Flame and Flower
Jarmila Plotěná
Lighting and extinguishing of the chalice suitable for a Flower Communion.
Lighting:
What do the flame of a candle and a flower have in common? Barely appearing, they attract eyes entirely unwittingly because they bring change. The flame shines with light, the flower with beauty – let us accept their message. Let us bless beneficial light and bless beauty… Let us be together present at the Ceremony of Unity in Diversity. Let us always consciously be present in the sanctity of everyday life.
Extinguishing:
Let us bring awareness into the ordinariness of everyday life, that every moment is sacred! Today, the flame has shone with light, the flower with beauty – let us accept their message.
Sunflower
Karel Hašpl
Responsive reading suitable for a Flower Communion
The symbol of our community is the flower – the sunflower. It always turns towards the sun.
To light, to the sun, to truth, and to God, we also turn.
Just as the sun gilds our world with its rays so that every flower can show itself in its beautiful attire in the light, so too do we want to bring light and warm rays of love into the world around us through our efforts.
Let us contribute to revealing this world not in shadow and darkness, but in brightness, sunlight, and hope.
There is no need to create doctrines and dogmatic sacraments. The sacrament is life itself! By seeking wisdom and consciously adjusting segments of life, let us seek to illuminate and sanctify the whole of life, so that from the days of birth to the days of departure, it shines with sunlight, brightness, and purity!
That is our spiritual path.
Like sunflowers, let us turn to the sun, the symbol of the highest and most precious thing one can have in life.
To light, to the sun, to truth, and to God, we also turn.
We Bless the Flowers
Words and Music by Ladislav Pivec
Written directly for the Flower Communion services. While a community of blesses the flowers, thereby they also receive blessings from the flowers. Available only in the Czech language.
Sheet music in PDF format
Bring a Flower to Us
Words and Music by Ladislav Pivec
Written directly for the Flower Communion services. Everyone is invited to bring a flower and thus participate in the creation of a spiritual community. Available only in the Czech language.
Sheet music in PDF format
O Colors, Fragrances
Words and Music by N. F. Čapek A song often sung at Czech Flower Communions. From the smallest to the largest, everything is a part of our world, in which we participate simply by living. Behind everything, we can sense and perceive the creative force of the universe and all existence.
Sheet music in PDF format
In You, Little Flower of God, I See Myself
Words by Bohdana Hašplová, Music by N. F. Čapek
The celebration of unity in diversity through a Flower Communion offers a deep personal experience, which is emphasized in this song.
Sheet music in PDF format
My Life Is Made Worthwile
This text was written by Čapek on March 31, 1942, in the Dachau concentration camp. It was preserved by his daughter Zora, who was imprisoned with him. The music was composed by Petr Samojský.
Sheet music in PDF format
International Flower Communion
Music for Choir, Orchestra, and Organ
Composed by the Czech composer and organist Karel Loula A recording of music composed for the annual Unitarian Flower Communion, which we celebrated as part of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Czech Unitarianism. When listening, you cannot help but feel like you are traveling in time, tasting the atmosphere of the 1920s when Czech Unitarianism was born.
Autumn of Life
A puppet film based on the life of Norbert Fabian Čapek. The film was created on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Czech Unitarianism, and as a tribute to N. F. Čapek for his unwavering will and sacrifice of his own life.