Flower service and new member recognition at the church. Kindly bring, as you are able, a potted plant or flowers and we will create a living altar. After the service the flowers will remain on the altar for Rev. Sue’s farewell service and party at 5:00pm that evening. Following the party and service for Rev. Sue in, please take home a plant or flower, different than the one you brought to church in the morning. This will be our last regular worship service for the church year. Next Sunday, June 19, we begin lay-led summer services at 9:30am in the parlor.

Why Do We Celebrate Flower Communion? The flower communion service was created by Norbert Capek (1870- 1942), who founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. He introduced this special service to that church on June 4, 1923. For some time he had felt the need for some symbolic ritual that would bind people more closely together. The format had to be one that would not alienate any who had forsaken other religious traditions. The traditional Christian communion service with bread and wine was unacceptable to the members of his congregation because of their strong reaction against the Catholic faith. So he turned to the native beauty of their countryside for elements of a communion which would be genuine to them. This simple service was the result. It was such a success that it was held yearly just before the summer recess of the church. The flower communion was brought to the United States in 1940 and introduced to the members of our Cambridge, Massachusetts, church by Dr. Capek’s wife, Maja V. Capek. People were asked to bring a flower of their choice, either from their own gardens or from the field or roadside. When they arrived at church a large vase stood waiting in the vestibule, attended by two young members of the Church School. Each person was asked to place their own flower in the vase. This signified that it was by their own free will they joined with the others. The vase that contained all the flowers was a symbol of the united church fellowship. By exchanging flowers, we show our willingness to walk together in our search for truth, disregarding all that might divide us. Each person takes home a flower brought by someone else – thus symbolizing our shared celebration in community.