by Sandy Greene
May 7, 2023
Opening – Martha Sider (Thomas Rhodes)
“We come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.
Some of us grow in bunches.
Some of us grow alone.
Some of us are cupped inward,
And some of us spread ourselves out wide.
Some of us are old and dried and tougher than we appear.
Some of us are still in bud.
Some of us grow low to the ground,
And some of us stretch toward the sun.
Some of us feel like weeds, sometimes.
Some of us carry seeds, sometimes.
Some of us are prickly, sometimes.
Some of us smell.
And all of us are beautiful.
What a bouquet of people we are!”
Welcome to all! Welcome to our spiritual garden where we are nourished by and find hope in our search for meaning, the support we offer to each other and our pursuit of justice.
Good morning from your rookie facilitator. I’m Sandy Greene, a new member here.
Thank you, Barbara, for helping to arrange all our beautiful flowers this morning for the 100th Flower Communion. And thank you Martha, for providing so many years of welcoming for this communion, and for helping me to bloom into a welcomer too. Martha said, “Let the spirit guide you.” Good advice for us all.
Chalice Lighting – Nancy Barbour
We light the chalice with the words of Jennifer McGlothin
“As the first hint of green begins to peek through the barren ground
As that little sprig grows into a healthy stem
As that stem grows into a stalk and forms a bud
As that bud slowly opens with each new day
To form a yellow daffodil
Let us be, like that first hint of green, renewed by the warm of the sun’s rays
And ready to emerge with a new energy, ready to face the day.
We light this chalice to bring a glimmer of that warmth into our space.”
Wildflower lessons (and carols, first verse sung by bouquets of people).
Thrilling Trillies–
- I bet some of you knew Elwood Fisher, who wrote the book entitled “Thrilling Trillies”, about our famous wildflowers in the Shenandoah Valley. He explained that we casually call members of the Lilium family “lilies”, so we ought to be able to call the Trillium family, “trillies”. Some are blooming now on the Blue Ridge Parkway and at Hone Quarry, and I hope you get to see them.
- We have several types of trillies here, all wild, many infrequent or rare, each with their own stories, like this one from my patch – called Toadshade Trillium. I think a toad would love to hide under here.
- but I have brought just one representative story today. (At this point, I held up a pretend fruit, with 3 seeds, and told the story of the nine years it can take for a trillium to produce a flower. First, ants have to carry the seed away to their larder,usually in a hollow tree. They eat the delicious coating on it, and the seed waits for moisture to germinate. In year one, there may only be one tiny radical or root. Year 2, maybe a little larger, Year 3, perhaps a tiny leaf, but still nothing shows to us. Year 4, maybe a little larger leaf, year 5, larger still, year 6 the 3 leaves that make it look like a familiar trillium. Depending on the species, year 7 to 9 may produce a flower, which then needs to be pollinated by a particular fly (If a lighter colored trillie), or beetle (if a darker color). If all of this goes well, not only may we see the lovely flower by a rotting stump, but there could be a seed for the ants to start the next generation.
- We all think of ourselves as the trillium flower, but – just as important, sometimes we’re the ant, sometimes the beetle, sometimes the fungus breaking down the hollow log. All part of that flower each time. That’s a UU principle of Interdependence
Hymn 77: Seek Not Afar for Beauty. Joanna, LeeAnna, Merle, Sarah
Sunflower –
- Sunflowers are native American flowers, known since 4000 BC in Central America. They were brought to Europe by the Spanish, especially for the oil in their seeds. Lots of types, and they really do follow the sun when they are buds.
- Long history Czech national flower – grown for oil on the plains – funny how it’s always oil we need: whale oil, olive oil, petroleum, and sunflower oil. See Russian giant
- 100 years ago, Dr. Norbert Capek was a Unitarian minister in the city of Prague, Czechoslovakia, which was occupied by the Nazis in WWII. Until he died at Dachau, he steadfastly insisted that warmth and kindness will blossom, and that goodness has deep roots and will always prevail. He influenced thousands of people with the beauty of his ideals, including the Flower Communion that he originated, symbolizing the light and color and fragrance of many creeds, many cultures and many races joining together in a bright living bouquet. He was right, and the Flower Communion lives on today.
What seems most fragile and perishable is the most persistent and enduring.
- UU Principal of Pluralism, both from Sunflowers an Dr. Capek
- Lore: If you sleep with a sunflower under your pillow, you will know the truth about all things in the morning.
(I also showed a photo of current practice in Slovakia, where tending the flowers in church cemeteries was the only public gathering allowed when they were part of the USSR. As more and more flowers were needed in cemeteries, it just took a long time every Sunday to tend them. This was where civic discourse and politics could occur. They continue this practice, recognizing how important it is to gather.
Hymn #78 Color and Fragrance, writing by Dr. Capek. – All carolers
Dandelion –
- clearly a dangerous immigrant, and a threat to our American lawns, right? True or False:
Do Dandelions crowd out the grass and ruin your lawn?
False. They actually aerate the soil, bring up nutrients and actually fertilize your grass, it’s an earthworm elevator. Roots up to 15 feet long, can live 5 years, If you feel you must get rid of them for your neighbors, just Let your grass grow long, and they will be shaded out.
- Dandelions were invited guests from the Mediterranean, Cultivated for 1,000 years, brought by the first colonists as a medicinal plant. Their name “Taraxacum” means remedy, and “Officinalis” means pharmacists use it. Dandelions have greater nutrition with more vitamins than anything you currently grow in your vegetable garden. Lore: If you rub a dandelion all over, you will be welcome everywhere, and all your wishes will come true.
- UU principal = generosity
Hymn 76: For Flowers That Bloom About our Feet. Martha, Rich, Elizabeth, Joanna
Nature’s invention of flowers changed the world. Only after flowers and seeds evolved could there be insects to attract and birds to share the bounty. It was flowers that made it possible for warm blooded mammals to survive, with the great boost of energy from nectar and fruit and grain.
Flowers are still changing the world, as plants take in our carbon, reclaim and stabilize the landscapes we disrupt, and even provide superblooms we can see from space.
If you think about the proposed Unitarian Universalist flower motif, maybe our flower lessons might encourage us to change the world too.
UU Core value petals of the new flower.
Trillium = Interdependence
Sunflower = Pluralism and Justice
Dandelion = Generosity
Extinguish the Flame – Nancy Barbour
Closing: Whenever Dr. Capek conducted his Flower Communion in Prague. he would say this proverb as he “consecrated” 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.”
Flower Communion : each person in the sanctuary chooses a new flower from our congregational bouquets, and stands in a circle around the sanctuary for our Sending Forth music. The children present their flower garland, which is hung over the doorway.