Some years ago, a series of images circulated on social media of a “church sign debate” between two neighboring congregations. The series began with a sign in front of a Catholic church, announcing the week’s sermon, which was titled, “ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN.” The next day, the Presbyterian church across the street posted a sign reading, “ONLY HUMANS GO TO HEAVEN.”

The following week, the Catholics responded: “ALL CATHOLIC DOGS GO TO HEAVEN. PRESBYTERIAN DOGS SHOULD TALK TO THEIR PASTOR.”

Now, before I get into trouble with my clergy colleagues and neighbors, let me be clear that this exchange was entirely fictional, a bit of internet humor generated by an app called Church Sign Generator. I doubt that these signs reflect any official Catholic or Presbyterian dog dogma.

Do dogs go to heaven? I don’t pretend to know, though I have my own hopes on the subject. I can’t imagine a sign on the pearly gates saying, “No dogs allowed,” any more than I can imagine one that reads, “No shoes, no service.”

I serve the First Church of Deerfield, which is a blended family, denominationally speaking; we are affiliated with both the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association. Neither side of our church family has any official position about the souls of dogs, or any other non-human creatures for that matter. All we know is that God is Love (or vice versa). If our dogs love us — if our dogs evoke love in us — then there is something holy in that friendship.

This Sunday is our congregation’s fourth annual “Bring Your Dog to Church” day. Although service and support animals are of course welcome at any time, once a year we invite our canine neighbors to join us indoors in the box pews for a dog-friendly worship service at 10 a.m. (Pets who are more “spiritual but not religious” can join us at 10:30 for biscuits and blessings on the church lawn.)

This first Sunday of October is traditionally a day for the blessing of the beasts, for it is the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the radical saint who made a practice of blessing his non-human neighbors. According to legend, Francis preached to a flock of birds, befriended a cricket, sang in a room filled with rodents and made peace with a wolf. He was equally extravagant in blessing his human neighbors. In every living thing, he saw a Brother or Sister; in all creation, he saw evidence of God’s grace.

Eight hundred years have passed since Francis sang his songs of love to creation, and the world has never been more in need of his spirit. For still we worry about who belongs in heaven, and who does not; who is deserving of love and grace, and who is not.

Do all dogs go to heaven? I don’t pretend to know. But I do know that, according to the scripture of my own faith tradition, God declared all of creation to be good, and I both hope and believe that this is true, in some profound sense that goes beyond our everyday definition of the word “good.” My dog is not always a well-behaved dog, but he is, to me, always a good dog. Maybe God thinks of dogs the same way. Maybe God thinks of us the same way.

And so you, too, are invited to join us in the pews, this or any other Sunday. Whoever you are, wherever you may be on life’s journey, whatever your pedigree or lack thereof, you are welcome here.

The Rev. Liza B. Knapp is the pastor of the First Church of Deerfield, an inclusive, inquisitive, open-and-affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association. The congregation gathers each Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Brick Church, 71 Old Main St. in Deerfield. Learn more at firstchurchofdeerfield.org, follow the church on Facebook or email office@firstchurchofdeerfield.org.