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Girls lighting a chalice at the General Assembly Opening Ceremony.

About the Chalice

A flame within a chalice (a cup with a stem and foot), represents the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and is a symbol of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Read more about the history and symbolism of the flaming chalice.

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  • The left hand of a person with brown skin is resting, palm-up, on a patch of green grass that fills the frame of the photo. A portion of a map is superimposed on the hand, but not the grass, giving the impression that the map has been drawn or tattooed on the hand.
    May this flame remind us of the connections that bind us to Unitarian Universalists around the world…
    Chalice Lighting | By Connie Simon | April 21, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Connections, Globalism, Hope, Interdependence, Love, United Nations Day, Worship
  • A small bird, with a mostly-yellow chest and blue, white, and black head, clings to a rusty vertical chain with links about one-fifth the size of the bird.
    As we light this chalice, let us remember those who came before us: our LGBTQ+ ancestors.
    Chalice Lighting | By Tyler Boyle | April 21, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Courage, Generations, Grief, History, Human Rights, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Living Our Faith, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Worship
  • Against a black background, a match held horizontally ignites. Smoke surrounds it, lit with blue light so that it is visible against the background.
    We kindle light, and with it, possibility…
    Chalice Lighting | By Irene Glasse | April 20, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Change, Growth, Imagination, Interdependence, Mystery, Transcendence, Worship
  • Frederick Franck’s sculpture “Seven Generations.” The sculpture consists of six consecutively smaller metal sheets standing upright in a straight line. The outer edge of each dark gray sheet is in the form of a simplified human silhouette, but inside each sheet there is a smaller cutout in the same shape, through which the next sheet is visible. The smallest sheet does not have the interior cutout, but instead has a red shape representing generations yet unborn.
    Each Sunday we light the chalice of our religious heritage. We do this for our ancestors… We do this for our children… We do this for ourselves…
    Chalice Lighting | April 7, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Children, Connections, Generations, History, Journey, Parents, Tradition, Worship
  • Against a black background, a the outline of a heart shape made by a person moving a pink sparkler while the camera’s shutter is open for a long exposure.
    With the lighting of this flame let us shine upon the hearts of all those who suffer, who yearn, and who crave the joyful noise of community–all Beings, not one left behind.
    Chalice Lighting | By Sangye Hawke | March 10, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Hope, Inclusion, Joy, Worship
  • Cracked safety glass with a spider-web shatter pattern, with light reflecting off some of the surfaces.
    The chalice is a symbol of our faith: Like our faith, it is not magic nor is it mysterious. We light it as a reminder of what we share as a community and of who, each of us, is called to be.
    Chalice Lighting | By Pat Uribe-Lichty | January 13, 2026 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Calling, Commitment, Community, Courage, Despair, Faith, Fear, Hope, Worship
  • Close-up of an orange Iceland poppy with textured petals and yellow stamens against a black background.
    In this circle, we honor the courage it takes to live openly, the softness that sustains us, and the joy and power that grow when we gather.
    Chalice Lighting | By Jami Yandle | December 6, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Change, Coming Out, Courage, Gender / Sex Change, Honesty, Joy, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Power, Pride Sunday, Resilience, Transformation, Truth, Worship
  • An abstract photo showing reflections of orange and blue light in small droplets of water, giving the impression of fire and water combined.
    Fire lifts us up and invigorates us with purpose, while Water helps us settle down into being.
    Chalice Lighting | By Sage Phipps-Hinkle | December 3, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Change, Creativity, Nature, Water Communion, Worship
  • A low-angle shot of a wet gutter and curb in a city at nighttime. We see the colorful, out-of-focus lights of cars, traffic light, and building windows, as well as their reflections on the damp ground.
    Not every sanctuary has walls—some are stitched together from longing, kindness, and sheer survival.
    Chalice Lighting | By Craig Rowland | November 19, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Interdependence, Reverence, Sacred, Worship
  • A heart, carved into the light grey wood of a tree trunk, with its interior dyed pale red.
    You deserve a place that welcomes your becoming, that knows your fire is not too much, your silence not too little.
    Chalice Lighting | By Craig Rowland | November 19, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Community, Empathy, Grief, Growth, Healing, Hope, Interdependence, Vulnerability, Worship
  • Against a deep black background, swirls of smoke are illuminated by red and purple lighting, creating an abstract pattern.
    This ritual of our faith reminds our subtle-and-crashing-about beings that we are part of a collective— a community of care and connection, courage and questions, scared and sacred together.
    Chalice Lighting | By Deanna Vandiver | August 29, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Connections, Courage, Creativity, Sacred, Worship
  • Swirls of red, orange, and yellow light against a black background, giving an impression of fire.
    Guide us all to a Wild and Holy vision of our shared humanity.
    Chalice Lighting | By Shawn Gibson | May 19, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Change, Growth, Sacred, Transformation, Worship
  • The famous “blue marble” photo of the Earth from space taken by the crew of Apollo 17. Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Madagascar, and Antarctica are visible behind some cloud cover, as well as the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic.
    We light this chalice for the Earth, of which we all are part / Encendemos este cáliz por la tierra
    Spanish | Chalice Lighting | By Adena Dannouf, Tania Y Márquez | January 31, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, Nature, Worship
  • A black-and-white photo of a large adult hand, open and facing upward, with a lit tea light in its palm.
    As we light this chalice, may each breath remind us of the sacred rhythm of life, the pulse of creation, and the power we hold to shape the world around us.
    Chalice Lighting | By Craig Rowland | January 30, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Community, Courage, Despair, Fear, Healing, Love, Spiritual Practice, Strength, Transformation, Truth, Worship
  • A long-exposure photograph showing a trail of sparks in the shape of a heart, against a background that is mostly darkness. The person holding the sparkler is just barely visible as a reddish blur behind the sparkler’s trail, which repeats the heart shape four or five times in roughly the same location.
    Love begets love, and it is love that lights our chalice.
    Chalice Lighting | By anastasia birosh | January 27, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Freedom, Love, Worship
  • At night, from the vantage point of a dark stretch of beach, there are three light sources visible: On the left there is a lighthouse, shining bright streams of light in several directions; on the right, the moon glows behind a light cloud cover; and in the middle, we see fainter light from several houses farther down the coast. The foam from the sea is also visible, and shows the shoreline stretching in a straight line from the lower right of the photo to the houses in the middle of the photo.
    We cannot know what all the year may bring, and would we heed the prophecy if we could?
    Chalice Lighting | By Mary Shelden | December 10, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Equity, Generations, Justice, Love, New Year, Worship
  • A glass ball, held in a person’s hand at the sea shore, acts as a lens and shows an inverted image of the sea and the sunset sky. The image in the glass ball is sharp and in focus; the actual sea and sky, visible around the ball, is out of focus.
    As we light this chalice, we kindle the spirit of the great turning: the movement for justice alive in this nation today. May we feel it in our bones, and in the stillness of this hour, may we sense it calling our name.
    Chalice Lighting | By Lisa Garcia-Sampson | September 13, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Community, Democracy, Generations, Hope, Justice, Love, Politics, Worship
  • Four people celebrating with arms raised, seen in silhouette against the sky. The sun is centered behind them, and the sky’s colors range from blue to pink.
    We are whole and holy; we are loved beyond all measure. And in our refusal to accept anything less, may we know we are rooted in the infinite divinity.
    Chalice Lighting | By Jami Yandle | August 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Body, Freedom, Gender, God, Imagination, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Wholeness, Wonder, Worship
  • The Milky Way in the night sky near the horizon, with one end aligned with a tree visible in silhouette.
    We light this chalice to ignite the divine spark of the universe, whose pronouns have always been plural…
    Chalice Lighting | By Jami Yandle | August 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Gender, Imagination, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Wonder, Worship
  • A lily blossom, with pale violet leaves and yellow stamens, floats in a pond. Our view is from directly above, and in the water around the blossom we see the reflection of the concentric circles of the frames supporting the glass roof of a greenhouse.
    We light this flame to remind us: Love is the center. As we grow and connect, mature and deepen: Love is our center. When the light of truth burns all else away: Love endures.
    Chalice Lighting | By Eric Hepburn | July 17, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Connections, Growth, Love, Sacred, Truth, Worship