Clergy Dog brings ‘ministry of presence’ to church
Hannah Lake has many jobs. She patrols the perimeter of Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Conroe, chases away the deer, and accepts belly rubs and treats. But most importantly, Hannah practices the ministry of presence.
Every time Chris Lake, the senior pastor at Tree of Life, was exposed to COVID-19, he would quarantine away from his family at the church. Eventually, he started bringing his dog Hannah — a possible mix of dachshund, maybe Lab, perhaps some beagle — to keep him company.
Lake ordered a special vest for Hannah to identify her as the Clergy Dog so that no one would think a stray had somehow made its way into the building. It’s bright pink, impossible to miss, but doesn’t slow her down at all, even as she rolls over to silently but politely ask for a belly scratch or two.
Hannah quickly became a staple at the church. They have a solid routine now when Lake comes in on Wednesdays. First Hannah checks to see if the church’s youth director is in, then she checks to see if Jill Waldrop, the office manager, is working.
“I love having Hannah as a co-worker,” Waldrop said. “She makes people happy when they come into the church.”
Waldrop keeps a stock of dog treats in her office just for her visits.
In Lake’s office, Hannah has her own chair. A leftover La-ZBoy from a church garage sale where she naps when she’s not at work.
“She’s a dog that you can pretty much set your clock by,” Lake said.
Everywhere she goes Hannah brings an unburdened spirit and the peace that comes with that, something that has been invaluable to Lake since the pandemic began. A sad and heavy reality of Lake’s job is dealing with death, mourning with his members, speaking at services and sometimes even helping members plan their own funerals.
Last year he buried 14 people, four of them COVID-related deaths. In a cruel twist of fate, Lake buried a 41-year-old member of the church almost exactly a year after he performed the man’s wedding.
“You just get to this point where you’re sitting in this office and you’re writing another funeral and it hurts,” Lake said. “So, having a little company became a valuable resource and helped me keep a little sanity in the midst of all this.”
Hannah moves quietly but her presence never goes unnoticed.
During the Christmas Eve service last year, Lake brought Hannah to the church but kept her in the office for the first service. During the second service, the dog somehow escaped the office and decided to join him at the pulpit, where she sat quietly.
“I thought, ‘Oh gosh, the congregation is going to freak out over this,’ ” Lake said. “But they didn’t, they thought it was actually quite wonderful.”
An idea was planted in Lake’s head that night. Several weeks later, in February, the church was hosting a very large memorial service in honor of a 32year-old soldier. The service included six eulogies, and Lake was trying to figure out what he was going to say and how he was going to meet people where they were.
The family of the man being honored told Lake that he had loved dogs. It was a gamble, but the pastor decided to bring Hannah to the service.
“She goes and she greets all of the people in the front row like she’s a visiting dignitary,” Lake said. “She walks up to the pulpit, sits down and lays there for the rest of the sermon.”
What Hannah does, as Lake sees it, is not that far off from what he was trained to do as a pastor. As part of his pastoral education, Lake worked at a hospital for several weeks, and his mission, he said, was to be the non-anxious presence in a place of high stress.
“Meet my non-anxious presence,” Lake said, gesturing to Hannah asleep in her chair.
“As odd as that sounds, the ministry of presence is a real thing, it’s a role that I have to do often, and in some ways, Hannah is that for me too,” he said. “Doesn’t matter how anxious the world is outside these doors, or even in this office, Hannah’s just there and keeps things in perspective.”
Lake said he isn’t sure what role Hannah the Clergy Dog will play at future services. She sometimes doesn’t get along with other dogs, and he respects that not everyone would be comforted by her presence. But she sets a tone of serenity within a stressful and busy world. It’s not a job every dog can do but she does it well.