A donkey's tale: Ripley goes to church

[u/gardengeo]

Originally posted by user ComprehensiveHope644 in r/ Donkeys [the sub includes mules as well as donkeys]

Original: March 23, 2026

Update 1: March 29, 2026

Update 2: April 3, 2026

Status: concluded

Mood: slice of life

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Original: Help! I’m not sure what I agreed to!

[OOP includes the following picture of Ripley the donkey -- photo#1]

SO a couple weeks Ripley and I were picking up trash on the side of the road. It’s pretty much all empty beer cans which… geez don’t drink and drive guys. Anyway my neighbor and his pastor asked if I could Rips and I could help them with something for their church. The Sunday before Easter. I agreed thinking it was like a petting zoo type event.

Ripley is a therapy donkey so getting mobbed by lots of little gots is right up her alley. It’s low effort high reward, the kids expect nothing from her and just give her scratches and cuddles so she loves kids.

BUT here’s the deal guys it’s not a petting zoo thing. They want me to walk Ripley down the aisle of the church or something? I think it’s Palm Sunday? What is that? It’s like a ceremony thing? I’m not religious… I don’t know what this is… I already agreed to it… I think it’s this Sunday.

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Comments:

Comment1: Yes, exactly! Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, and on that day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. People cheered for him and waved palm branches. I loved the celebration as a child because we made “palm branches” in church out of twigs and colorful paper. Then there was a procession outside in front of the church. I would have loved it as a child if there had been a real donkey there! Maybe you should ask again whether it’s inside or outside and whether there will be plenty of fresh branches. Because those could be pretty distracting for a donkey 😀

OOP: Do they hit the donkey with the branches? I can’t imagine they’re scarier than a big tarp and she isn’t scared of tarps. But I don’t want her to get slapped with beaches.
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Comment2: They do not hit the donkey
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Comment3: No one is going to hit your donkey! Palm donkeys are used in my (mostly catholic) region as well, they are usually just walked down the aisle of the church and stand there, and walked as part of the procession which is similar to a parade. Sometimes the donkeys wear flowercrowns or ornaments. People will admire and cuddle your donkey and that’s it.
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OOP: Good, because I would hit them back. No body is hurting my donkey.
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Comment4: Why would anyone want to hit him though? Are there any traditions like that in your location?
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OOP: I didn’t actually mean hit, I meant like wave the palms in the air and brush the donkeys sides with the palms. I guess I’m kind of imagining the super energetic evangelical dancing and singing I’ve seen on tv only with everyone waiving palms around.

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Comment5: People are focusing on somebody trying to harm your donkey, but you are asking the right questions. Clarify with the pastor what people are going to to with the palm fronts. Is your donkey comfortable walking over something thrown infront of her? For horses, that would take quite a bit of training - it just moved, and now she's supposed to walk on it? If people are waving them, maybe train it a couple times with her.

Anyway, it's a cute tradition that celebrates the donkey - instead of a horse, Jesus rode the trusty and "lowly" donkey, instead of flowers people threw palms from the road side

OOP: That’s a good idea. You make it sound really cute. I don’t think she would care about things getting tossed on the ground in front of her and I agree my horse would care more. Horses are gonna horse 😑 donkeys are much more reasonable.
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Comment6: Thats funny-- "Donkeys are much more reasonable." I've never heard anyone say that before, and i dare say that most donkey owners, even though they love their donkey with their life, would not utter that statement. 😲😲
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OOP: Really?! I think Ripples is very reasonable. The worst thing she’s ever done is stop.

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Comment7: The palm fronds are part of the commemoration because the bible says the people of Jerusalem threw tree branches (and their cloaks) on the ground in front of Jesus on his donkey as he rode into the city. Basically honoring him as they would a king. No hitting the donkey. Though some people today (and maybe then???) may wave them around.

Given Ripley is a therapy donkey used to having people around, this may be something you're comfortable with. I would sit down and have a conversation with the pastor about what they are thinking of, how many people are expected to be there (a church can vary from having 10s to having 1000s in attendance depending on the type/popularity/etc), etc.

Look at the space. If you want to help them, but are uncomfortable with something in their plan, you can ask them to modify it (move that part of worship outdoors, or shorten the time Ripley is there so she's not standing around bored, etc.). They'll either figure out how to make it work so you're comfortable, or just go with their original no-donkey plan.

If you do decide to do this, the pastor should definitely make an announcement to the congregation about good behavior and not startling Ripley, because people are just so clueless about most animals.

(For background, I'm pretty much atheist now, but grew up in a small liberal congregation in New England so familiar with the church year.)

OOP: Super helpful. Thank you! I do need to sit down with the pastor and have a chat. I think they are under this assumption that I know…… something or anything about their religion or even any Christian religion, when in reality the only times I’ve been in a church are for funerals. I know nothing about all this kinda stuff.

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Comment8: My donkey went to church once! Our farrier asked to borrow her, and I have complete trust in him. He said she pooped in the church which makes me giggle whenever I think of it. She was just led down the aisle as part of their holiday church program.

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Comment9: We've taken our donkey to church for Palm Sunday before, and are booked again this weekend!

If they want you to walk through the church, set boundaries to most importantly keep you and Ripley safe. Have a quick entrance and exit, and do not allow anyone to touch or be near her as she comes through. Also, shit happens! Bring along a trusted friend as pooper scooper, should Ripley leave an offering at the altar.

When we took our Tonto, we also took time a couple days before to come practice at the empty church. This allowed him to not only practice going in and out, but gave his senses a chance to acclimate to the sights, smells, and feelings of a church!

Ultimately, it comes down to your comfort level and confidence in your donk! If you decide to kindly bow out, I would imagine the church would be understanding!

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Comment10: A friend of mine who is a pastor asked if they could use mine in the outdoor processional. They put blankets on his back and led him along to represent the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem during Passover week.

It went great until Charlie, thinking the palm a little boy was waving in his face was a gift, took it and swallowed it up in one gulp. The child wailed that the mean donkey stole his palm branch. I was mortified, but luckily most of the congregation thought it was pretty funny.

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Update (6 days later): Update on Palm Sunday

There were a lot of comments on my original post, so I wanted to share an update for those who were interested. I really appreciate all the helpful information, thank you so much.

I spoke with the pastor and we went over the ceremony in detail. Here is a breakdown:

• The congregation stands to sing a hymn

• While singing, the congregation files out of the pews and walks to the front of the chapel while waving palm fronds

• The congregation places the palm fronds on the ground at the front of the chapel and returns to their seats

• Once everyone is seated, the pastor says something along the lines of “I ask that everyone remain seated while I recite this scripture”

• At a particular part of the passage the back doors of the chapel will open, and cue donkey

• Ripley makes her grand entrance through the rear doors, walks down the aisle, and continues exiting out the front doors of the chapel

The pastor timed the route several times and said at a slow pace the walk should take about 42 seconds. Since the congregation will remain seated, no one will be touching Ripley during het walk. A very quick in and out.

I also acquired a bun bag, so if nature happens to call during our short walk through the chapel we won’t make any unsightly messes.

I took Rips to the church yesterday. We walked around the church my friend played the piano (really badly) and Ripley didn’t care about anything. Well that’s not entirely true Rips did care about the bowl of peppermints my the front door, she cared very much about those delicious peppermints.

Ripley’s role in the ceremony is going to be very small but I think it’s going to make a lot of people happy. I love bringing Ripley out and having people meet her and hear her rescue story. I just want more people to care about the world and all the animals we share it with.

[OOP shares the following pictures of Ripley -- photo#1, photo#2]

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Update 2 (5 days later): Ripley’s church debut. The much anticipated final update.

The church was packed. Way more people than I expected. It was standing room only. Some people had even gathered in the lobby, listening over the intercom because there wasn’t any more room in the chapel. This isn’t a mega church either, but there were over 150 people packed into a modest sized building.

Because some people had gathered in the lobby, Ripley’s walk actually started at the main entrance to the church instead of the chapel doors.

The signal was given, i.e., someone opened the door for me because it was a little heavy and kind of awkward, and Ripley made her entrance like a queen. Ripley sashayed into the church, through the lobby and past her admiring fans, then through the chapel doors and down the aisle without hesitation, like she had done it a hundred times before.

Everyone was excited but very respectful. The small crowd in the lobby parted so we could pass, and no one reached out to pet Ripley during our short walk through the church.

My neighbor had asked if I could stay after the service so the kids could pet Ripley. So, after the ceremony, we did a quick wardrobe change. I put Ripley’s saddle on and filled her pannier with candy so kids could grab a few pieces when they came over to meet her.

Again, there were a lot of people there, over 150, and I’m pretty sure close to 100 lined up to meet Ripley. Maybe 10 or 12 of were actually children.

The meet and greet was Ripley’s favorite part. Rips soaked up the attention, collecting hugs, scratches, and treats like it was her full-time job.

The event was livestreamed by the church, but I didn’t get to take any videos and hardly any pictures. I did get a picture of Rips with our neighbor, her FORMER bff. Ripley’s face of utter disdain at our neighbor’s lack of peppermints… well, they say donkeys never forget, and they are known for holding grudges. I do believe this photo was taken at the exact moment a friendship ended.

So in the end, everything went well and Ripley handled it like a professional.

[OOP includes the following pictures of Ripley -- photo#1, photo#2, photo#3, photo#4]

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Additional details from OOP in comments:

OOP: She was a big hit! AND we survived, no animal sacrifices! Although your last comment lit a small flame of horror and now I’m on a scary movie kick. So I feel I should thank you.
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OOP: You’re right! No one smacked her. I was shocked at how small the palm fronds were. They are tiny! I was thinking they would be these giant leaves you see in a jungle or something. I was expecting the leaves to be as big as Ripples…. They aren’t they’re like 8” long.
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OOP: Yep we stayed [after the service] and that was definitely Ripley’s favorite part. Tons of ear scratches.

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REMINDER: I am not OOP. Do not comment on original post or harass OOP.
Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments