Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

At the opening of our Sunday worship service, we light a flame inside a pottery chalice. This "flaming chalice" has become a well-known symbol of our denomination. It combines two archetypes -- a drinking vessel and a flame -- each of which has many different religious meanings. The flame and the chalice were brought together as a Unitarian symbol in 1941 by an Austrian artist, Hans Deutsch, for the Unitarian Service Committee, which then was helping Jews escape Nazi persecution.

There is no single, official interpretation of the flaming chalice, and indeed, not all Unitarian Universalist congregations use this symbol. For us, the chalice symbolizes the common cup of seeking humanity -- it symbolizes our beloved community. The flame is our symbol of creative truth, of illumination, of courage and the passion for justice.

The flaming chalice symbol is often set within two interlocking circles, which represent the two faiths which merged in 1961 -- Unitarian and Universalist. The chalice is set off-center, to indicate that we do not believe our way in religion to be the only way.

In the illustration of the symbol which we use here at the Fellowship, the two faiths -- Unitarian and Universalist -- are represented by the two mountain peaks that form the chalice which cradles the flame. The mountains also reference our location just east of the beautiful Olympic Range. In our symbol the flaming chalice is enclosed in a circle, but the flame breaks the circle, in honor of our conviction that revelation is not a closed circle, but is continuous and open, and also to indicate that our community's doors are open to all.

Last updated on June 14, 2009 by Web Admin