The Unitarian Universalist’s symbol is a flame within a chalice (a wide-lipped stemmed cup). The picture above shows multiple versions of this beautiful symbol.
Hans Deutsch, an Austrian artist, first brought together the chalice and the flame as a Unitarian symbol during his work with the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II. To Deutsch, the image had connotations of sacrifice and love. Unitarian Universalists today have many different interpretations of the image. To many, the cup represents religious community, while the flame represents ideas including the sacrificial flame, the flame of the spirit, and more.
The flaming chalice image has changed many times over the past 65 years. There is no single interpretation of today's flaming chalice symbol. Modern chalice designs often incorporate two overlapping circles which, for many people, represent our Unitarian and Universalist heritages. Other images include additional elements, some of which are merely decorative and others which are very meaningful. (http://www.uua.org)
"At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many congregations light a flame inside a chalice. This flaming chalice has become a well-known symbol of our denomination. It unites our members in worship and symbolizes the spirit of our work." -Dan Hotchkiss
Our opening prayer (depending on the church) goes something like this
“We light this chalice
to remind ourselves
to treat all people kindly
because they are our brothers and sisters
to take good care of the earth,
because it is our home
and to try to live lives,
filled with goodness and love
because that is how we will become,
the best men and women we can be”
The chalice is later extinguished at the end of worship service with:
"We extinguish this flame,
but not the light of truth,
the warmth of community,
or the fire of commitment.
These we keep in our hearts
until we are together again."
That's really interesting! I recently started attending the UU church here in Appleton, and always had kind of wondered where the flame and chalice symbol had come from!! Thanks ;)
ReplyDeleteI continue to enjoy your posts on UU. I did not have much prior knowledge of this type of religion, but I am finding it more and more fascinating as I learn more from your blog! Thanks Kenzie!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom used be Unitarian but she converted to Judaism during her first marriage. Then when I was in elementary school she tried to get me to re-join the Unitarian church with her. Sadly I did not, but if I do go back to any religion, it will probably be Unitarianism. I really appreciate the acceptance and open-mindedness of UUs. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating how even with so much diversity the UUs keep connected to a symbolic world. This came up in an earlier post by you as well. It seems like UUs can go to a UU church anywhere and find something familiar. What I really liked about your post are the alternative interpretations for the post.. and I imagine that all interpretations are OK as long as they reflect Love..
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