Holidays and Traditions
From time to time, our services incorporate holiday celebrations, multigenerational plays and pageants, longer musical performances, child dedications, and coming-of-age ceremonies. We offer childcare and learning programs for children and youth during the Sunday service.
Some of the annual traditions celebrated by the UUCC are listed below.
Flower Communion is an annual ritual that is held in the spring that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Capek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Maya Capek, Norbert’s widow. In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower. Each person places a flower on the altar or in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, and they’re redistributed. Each person brings home a different flower than the one they brought.
The Bridging Ceremony is held in late-May and celebrates the transition of our youth from their high school experience into young adulthood. One of the most important things we do for our youth is to support them into adulthood, keeping them connected to Unitarian Universalism.
The Water Communion was first used at a Unitarian Universalist (UU) worship service in the 1980s and the UUCC holds its Water Communion once a year at the conclusion of the summer. Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources.
A Dedication to our CYRE Teachers is held each September to express our appreciation for the work that they do with our beloved children. While appreciate their time, talent, and passion that they bring to our Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) program, we often don’t express our gratitude enough, We use this opportunity to share our congregation’s heartfelt thanks for all they do to open hearts and minds, and share their love and commitment.
The Cornbread Communion is a tradition in our congregation where we express our appreciation and gratitude for our community, our tremendous abundance, and our freedom. Normally, during the Sunday before Thanksgiving, members and friends are invited to pick up a cornbread muffin and a cup of apple juice, return to their seats, and hold them until the entire congregation joins together to eat the cornbread and drink the juice.