The Flaming Chalice (mysticism, tradition, virtual, America, mission)

[Green Gaia]

The History of the Flaming Chalice
Adapted from the pamphlet "The Flaming Chalice" by Daniel D. Hotchkiss.

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.

The chalice and the flame were brought together as a Unitarian symbol by an Austrian artist, Hans Deutsch, in 1941. Living in Paris during the 1930's Deutsch drew critical cartoons of Adolf Hitler. When the Nazis invaded Paris in 1940, he abandoned all he had and fled to the South of France, then to Spain, and finally, with an altered passport, into Portugal.

There, he met the Reverend Charles Joy, executive director of the Unitarian Service Committee (USC). The Service Committee was new, founded in Boston to assist Eastern Europeans, among them Unitarians as well as Jews, who needed to escape Nazi persecution. From his Lisbon headquarters, Joy oversaw a secret network of couriers and agents.

Charles Joy felt that this new, unknown organisation needed some visual image to represent Unitarianism to the world, especially when dealing with government agencies abroad.

Deutsch was most impressed and soon was working for the USC. He later wrote to Joy:

"There is something that urges me to tell you... how much I admire your utter self denial [and] readiness to serve, to sacrifice all, your time, your health, your well being, to help, help, help.

"I am not what you may actually call a believer. But if your kind of life is the profession of your faith---as it is, I feel sure---then religion, ceasing to be magic and mysticism, becomes confession to practical philosophy and---what is more- --to active, really useful social work. And this religion--- with or without a heading---is one to which even a `godless' fellow like myself can say wholeheartedly, Yes!"
The USC was an unknown organization in 1941. This was a special handicap in the cloak-and-dagger world, where establishing trust quickly across barriers of language, nationality, and faith could mean life instead of death. Disguises, signs and countersigns, and midnight runs across guarded borders were the means of freedom in those days. Joy asked Deutsch to create a symbol for their papers "to make them look official, to give dignity and importance to them, and at the same time to symbolize the spirit of our work.... When a document may keep a man out of jail, give him standing with governments and police, it is important that it look important."

Thus, Hans Deutsch made his lasting contribution to the USC and, as it turned out, to Unitarian Universalism. With pencil and ink he drew a chalice with a flame. It was, Joy wrote his board in Boston, "a chalice with a flame, the kind of chalice which the Greeks and Romans put on their altars. The holy oil burning in it is a symbol of helpfulness and sacrifice.... This was in the mind of the artist. The fact, however, that it remotely suggests a cross was not in his mind, but to me this also has its merit. We do not limit our work to Christians. Indeed, at the present moment, our work is nine-tenths for the Jews, yet we do stem from the Christian tradition, and the cross does symbolize Christianity and its central theme of sacrificial love."

The flaming chalice design was made into a seal for papers and a badge for agents moving refugees to freedom. In time it became a symbol of Unitarian Universalism all around the world.

The story of Hans Deutsch reminds us that the symbol of a flaming chalice stood in the beginning for a life of service. When Deutsch designed the flaming chalice, he had never seen a Unitarian or Universalist church or heard a sermon. What he had seen was faith in action—people who were willing to risk all for others in a time of urgent need.

Today, the flaming chalice is the official symbol of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Association. Officially or unofficially, it functions as a logo for hundreds of congregations. A version of the symbol was adopted by the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches in Britain. It has since been used by Unitarian churches in other parts of the world. Perhaps most importantly, it has become a focal point for worship. No one meaning or interpretation is official. The flaming chalice, like our faith, stands open to receive new truths that pass the tests of reason, justice, and compassion.

Source: Unitarian Universalist Association and the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

[Davidium]

I would like to share a section of the sermon that I gave on November 20th, 2005...

In the late 1930’s, members, ministers, and leaders of both the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America watched in horror as countries they had historic ties to, such as Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, both came under the dominion or influence of Nazi Germany. Individual Unitarians and Universalists went to Europe, and aided many in escaping, as well as providing humanitarian aid.

Frightened by Nazi Germany, and inspired by the humanitarian giving and practice of these individuals, both the Unitarians and Universalists founded committees dedicated to such humanitarian and social activism work. One of the first ever true partnerships between these two churches came in the aftermath of WWII, where the Unitarian Service Committee and the Universalist Service Committee partnered together to provide rebuilding assistance to war-torn Europe and Asia.

In fact, the flaming chalice that we light each Sunday morning, this symbol of our free, liberal faith, was actually first adopted as the symbol of the Unitarian Service Committee in April of 1941. It was stamped in red ink on the sides of relief supplies that were sent to the war torn regions, and it came to symbolize Unitarian giving, charity, and social justice.

It is fitting, I think, that the symbol of our faith comes not from some deep theological reasoning, but rather from our commitment to make a difference in the world.

It has never hit me until I put those words on paper just how fitting the Flaming Chalice is for our denomination. Beyond the myriad of theological interpretations that abound as to what it means, Ithink it is fitting that we adopted this symbol, not because of those theological reasons, but because it had come to symbolize our efforts to make the world a better place. Rather than a Theological symbol being used for Charity and Social Justice... we did it backwards...

We UU's took a symbol that stood for our efforts to better this world, and adopted it as the symbol of our whole liberal religious faith... It was only after it was deeply ingrained in our religious culture, congregations, and hearts that we began to see the deeper theological implications beind this symbol of our faith..



Yours in Faith,

David

[Ciscokid]

I enjoyed reading Deutsch's letter:

"There is something that urges me to tell you... how much I admire your utter self denial [and] readiness to serve, to sacrifice all, your time, your health, your well being, to help, help, help.

"I am not what you may actually call a believer. But if your kind of life is the profession of your faith---as it is, I feel sure---then religion, ceasing to be magic and mysticism, becomes confession to practical philosophy and---what is more- --to active, really useful social work. And this religion--- with or without a heading---is one to which even a `godless' fellow like myself can say wholeheartedly, Yes!"

[Pah]

I'd like to add a chalice I found while browsing the web. It is the logo of Interweave, Unitarian Universalists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.

The mission statement of the Interweave Continental, Inc.:

Interweave Continental is a membership organization actively working to end oppression based on sexual orientation and gender identity, recognizing that we will not be free until all oppression is a thing of the past. We are an affiliate organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and our work is guided by Unitarian Universalist principles. We value and affirm the lives and experience of Queer people of faith of all ages, races, ethnicities, income levels, and abilities. By providing and supporting leadership, and working in collaboration with other organizations of similar vision, we strive to connect and nurture all Queer individuals, communities, groups, and their allies.

http://qrd.tcp.com/qrd/www/orgs/uua/uu-interweave.html

By all means, if this is just a little bit inappropiate, please delete this post. It is not my intent to be intrusive

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by Pah

By all means, if this is just a little bit inappropiate, please delete this post. It is not my intent to be intrusive

Not at all. We have many different styles of chalices, and they're all important for what they meant to the individual.

[jerzybg]

Hi,
Do you use any badge of the flamingh chalice to show to anybody you are members of UU?
I ask you about it as I am searching for any ceremonial objects (religious artefacts) for my Virtual Museum of religious artifacts.

All the best

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by jerzybg

Hi,
Do you use any badge of the flamingh chalice to show to anybody you are members of UU?
I ask you about it as I am searching for any ceremonial objects (religious artefacts) for my Virtual Museum of religious artifacts.

All the best

Umm... I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I have necklace with a chalice charm on it. I don't wear but maybe twice a month, and that's to church. I also have a chalice pin on my bag.

[jerzybg]

Yes, I think that a necklace with a chalice charm on it and a chalice pin are examples
of UU religious artefacts.
But they are not your ceremonial objects, if you perform any religious ceremonies.

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by jerzybg

Yes, I think that a necklace with a chalice charm on it and a chalice pin are examples
of UU religious artefacts.
But they are not your ceremonial objects, if you perform any religious ceremonies.

No, they're not. I do have chalice in my home though. Is that more what you're looking for?

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by jerzybg

Yes, I think that a necklace with a chalice charm on it and a chalice pin are examples of UU religious artefacts.
But they are not your ceremonial objects, if you perform any religious ceremonies.

Namaste Jerzbg,

I also have a chalice pin and know people who wear chalice pendants and earrings. The chalice is officially recognized by the U.S. govt as a religious symbol for Unitarian Universalism.

But to answer your question, yes, we do use the chalice in our religious ceremonies. By "we" I don't mean all UUs because I don't know whether all UUs do this. But by "we" I do mean a great many UUs.

My church has an official church chalice that sits on our altar table at the front of the sanctuary. At the beginning of our services on Sunday morning a worship associate lights the chalice and then announces that "with the lighting of the chalice we are called to worship." It's the official start of the worship service and people are supposed to be quiet and attentive and refective with its lighting. At the end of each service, our minister extinguishes the chalice right before we head out of the sanctuary into the world outside.

As I said, I don't know whether all UUs do this. But the UU congregation of which I was a part in Stony Brook NY also lit their chalice for services, and they were much more secular than my current church. And when I attended General Assembly for UUs across the country, we started off our sessions with the lighting of the chalice, which was extinguished when the session was over.

Also, within our covenant groups and for church meetings and classes, depending on the people in attendance, we will often start by lighting a chalice and an opening reading. The lighting of the chalice puts us in a different place. It reminds us that what we are doing is an act of worship and to treat it as such. It reminds us of our covenant with each other. It is a religious object that we use in our ceremonies.