100 Years of Flower Communion – 11/6/23

Musical Prelude: played by Peter Crockford

Opening Words: ‘The Flowers Remind Us’ by David E. Bumbaugh (adapted)

Everywhere you look,
in every nook and cranny,
during this season of life,
the flowers are there.
Spilling down from a grassy verge,
buttercups display a shower of gold
for drivers who speed by
too quickly to grasp the glory
poured out freely for all to see.

The flowers, you see,
do not bloom for us.
they do not care
whether or not we see them.
They grow and bloom
because they are full of life,
because the history of the species
impels them to display their glory,
not to the world, but as part of the world,
because the world would be incomplete
without the riot of blossoms
which expresses nature’s
voiceless joy in life.

We know they are a gift of grace,
softening the harsh edges of reality.
They invite us to seek the beauty in each moment;
they encourage us to find fulfilment
in life and the living of it;
and they remind us that nothing is forever,
that each moment, with its beauty and fulfilment,
passes on into another moment
with gifts to be discovered and savoured.
One cannot keep the moment
any more than one can keep the flower.
One can only rejoice and give thanks
for the grace which makes this world,
our home, a setting of beauty and delight,
where we, too, may be lived by life,
with nothing to gain, nothing to prove.

We, too, are products of nature’s extravagance.
Each of us is unique. Mingled together, interacting,
we do not become less unique,
but rather find our uniqueness heightened.
Here, in this space, this human community,
we find the fuller dimensions of our individuality,
the richer meaning of our existence,
the profound delight of this world
and the precious life we have been given.

Words of Welcome and Introduction:

These opening words – by the Unitarian Universalist David E. Bumbaugh – welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those of you who have gathered in-person at Essex Church and also to all who are joining us via Zoom from far and wide. For anyone who doesn’t know me, my name is Jane Blackall, and I’m Minister with Kensington Unitarians.

This morning’s service is our annual Flower Communion. Some of you gathered here this morning will been to many such gatherings over years – or even decades – and others will never have come across this tradition before and will be wondering what on earth I’m talking about. In brief: everyone is invited to bring a flower to place in a common vase, representing their part in the life of this community, and then everyone takes away a flower that someone else brought. We’ll be hearing more about the history of the Flower Communion later on; it’s a uniquely Unitarian ceremony, a celebration of unity in diversity, and the give and take of community. It was created by the founder of the Czech Unitarian church, Norbert Čapek, back in 1923, which makes this its centenary year.

Before we go any further, let’s take the time to truly arrive, ground ourselves in the here and now. We’ve each chosen to come here, join together in community, for a time of spiritual nourishment. To set time aside from the rest of the week and all its demands and reflect on what matters most. So let’s set aside whatever we might have come in carrying, whatever is weighing on us this day, we can afford to put it to one side for an hour, pick it up later on if need be, or maybe let it go. Maybe take a conscious breath, and breathe out with a big sigh, settle into this present moment.

Chalice Lighting: ‘Our Guiding Principles’ by Jane Blackall

Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which we are a part.

(light chalice)

May the light of this chalice be a reminder of the
shared values and principles around which we gather:
upholding the inherent worth and dignity of every person;
cherishing all those diverse creatures and habitats
with whom we share this Earth, our home;
seeking human liberation and flourishing;
serving the common good of all.

May this little light, and all it represents, make a home in our hearts;
where it will ever guide us back to our highest aspirations,
and help us be responsive, creative, just, and loving,
in this complex and ever-changing world.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘For The Beauty of the Earth’

Let’s sing together now. Our first hymn is on your hymn-sheet if you’re in church and the words will be up on your screen if you’re joining from home: ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer and, in the thankful and celebratory spirit of this hymn, sing up if you can.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the splendour of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies:
For all these with joy we raise
This, our song of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light:
For all these with joy we raise
This, our song of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight:
For all these with joy we raise
This, our song of grateful praise.

For the joy of human care,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
For the fellowship we share,
For all gentle thoughts and mild:
For all these with joy we raise
This, our song of grateful praise.

Candles of Joy and Concern:

Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. This time we’re going to go to the people in the building first, and take all of those in one go, and then I’ll call on the people on Zoom to come forward.

So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us briefly who or what you light your candle for. Please do get up close to the microphone as that will help everyone hear (including the people at home). You can take the microphone out of the stand if it’s not at a good height and have it microphone pointing right at your mouth. And if you can’t get to the microphone give me a wave and I’ll bring it over to you. Thank you.

(in person candles)

And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.

(zoom candles)

And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)

Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by John Saxon

And let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer now. This prayer is based on some words by John Saxon. You might first want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)

Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being,
we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without,
as we tune in to the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom
to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.
Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the
silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)

Our words fail us – our minds fail us –
when we ponder the enormity, diversity,
complexity, wonder, and beauty of the universe and this world.
And yet we sense, more than know, that our lives are part of a larger Life,
that we are indeed connected with everyone and everything
in one interdependent web of being, and that there is something,
both immanent and transcendent, that nurtures and sustains our lives and Life itself:
something that calls us and all life to greater wholeness and harmony. (pause)

We give thanks this morning for all of the gifts and blessings of life:
for this day, for the beauty and wonder and mystery of creation,
for our families and friends, for health and work,
for opportunities to learn and love and grow,
for the care and support of others in times of illness or despair.

But we remember, too, that others – our human kin –
here in this gathering, across the nation, and around the world,
live in poverty, hunger, fear, illness, isolation, violence, and insecurity;
so many are ground down by systems of injustice and oppression,
or are caught up in the chaos and confusion not of their making.

In the silence of this gathering and in the silence of our hearts,
may we hear the call to a wider perspective and a deeper resolve. (pause)

May we live with greater compassion and care for ourselves, others, and creation.
May we touch each other more deeply, hear each other more clearly,
and see each other’s joys and sorrows as our own.
May we strive to be and become more than we are:
more loving, more forgiving, more kind, more honest,
more authentic, more open, more connected, more whole.

And yet, paradoxically perhaps, may we accept ourselves,
just as we are in this moment, and know that we are enough.

May we heal and be healed.
May we face the uncertainties and tragedies of life
with hope, faith, and courage, knowing that
Life is good and that we are not alone. (pause)

And in a quiet moment now, let us look back over the week just gone, to take stock of it all –
the many everyday cares and concerns of our own lives – and concentric circles of concern
rippling outwards – ‘til they enfold the entire world and all those lives which touch our own.
Let’s take a while to sit quietly in prayer with that which weighs heavy on our hearts this day.
(pause)

And let us also take a moment to notice all the good that has happened in the past week –
moments of uplift and delight; beauty and pleasure; all those acts of generosity and kindness.
The hopes and dreams and possibilities that are bubbling up and reminding us that we’re alive.
There’s lots to be grateful for. So let’s take a little while to sit quietly in prayer and give thanks. (pause)

Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up
our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,
and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.

As we look forward now to the coming week,
help us to live well each day and be our best selves;
using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen

Hymn 13 (purple): ‘Bring Flowers to Our Altar’

Let’s sing together now. Our next hymn is number 13 in the purple book – we only sing it once a year but it’s quite a well-known tune – ‘Bring Flowers to Our Altar’ – for those joining via Zoom the words will be up on your screen to sing along at home. Please stand or sit as you prefer as we sing.

Bring flowers to our altar to show nature’s beauty,
the harvest of goodness in earth, sky and sea.
Bring light to our altar to guide every nation
from hatred to love and to humanity.
Bring a dove to our altar its wings ever flying
in permanent quest for the peace all may share.
Bring bread to our altar the hungry supplying
and feeding the poor who depend on our care.

Bring hope to our altar in your gentle dreaming
of all the good things that will make your heart glad.
Bring love to our altar, a bright witness beaming
to all who are burdened, or lonely or sad.
Bring work to our altar to help every nation
and celebrate all that’s already achieved.
Come yourself to our altar in true dedication
to all the ideals we in common believe.

Reading: ‘Norbert Čapek’s Flower Communion’ by Teresa and David Schwartz

Norbert Čapek’s mother was a devout Catholic, and his father wa agnostic. He became an acolyte at age 10, in 1890 at St. Martin’s Catholic Church. In the years that followed, he became disillusioned. At 18, apprenticed to his uncle, a successful tailor in Vienna, Norbert discovered the Baptists and became a minister. He founded almost a dozen churches from Ukraine to Budapest.

Yet, slowly, his faith became more and more liberal. Čapek left Bohemia under government threat and accepted a call to serve a Baptist church in New York City… until one day in 1919. That day, he wrote in his diary: “I cannot be a Baptist anymore, even in compromise. The fire of new desires, new worlds, is burning inside me.”

Norbert and his wife, Mája Čapek, joined a Unitarian church in New Jersey in 1921. World War I ended. His home country now independent, he and Maja returned home to Czechoslovakia. His Unitarian church was the Prague Liberal Religious Fellowship. In just 20 years, his church had 3,200 members. The traditional Christian communion service of bread and wine wouldn’t meet the needs of his congregation, because his church—like ours—had people who believed different things.

So Čapek turned to the beauty of the countryside; to the beauty of flowers. In 1923, he developed the flower communion. He asked his congregants to bring a flower to church—from their gardens, the field, or the roadside. He invited each person to place their flower in a vase. There was the church community, no less unique for being united. Following the service, each person could take a flower from the vase—a different one than they had brought.

Čapek was a visionary minister with a church ahead of its time, a BOLD church, a church thinking beyond its doors, beyond what it thought possible. It was a church that was willing to take risks; to make tough decisions; to bear disappointment; and to build a new way… first by building a church, with faith that church could build up the world.

That is our church. That was Čapek’s church.

For this, the Gestapo arrested him in 1942. The Nazis accused Čapek of listening to foreign broadcasts, and sent him to the Dachau concentration camp. Even in starvation and torture, he held a flower ceremony with his fellow prisoners, finding whatever flowers they could among the weeds of the camp. They testified to a beauty larger than themselves, and a love that would outlive them.

The Nazis killed Norbert Čapek. But his spirit, courage, and commitment live on, today. Those qualities have passed, now, to us, to make them real.

What we are about to do is not a historical re-enactment of something over and done, but an affirmation of our continuity with the generations of struggle for ever-widening liberty.

This flower communion, lovely though it is, isn’t a diversion from ugly reality, but a gentle fierceness which proclaims that in the midst of sinister days there is always the light of beauty. We are here not to recall something that happened, but to remember something that is happening: to re-member—to put it back together again—and in that remembering, may we put ourselves back together again, each as a part of the body of this community: out of many, one.

Today, we celebrate this ritual of solemnity and joy.

As Čapek asked his people to bring a flower and celebrate beauty, so shall we.

Meditation: ‘Unity in Diversity’

Thanks Hannah. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. I’m going to share some words from Norbert Čapek himself to take us into this reflective time. He described the Flower Communion ritual as ‘a new experiment in symbolizing our liberty and unity… in which participants confess that we accept each other as brothers and sisters without regard to class, race, or other distinction, acknowledging everybody as our friend who… wants to be good.’

So as we move into a few minutes of silence now I invite you to meditate on this aspiration – this vision of our community as a space of unity in diversity – where each of us brings our own unique gifts – and our own unique needs – where we are strengthened and enriched by our differences.

I hope at this point you each have a flower – if you didn’t bring one we do have some spares at the back – and if you want to participate in the flower communion (invitation not obligation) I invite you to spend the time of silence holding your flower and imbuing it with your thoughts and feelings about what you bring to this community and what you receive from it in turn. There will be a time to share briefly about this later on so you might want to think about what you will say. And if you’re at home and you don’t have a flower, you can draw a flower, or find a photo online of the flower you would have brought if you could, or an imaginary flower will also do just fine.

So let’s take a few minutes to reflect on our flower and what we would like it to represent in terms of our place in this community, the give and take we experience, our unity in diversity. The time of silence will end with a chime from our bell and will be followed by some lovely meditation music from Peter. And I invite you, during the music, to quietly come up and place your flower into the common vase here at the front. And if you’re at home I’d ask you, during the music, to hold up your flower during the music too, we’ll see that on the gallery view here (and I’ll make sure we’ve put a flower in the vase here in the church on behalf of each of you).

So, all that said, let’s each do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position if you need to – perhaps put your feet flat on the floor to ground and steady yourself. As we always say, this is just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell DING

Musical Interlude: ‘The Rose’ (McBroom) played by Peter Crockford
You are invited to come up and place your flower, silently, in the communion vase during the musical interlude.

Reading: ‘For the Flowers have the Gift of Language’ by Richard S. Gilbert

Speak, flowers, speak!
Why do you say nothing?
The flowers have the gift of language.
In the meadow they speak of freedom,
Creating patterns wild and free as no gardener could match.
In the forest they nestle, snug carpets under the roof of
Leaf and branch, making a rug of such softness.
At end tip of branches they cling briefly
Before bursting into fruit sweet to taste.

Flowers, can you not speak joy to our sadness?
And hope to our fear?
Can you not say how it is with you
That you colour the darkest corner?

The flowers have the gift of language.
At the occasion of birth they are buds before bursting.
At the ceremony of love they unite two lovers in beauty.
At the occasion of death, they remind us how lovely is life.

Oh, would that you had voice,
Silent messengers of hope.
Would that you could tell us how you feel,
Arrayed in such beauty.

The flowers have the gift of language.
In the dark depths of a death camp
They speak the light of life.
In the face of cruelty
They speak of courage.
In the experience of ugliness
They bespeak the persistence of beauty.

Speak, messengers, speak!
For we would hear your message.
Speak, messengers, speak!
For we need to hear what you would say.

For the flowers have the gift of language:
They transport the human voice on winds of beauty;
They lift the melody of song to our ears;
They paint through the eye and hand of the artist;
Their fragrance binds us to sweet-smelling earth.

May the blessing of the flowers be upon you.
May their beauty beckon to you each morning
And their loveliness lure you each day,
And their tenderness caress you each night.
May their delicate petals make you gentle,
And their eyes make you aware.
May their stems make you sturdy,
And their reaching make you care.

Consecration of the Flowers with words by Norbert Čapek

Let us take a moment to appreciate lovely variety of flowers gathered together in the common vase. I’m going to share just some brief words by Norbert Čapek for ‘consecration of the flowers’:

Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these, thy messengers of fellowship and love.

May they remind us, amid diversities of knowledge and of gifts,
to be one in desire and affection, and devotion to thy holy will.

May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing alike.

May we cherish friendship as one of thy most precious gifts.

May we not let awareness of another’s talents discourage us,
or sully our relationship, but may we realize that, whatever we can do,
great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed to do thy work in this world. Amen.

Flower Communion Ceremony

So we have ten minutes now to complete our flower communion; we’ve each put a flower in the vase (or had one placed on our behalf), now it’s time for us to come and choose one to take away. When you’re ready, I invite you to come up and choose a flower, and come to the microphone to say just a few words about what the flower represents for you – in terms of the life of community, its give and take, what we each bring and what we each receive – our unity in diversity. The things we were pondering during the time of meditation. I invite anyone who wants to join in to come up in turn, and we’ll do it like our joys and concerns, except we are going to mix and mingle in-person and online, people online can take your turn as anyone else, unmute and speak up when you’re ready.

As always there’s a balance to be struck; I don’t want to inhibit anyone’s sharing but do bear in mind how long you’re speaking for so that everyone who wants to join in can get a chance to do so. Just to let you know this will be default stay in the service recording; if you want to be edited out let me know straight after the service. And as with everything else it’s an invitation not an obligation; if you’d rather not speak you can still participate in silence (either now or during the closing music).

(people come up and choose flowers)

If nobody else is moved to speak I’m going to draw to a close with words from Sarah Movius Schurr:

These flowers we have brought and shared,
They come in many shades and colours.

They come in many sizes and shapes.
They carry different scents.

Yet all were created by the same miracle.

The miracle, that these blossoms grow every year
Out of the divine mixing of water, soil, and sunshine.

And let us not forget: our lives are miracles as well.

Despite all the trials and disappointments we may face,
We come together every year to celebrate Flower Communion.

To be reminded that all of us have value
And all have a place in the beauty of the world.

To be reminded that where we came from
Is not as important as the fact that we are here now.

To be reminded that all are truly welcome,
And all may receive at the table of this church.

We all come to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Amen.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Bring a Flower’

Time for our last hymn and it’s brand new! Written especially for this centenary by Amanda Udis-Kessler. It’s on your hymn sheet and the words will be up on screen. I’ll ask Peter to play it through once before we sing: ‘Bring a Flower’.

Bring a flower. Take a flower.
There are flowers here for all,
Full of beauty for our senses,
Round and narrow, large and small.

Share your blessings. Lean on others.
Help your neighbour, then receive.
Feed the hungry. Tend the hurting.
We’ll be with you when you grieve.

As we labour, as we wonder,
As we heed the justice call,
Bring a flower. Take a flower.
There are flowers here for all.

Sharing of News, Announcements, Introductions

Thanks to Ramona for tech-hosting and Jeannene for co-hosting. Thanks to Hannah and Liz for reading. Thanks to Peter for lovely music. For those of you who are here in-person, if you want to stay, Juliet will be serving refreshments in the hall (plus cake – vanilla cake with gooseberry jam – and some fancy flower decorations) – thanks Juliet – and thanks to Carolyn for greeting.

We have various small group activities for you to meet up. There are still spaces left for our online Heart and Soul contemplative spiritual gatherings (Sunday/Friday at 7pm) and this week’s theme is ‘Visitations’. Next Sunday we’ve got a visiting service leader coming to us for the first time, Eleanor Chiari, do come along if you can, she’s going to be exploring the theme of ‘Thresholds’. GreenSpirit will be back with a solstice gathering and lunch here at Essex Church on the 21st June.

In a couple of weeks’ time, on Sunday 25th June, you could potentially stay here all day if you want – especially if you like singing – after our morning service we’ll have a singing class with Margaret – then ‘Many Voices’ singing group which is run by Marilisa have got a special Pride themed event – and in the evening there’s an interfaith gathering of storytelling, music, and art on the theme of ‘Celebrating Life’ – organised by Spirit of Peace – and supported by our London District Association.

I’ve got a couple of ‘Save the Dates’ to tell you about: Last week I mentioned that we’ve set the date for an Induction Service this autumn, at 2pm on Saturday 14th October, to mark the start of this new ministry. That’s a long way off but do get it in the diary if you can. But much sooner than that we are going to – belatedly – hold a special celebratory service and lunch with a dual purpose: belatedly thanking our previous minister Sarah Tinker for her many years of ministry with our congregation, and marking her retirement (as we weren’t able to have a proper ‘do’ when she retired at the end of 2020), and also thanking Harold Lorenzelli for his contribution to five decades of church music. That ‘End of an Era’ celebration is going to take place in our usual Sunday service slot on 23rd July.

Details of our various activities are on the back of the order of service and also in the Friday email.

The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections.

I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and closing music now. And if you haven’t already taken a flower don’t forget you’re very welcome to do so during the music.

Benediction: based on words by William Sinkford

These flowers we have shared are
signs of creation’s profound beauty,
diverse and unique, but related and interdependent.
They come to us as gifts from we know not where,
and we, in turn, have brought them
to our common altar, as gifts to one another.

May they remind us of the grace we have known in this community:
Forgiveness we have been granted, and provided.
Love, unearned and freely shared.
Recovery, begun and established.
Generosity, unforeseen and most sacred.

And may they inspire us now, and in days to come:
To seek, to notice, to embrace and, to re-create beauty.
To give unto the world as exuberantly as these lovely flowers.

May the meaning and message of Flower Communion be alive in our hearts,
as we leave this gathering, inviting us to be faithful partners
in the creation of beloved community, and guiding us
towards right relationship with all of our neighbours, near and far.

May it be so, for the greater good of all. Amen.

Closing Music: ‘English Country Garden’ (Grainger) played by Peter Crockford

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

11th June 2023