According to the Unitarian Universalist Association website,

"'At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many congregations light a flame inside a chalice. This flaming chalice has become a well-known symbol of our denomination. It unites our members in worship and symbolizes the spirit of our work.' -Dan Hotchkiss

Hans Deutsch, an Austrian artist, first brought together the chalice and the flame as a Unitarian symbol during his work with the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II. To Deutsch, the image had connotations of sacrifice and love. Unitarian Universalists today have many different interpretations of the image. To many, the cup represents religious community, while the flame represents ideas including the sacrificial flame, the flame of the spirit, and more."

A chalice is lit at the beginning of a Unitarian Universalist service and extinguished at the conclusion of the service. Our parish also has a children's chalice; this is lit by one of our younger parishioners before the children go downstairs for Religious Education.

Chris and I discussed the popular ceremonial aspects of contemporary wedding ceremonies. Chris wasn't interested in unity candles, pouring sand into glass bottles, water ceremonies, wine ceremonies, or handfasting. I agree.

The only two ceremonies that appealed to both of us are the ring ceremony and the lighting of the chalice. We've asked our friend Emily, a fellow UU, to light our chalice during the ceremony.

I glazed this chalice last week. We'll use it in our ceremony. It's the first time I've used traditional pottery glazes, and Chris likes the way it turned out. It is just large enough to fit a tealight. :)