Dogs in Church?
An artist whose work I enjoy is Emanuel de Witte, noted for his interior scenes of churches. This painting is the "Interior of the Oude Kerk [old church], Delft," from about 1680. It is now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.
The scene below is of a Reformed minister, preaching from the raised pulpit in the center of the church. If you look carefully, one of those listening to the sermon has brought his dog to church (in the shadow at the bottom right). According to one source, this was a common practice. But should Fido got too noisy, or attempt to do his business, church wardens would instruct the dog's owner to take them outside, or else make them clean up after the dog made a mess.
Now that we at Christ Reformed hold worship services outside and its pretty chilly during the early service, maybe Fido curled up on your feet isn’t such a bad idea. The Dutch understood that dogs can make pretty good foot warmers.
But on second thought, it is probably a bad idea. There is a nearby fire station, so Fido might howl whenever a fire truck goes by. There also are squirrels running on the block walls during the service (I thought noisy kids were a distraction), so Fido might decide to give chase.
Better yet, leave Fido at home, bring a stadium blanket instead.
