In Middleboro, God is Still Purring
North Congregational Church Ministers to the Cats in the Community
 The North Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, of Middleboro is a diverse, supportive, community-oriented interdependent group of Christians offering "Welcome, Worship, and Witness" to all people. Actually, you don't even have to be a person. Felines are invited to the table as well; and at Rev. Patty's table, there are usually 5-6 cats that regularly eat dinner at the parsonage.
Rev. Patty (the Reverend Dr. Patricia A. Kogut), pastor of the church, started this unique ministry out of an urgent need in the community.
"When I moved into the parsonage, Middleboro was experiencing a problem with feral cats, and there were 12-14 of them in my neighborhood. I had a choice to not feed them and hope they would go away or care for them," said Kogut. "But caring for all of God's creations is part of our ministry, part of being a Christian, so I had to respond."
The Massachusetts Animal Coalition website defines a feral cat as a cat that is born in the wild and has never known human contact. Feral cats live together in a self sustaining colony and deter newcomers from the outside. A stray cat, by contrast, is one who has had human contact but has been rendered homeless. Almost 50% of the total cat population of the United States today, between 60 and 100 million cats, are either feral or stray.
Kogut's partner, Lynne Dahlborg, died recently after a long illness, but, for years, tended and named the cats. "They would just show up on our back porch and she would care for them," Kogut said. "Her favorite mantra was the St. Francis of Assisi prayer." Assisi is the Catholic patron saint of animals and the environment. Now, in Lynne's memory, Kogut and her daughter continue to care for the felines and find them families.
"Whenever a cat had a litter, we'd take care of the kittens, including feeding the kittens with eye droppers filled with replacement mother's milk. Then when they were ready to be adopted, we would put a bow on them, place them in baskets, and bring them over to the church. We'd also say prayers during the worship service for kittens found in the woods near the church. Many members could not resist bringing the adorable creatures home."
During the church's Harvest Fair, the members even held an 'Adopt-a-Kitten' program. Through these methods as well as word-of-mouth, emails and posting flyers in the neighborhood, Kogut has been able to place about 60 kittens in caring homes over the past several years.
Ultimately though, the goal is to control the colony and the population. And the only way to do that is to have the cats spayed and released. Normally it costs about $160 to spay a cat, but there are local organizations working for free to help control the ferel cat population, so Kogut works with the humane society and other non-profit groups. Twelve of the neighborhood feral cats have been spayed.
"We are doing many wonderful things at this church -- including helping to rebuild homes in New Orleans -- so I never would have thought of this as a real ministry," said Kogut. "But this need was literally brought to my doorstep, so I had to respond. And when God calls us -- even if it is in an unusual way -- we must answer."
Or in this case, meow.
"The feral kitten ministry is not much different from our other ministries at NCC," said Jan Parker, former moderator and current team leader for the church's ministry of stewardship and finance. "The feral kittens need human contact in order to have a better life. We welcome in people who need a connection with God in order to improve their lives. Some have referred to us as 'The church of the misfits.' We consider that a compliment. All of God's creatures are welcome here, two legged or four legged."
For more information on feral cats: see the Massachusetts Animal Coalition website; the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Commonwealth Cats, Inc.
Share Your Still Speaking Story
 Tell us how God is speaking in and through your church. Have you reached out to the community in unique ways? Initiated a new mission project? Found a new way to minister to those within the congregation? Share your story and help us to spread the good news! Contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane, Editor, at cochranem@macucc.org.
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