The existence of animal chaplains, who offer spiritual care for people with pets, for people who work with animals and for animals themselves, is just one example of how Americans are increasingly reexamining the relationship between humans and the natural world, and in the process changing their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices.
Nelson met twice at a coffee shop with the Rev. Ginny Mikita, an ordained interfaith minister who runs a pet grief support group. Nelson wanted to know: How does God see nonhuman animals? She told Mikita about her feeling that her connection with Lucy contained mutual consciousness — even holiness.
