Burning Bowl Ceremony

[Vinayaka]

I have some specific questions about this ceremony, and would be very pleased if someone from UU could answer them via PM preferably. I can explain why via PM. Any volunteers?

 

[Storm]

Never heard of this one, sorry.

 

[Vinayaka]

This is some on-line stuff, but I want a bit more info.

http://unitarianministries.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BURNING_BOWL_SERVICE.249184547.pdf

 

[Storm]

Just skimming, that says it's popular in New Though congregations... that's an entirely separate religion.

 

[Vinayaka]

So there are two branches ... New Thought UU, and traditional UU?

(I know absolutely nothing about UU .. Thank you so much.)

 

[Storm]

So there are two branches ... New Thought UU, and traditional UU?

(I know absolutely nothing about UU .. Thank you so much.)

No, not at all. New Thought is totally separate, and not UU.

I don't know much about them, but a friend of mine used to attend. From what he's told me, it's more a New Age group than anything else.

 

[Vinayaka]

Now I'm confused. This site mentions it too. UUA: Burning Bowl Ritual

 

[Storm]

Well, we UUs will use anything we like. Sort of ritual packrats . But the two movements are wholly unrelated.

 

[Vinayaka]

Well, we UUs will use anything we like. Sort of ritual packrats . But the two movements are wholly unrelated.

So then you don't know anything about this particular ceremony? Some congregations use it while others don't? Hopefully someone who has been involved with this will magically appear to answer all my 'stupid' questions. In the meantime I'll just go re-read the stuff I found.

Thanks.

 

[Storm]

So then you don't know anything about this particular ceremony? Some congregations use it while others don't? Hopefully someone who has been involved with this will magically appear to answer all my 'stupid' questions. In the meantime I'll just go re-read the stuff I found.

Thanks.

Whoa! I didn't say you were stupid... where'd that come from?

A few congregations might use it, but none that I've seen. Water communions and flower communions are much more common.

 

[Vinayaka]

Whoa! I didn't say you were stupid... where'd that come from?
A few congregations might use it, but none that I've seen. Water communions and flower communions are much more common.

The 'stupid' was me referring to myself. Canadian self-deprecating habit. I do feel shall we say quite uninformed about other faiths, as usually there is no need to explore, but in this case there is.

 

[Storm]

Oh, ok.

 

[JonathanCid]

Vinayaka, if I may offer a bit of help, it seems as though the burning bowl ritual is used by some UU congregations (Unitarian Universalists tend to be very syncretic and are inspired by religious practices from all over the world), but may have originated with New Thought groups (of which I believe the Unity movement, a Christian movement) is one. New Thought is somewhat similar to New Age.

Part of the confusion here may stem from the fact that Unity seems to use this ritual and their name sounds similar to Unitarian and Universalist. A lot of people confuse Unity with Unitarian Universalism, but the two groups are not related. Unity considers itself a Christian movement, while Unitarian Universalism is a religion distinct from Christianity.

I hope this helps a bit. Your questions are not stupid, they're great questions. Thank you for bringing up this ritual, it looks quite interesting.

 

[Vinayaka]

Vinayaka, if I may offer a bit of help, it seems as though the burning bowl ritual is used by some UU congregations (Unitarian Universalists tend to be very syncretic and are inspired by religious practices from all over the world), but may have originated with New Thought groups (of which I believe the Unity movement, a Christian movement) is one. New Thought is somewhat similar to New Age.

Part of the confusion here may stem from the fact that Unity seems to use this ritual and their name sounds similar to Unitarian and Universalist. A lot of people confuse Unity with Unitarian Universalism, but the two groups are not related. Unity considers itself a Christian movement, while Unitarian Universalism is a religion distinct from Christianity.

I hope this helps a bit. Your questions are not stupid, they're great questions. Thank you for bringing up this ritual, it looks quite interesting.

Thank you for reviving this. I'm beginning to think what's on the internet (definitely related to Unitarian Universalist) isn't accurate, but then my sample here is only 3 or 4. If you google around, you'll find it as well.

 

[seeker57]

Actually, we conduct this ceremony in our UU congregation, or at least, we did this year.

People in the congregation write things on a slip of paper they want to rid their lives of, like negativity, or whatever they are unhappy about, and then the slips of paper are collected in a bowl and burned, usually out of doors since indoors sets off the smoke detectors.

It is basically a way for people to try to find closure for the negative in their lives and concentrate on changing their lives for the better.

It can be quite a nice ceremony.

Peace,

Seeker

 

[Vinayaka]

Actually, we conduct this ceremony in our UU congregation, or at least, we did this year.

People in the congregation write things on a slip of paper they want to rid their lives of, like negativity, or whatever they are unhappy about, and then the slips of paper are collected in a bowl and burned, usually out of doors since indoors sets off the smoke detectors.

It is basically a way for people to try to find closure for the negative in their lives and concentrate on changing their lives for the better.

It can be quite a nice ceremony.

Peace,

Seeker

Thank you. Now that I know that, can I ask more questions?

What % of the congregation participate? How much do people write on the slips? Has it actually worked for you, or anyone you know? is there testimony on its effectiveness?

 

[seeker57]

Thank you. Now that I know that, can I ask more questions?

What % of the congregation participate? How much do people write on the slips? Has it actually worked for you, or anyone you know? is there testimony on its effectiveness?

Hmm, let's see. First, everyone in the congregation who was there that day participated, so I guess you could say 100 percent of those present, except the children, who were sent off to children's RE at the time.

I am not sure what you mean by "worked for me." Did I find it uplifting and spiritually refreshing? Yes.

But, did it change lives? That can only be determined by everyone individually.

I also misspoke. We used two pieces of paper. The first was for the things we wanted to get rid of, the second was for something we would like to change, do or accomplish in the coming year. We kept the second slip of paper, bringing it home so we could review it from time to time to remind us of what we wanted to get done.

I also should add that it is part of the culture here where I live to have such ceremonies, often very large burning ceremonies held in the center of town where everyone throws notes or cards, etc., into the flames to rid themselves of the bad and usher in the good.

So, it could be we just adopted it from the general population.

We UUs are really big on that.

As far as testimonials about its effectiveness, well, I'm not sure I have heard any. But, everyone leaves with a smile on their face, so maybe that is testimony enough.

Peace,

Mark

 

[Vinayaka]

Thank you for this. It helps.

 

[applewuud]

Now I'm confused. This site mentions it too. UUA: Burning Bowl Ritual

My UU church did this ritual once, it was very interesting. But it was a one-time event, it's not a regular one. Each UU congregation (and minister) sets up their own worship services, we do not have a "book of common prayer" or a church year.