A first step taken when beginning the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship weekly service is lighting a small flame at the center of a chalice placed in the center of a table that sits at the center of the altar.

Why is that flaming chalice an essential Unitarian Universalist symbol?  In the 1940s, as the German army imposed its totalitarian rule across Europe, many people fled in fear of their lives. At the time, the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) committed itself to rescuing as many refugees as possible. Their work was dangerous, and they saved many lives.

The documents they created to help these refugees escape needed an official logo, so the USC created one.  The designer, a refugee himself, was inspired by several ancient religious symbols.  He decided upon a flaming chalice because it evoked the Christian communion chalice, the holy oils used for blessing in several other religions, the altars of Greek and Roman times, and the light one might put in a window as a symbol of hospitality.

Throughout World War II, this symbol guided refugees to safety on travel documents, business cards, and in the windows of otherwise hidden offices.  After the war, the flaming chalice gained popularity as a Unitarian symbol, and its ritual lighting at the start of UU worship services became widespread in the 1970s.

That flaming chalice is still a symbol of UU’s life-affirming welcome. Where it burns, its light beckons us to live up to our shared principles and to participate in the liberation of all people.

November 3, 2023