In a religion that promotes religious freedom, is it possible to state the core of our personal religious faith in words that make sense? How do we go about unpacking and articulating the core convictions and values of our Unitarian Universalist faith? We will recognize new members during the service.
The Bible and the prophets are clear: God desires justice, peace and love among creation. And yet we live in a war torn world, poverty is a leading cause of death, and religious nationalism, especially White Christian Nationalism, distorts faith and all our religious traditions. Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis will share reflections on what the Bible says about justice and how poor people, moral leaders, advocates and activists are organizing a moral revival in the land.
This service invites us to delve into the meaning of being a faithful community that embraces pride in our authentic selves. Together, we'll celebrate the joy of living truthfully and the strength found in uniting faith with the courage to be who we truly are.
Within any voluntary association, there will always be leaders and followers, talkers and listeners, dreamers and doers. This service will explore volunteerism as a spiritual practice. Together, we will celebrate the spirit of service and the power of community through our volunteer recognition ritual.
The Flower Ceremony, or Flower Communion, is an annual ritual celebrating beauty, human uniqueness, joy, diversity, and community. The ritual was created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Rev. Norbert Fabian Čapek of Prague and introduced to the United States by his wife, Rev. Mája Čapek. During the service, everyone brings a flower to place in a shared vase. The flowers are blessed by the congregation and ministers, then redistributed so each person takes home a different flower. All are invited to participate, and we will have extra flowers available for anyone who needs one.
