Mid-week Message

from our Developmental Lead Minister

May 1, 2024

“The earth laughs in flowers.” Relph Waldo Emerson

Friends,

This Sunday is FUUN’s annual Flower Communion, a ceremony created in 1923 by Norbert Capek, minister and founder of the Unitarian Church in Prague. The ceremony has become a cherished ritual in our UU congregations. Capek is also known for his opposition to the Nazi regime, a stance that ultimately cost him his life.

In Capek’s ceremony, everyone brought a flower to add to the communal vase. At the end of the service, everyone went home with a different flower from the one they brought. The exchange of flowers was a symbol for the love and care that form the bonds of friendship.

The diversity of flowers in the assembled bouquet represents the diversity of people within our congregations – how the bouquet is made more beautiful by all the differences.

In our world today, reminders of beauty and bonds of relationship feel especially important.

Remember to bring a flower with you on Sunday. If you attend by Zoom, you may want to have a flower nearby so you can feel like you are part of the bouquet, too.

Yours in shared ministry,
Rev. Diane