FLOWER CEREMONY
Flower Ceremony Part 1: Sharing Our Flowers
"Our flower ceremony is a religious tradition in many of our Unitarian Universalist churches that traces its roots back to Norbert Capek in Transylvania. We come in to this community as individuals, bringing in our vibrant flowering souls, and together we create the heart of the whole.
We’re going to share the flowers we brought with us today in this community heart—you can come down the center aisle to put your flower in the heart, and return to your seats on the sides. If you didn’t bring in a flower, please choose the one that suits you from the arrangement on the table."
Music plays as the congregation brings forward their flowers and places them into the big heart on the chancel. At the end of the ceremony, we have a beautiful flowering community heart.
Flower Ceremony Part 2: Choosing New Flowers
"When we come together in community to create beauty, confront injustice, and give comfort and courage to people as diverse as this world, we leave changed. I invite you to partake in the second part of our Flower Communion today, and choose a flower to take home with you that is different than the flower you came in with. How are you changed by this church? How are you changing today? Please come down the center aisle, choose the flower you will take home and return to your seats by the side aisles."
Music plays as the congregation comes to choose a new flower from the community heart. At the end of the ceremony, each congregant takes home a different piece of beauty than that which with they came.