attends hereand helps here.
He's a retired priest and so heand I will both be doing some
of the pet blessings this year,like last year.
In our faith tradition,blessing is usually something
that a priest would do, and so,as a priest I have.
(17:31):
One of the privileges I have isblessing, sometimes things or
objects or, in this case, petsor people, but in this case pets
.
Or you know people but in thiscase pets, and so it's, it's a
privilege.
Amy Castro (17:44):
Do you have time to interact with the people or
interact with the pet at all, oris it?
I hate to say it's an assemblyline cause?
That sounds awful, but is itlike?
I have to be quick becausethere's a line of 40 people
standing in the sun waiting fortheir blessing?
Fr. Justin Briggle (17:54):
I'm just I'm curious the types of
conversations that might havegone on as people are bringing
their pets.
Yeah, there's some time wherepeople will share some stories
or will come to know how thispet became a part of their
family or things like that.
So there's a little time, maybenot quite as an assembly line,
(18:17):
so that's good.
We had people come by and signup so that we could have sort of
blocks of people come throughand so that we could manage our
time better.
So, no, it was good.
Amy Castro (18:28):
And I don't want to put you on the spot.
So if this, if you can't answerthis question, but it just
popped into my head like arethere any, any stories that
people have told you about theirpets that that stand out to you
at all?
Fr. Justin Briggle (18:40):
Hmm, I don't know about stories.
I do know last year, I thinklast year we had a baby goat
come for the blessing, ok, and Iseem to remember the same
family had a baby hedgehog too,oh, wow.
So I think they have some landand a farm and so they brought
(19:00):
they brought a fairrepresentation of their crowd
from the farm, so that waspretty fun.
Amy Castro (19:07):
Yeah, that's interesting and it's interesting
too.
I know that I was at acommittee meeting for the event
the other day and people weretalking about you could tell
that obviously the event, thechurch, their involvement in the
church was very important tothem.
But their pets were obviouslyvery important to them.
So they were talking about,like I'm going to come, I'm
going to do this, I'm going tohelp set up that, I'm going to
leave, I'm going to go back, I'mgoing to get my dogs.
(19:28):
It's like it was very importantto them that they had that
opportunity to have their havetheir pets blessed and and, like
you said, like to try to bringa goat and a hedgehog.
Like that's two different ballsof wax.
As far as transportation goes,you know it's one thing to bring
a dog and another dog, but Ithink it shows the importance of
(19:48):
having that done for the peoplethat are doing it.
What are your thoughts on that?
I mean is that people will goto that, because it would be
just as easy not to bring yourpets right.
Just come to the event, eatsome great food from the food
trucks, participate in some ofthe activities and go home.
But now I got to bring my dogor my hedgehog, walking around
with a hedgehog all day.
Fr. Justin Briggle (20:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, I think it says
something about the love thatthey have for their pet to say,
yeah, I'm going to attend thisevent, but I'm also going to go
out of my way and do everythingI can to make sure that I'm
bringing my pet here for forthis blessing and maybe for the
costume contest and otheraspects.
Yeah, I just think it speaks tothat relationship that we're
(20:33):
valuing by putting on an eventlike Harvest Paw Fest All right,
and what about?
Amy Castro (20:39):
and I don't, you know, I don't want to get too
too, too, too deep, and I don't,you know, I don't want to get
too too, too, too deep, but youknow the fact that somebody
would bring a hedgehog to beblessed.
What?
What is?
What is it that it does for ananimal or for a human being to
be blessed, or an object to beblessed Like?
What is the implication of that?
Fr. Justin Briggle (20:58):
Well, so so I, you know I was thinking about
this, right, I was thinkingthrough what is, what is the
theology of blessing our pets?
Why do we do this?
Why is this important?
And I think you know one of thebig things, one of the reasons
St Francis is associated with,is because he he understood that
animals in general were abeloved part of creation and he
(21:24):
valued that.
And and pets are companionsthat we love and we receive love
from, and we bless pets andanimals because we're trying to
acknowledge them as the giftsthat they are to us and to all
of creation.
So it's a way of acknowledgingthe importance that they are for
us, sort of setting thatrelationship apart, as this is
(21:46):
important and you are a belovedpart of God's creation,
especially for that, for thatpet family, right, yeah, I mean
there's.
There's this aspect I'm sorry,there's this aspect too of of
you know, wanting to bless a petand ask for God's protection.
So sure, that's a part of it aswell.
Amy Castro (22:08):
Yeah, and I would think, you know, obviously, to
me it shows another level ofcare for that pet that that
person is thinking about thatpet beyond.
You know, I gave it food, Igave it water.
Isn't that enough kind of thing?
You know, this concept oftaking good care of your pet is
so relative in people's minds.
There are people that I havemet who feel like they're taking
pretty good care of their pets.
(22:28):
When they've got it, you know,tied out to a tree all day, it's
got.
You know it's got shade, it'sgot water, you know I feed it
once a day, but it's not gettingany human interaction, it's not
getting interaction with otheranimals.
And so I think there is in thisworld, amongst humans, a very
wide range of belief about whatit means to take quote unquote
good care of their pet.
But somebody that thinks,thinks about it to the point
(22:52):
where they would get their petblessed.
To me that's like a wholenother level, and I, as I've
admitted to you in our previousconversation, I am not a
religious person, but I respectsomebody who cares enough to go
to that level for sure.
Let's talk about the eventitself and then if there's
anything else we want to closeup with.
So, as far as activities go, Iknow there's a lot going on, but
(23:13):
can you give us just kind of aquick overview for those who are
listening to this, who will,you know, have the opportunity
to come out and attend PAW Fest?
What are they going to see anddo while they're there?
Fr. Justin Briggle (23:23):
opportunity to come out and attend PAW Fest.
What are they going to see anddo while they're there?
Sure, so yeah, we've got a lotmore this year than we did last
year.
So those that came out lastyear will notice that the event
is bigger.
There are more vendors, moreactivities, more things going on
.
So and of course, you knowwe're here talking to you, amy,
because we're partnering.
We're partnering with you thisyear, starling Right, and so
(23:45):
we're happy to do that, and Ithink that's helped us to branch
out and to do more.
And so this year we're going tohave some new entertainment.
We're going to have theMonsters Dog Show.
Amy Castro (23:57):
I'm looking forward to that.
That's going to be cool.
Fr. Justin Briggle (23:59):
Yeah, I was looking at that online earlier.
And then we've got the BBBarnyard Petting Zoo.
So this is a converted bus,it's a petting zoo, so they'll
be out there.
There's going to be some otherthings that aren't necessarily
related to pets, right, butwe're going to have a car bash
which is going to raise funds,silent auctions, a lot is going
(24:20):
to be auctioned off and somereally great raffle items.
We've got a wine pool and, ofcourse, we've got the pet
costume contest and it's themedthis year, so it's going to be
an 80s.
Amy Castro (24:31):
I saw that that's right up my alley.
That's my era.
Now I'm dating myself, but OK.
Fr. Justin Briggle (24:40):
So then we've got some carnival style
games too for kids.
So we've got a lot foreverybody.
And we've got a lot of foodtrucks coming as well, so people
can expect to come to buy stufffrom vendors.
They can be entertained withsome of these pet shows, have
their dog in a pet costumecontest, a pet costume contest.
(25:01):
We've got food trucks like A&KKing's Wonder Waffle, jell-o,
italian Ice, backdraft,lemonades, jack's Burgers,
magnolia, cajun Comfort andSaloon Door Brewing, to name a
few of the things that we haveavailable.
Amy Castro (25:17):
That's nice to have that variety of options there.
Great.
Fr. Justin Briggle (25:22):
Yeah, yeah.
So you know, I have to say that, yes, it's geared for pet
lovers, but I think there's somuch going on there that, even
if you yourself aren't a petlover, this is still, in a way,
a harvest fest and a gatheringof the community, and so I think
there's still a place foreverybody there.
Amy Castro (25:40):
Yeah, definitely, and I know last year the weather
was I'm a fall person and Iknow fall in Texas is not, you
know, super cool.
But it's probably one of thebetter times of year to have an
outdoor event like that, becauseif we were doing this in July
that would be a whole notherball of wax pm at Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church in Friendswoodand we are going to put links to
the event information in ourshow notes so that people can
(26:08):
see that.
But yes, and even last yearthere was a lot going on.
I mean I didn't get a lot ofchance to wander around because
I was working our vendor booth,but it was quite a variety.
But yes, your folks have reallyupped the ante and ramped it up
this year.
And the door, not door prizes,but the just went right out of
(26:28):
my head the raffle.
The raffle items and the silentauction items.
There's a boatload of them andthere's a lot of good stuff
that's going to be available forpeople there.
So definitely need to come andcheck it out.
And you're right, I mean it wasperfectly fun to have your pet
there, but it's also, you know,an event where there's so much
to do that you don't have tohave your pet there or you could
(26:49):
bring your pet for a littlewhile and take them home and
then come back and do some otherstuff.
So you know there's plenty oftime during that day to do that,
all right.
Well, father Justin, thank youso much for taking that time out
of your busy day to talk to ushere about Harvest Paw Fest and
about the history and about StFrancis.
I know I learned a lot and Iwas already looking forward to
the event, but now I hope that alot of other people are
(27:10):
listening and looking forward toit.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
Fr. Justin Briggle (27:14):
Well, thank you, amy, for giving me this
time to talk about Harvest PawFest.
I really appreciate it and wantto give a shout out to everyone
that is making this possible.
They have done tremendous workand we look forward to the day.
Amy Castro (27:27):
Yes, yeah, you've got a great group of people that
are working really, really hardand been working on this for a
while.
I mean, my initialcommunication with partnering
and helping with the event wasprobably a year or so ago, so
that people were already in theplanning mode for this.
So we hope that everybody youknow comes out to attend the
(27:48):
event.
Again, the date is October 5th2024 at Good Shepherd Episcopal
Church in Friendswood, texas,and for all of you who are
inside the loop because I knowinside the loop people you don't
like to venture outside theloop this will be worth it.
Come outside the loop, see whatit's like down in Friendswood,
check us out and, you know, hopefor a beautiful day and
(28:09):
beautiful weather.
And for everybody who'slistening, thank you once again
for listening to another episodeof Starlight Pet Talk.
We will see you next week.
Thanks for listening toStarlight Pet Talk.
Be sure to visit our website atwwwstarlightpettalkcom for more
resources and be sure to followthis podcast on your favorite
(28:30):
podcast app so you'll never missa show.
If you enjoyed and found valuein today's episode, we'd
appreciate a rating on Apple, orif you'd simply tell a friend
about the show, that would begreat too.
Don't forget to tune in nextweek and every week for a brand
new episode of Starlight PetTalk, and if you don't do
anything else this week, giveyour pets a big hug from us.
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