Unitarian Spiritualities

Unitarian minister Cliff Reed provides a succint summary about Unitarian spiritualities in his book Unitarian? What's That? He writes: "Within the Unitarian historical tradition there have been many strands. These include deeply devotional Christian and Theistic forms, as well as a strong belief in the necessity of reason. Religious humanism has also played its part, by locating the focus of spiritual concern wholly in our life in this world rather than in realms or beings deemed supernatural. Another long-standing, and now resurgent theme, is that of nature or the creation as replete with spiritual significance." 

In other words, Unitarians are free to recognise the Spirit or the path to the Spirit where they will - in God, in other human beings, or in the natural world. Or in all of them. In the first half of the 20th century, following on from Martineau, much emphasis was laid on the primacy of reason and conscience. But in the last 50 or 60 years, many Unitarians have moved away from this purely rational approach to the Spirit, and towards a more right-brain, intuitive, mystical approach. Meditation has become much more commonplace among us, both in church services, and also for personal devotion. Workshops are held to explain and allow people to experience different spiritual practices - prayer beads, lectio divina, journalling, different kinds of prayer, Taizé chanting, Dances of Universal Peace - the list is endless. A certain amount of ritual has crept back into our services, which the Rational Dissenters of another age would have frowned upon. Some churches hold short communion services at particular times of the year; others celebrate the Pagan festivals connected to the wheel of the year - the solstices, the equinoxes, and Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain. I believe that this has added immeasurably to the richness of Unitarian worship.

One ritual which the vast majority of Unitarian chapels and churches observe weekly is the lighting of the chalice flame. The chalice represents the Unitarian community, and the flame can represent various things: freedom, truth, liberty, spirit. Some also light Candles of Joy and Concern regularly, which give the congregation a chance to participate in the service. And there are special Unitarian communion services, which we have imported from Unitarian traditions elsewhere in the world. Many British congregations hold an annual Flower Communion service, for example, which involves bringing a flower with you, that has some meaning for you, and taking home another, that someone else has brought.

John Midgley explains: "The Flower Communion Service originated in the Czechoslovak Republic before the Second World War. Rev. Dr. Norbert Capek, a former Baptist minister and journalist, who founded the Unitarian Church in Prague in 1921, felt that the traditional Christian Communion Service, with bread and wine, was unacceptable to many of the members of his congregation because of their strong reaction against the Catholic faith. So he turned to the native beauty of their countryside for elements of a new communion, which would be genuine to them. It became one of their most significant services and was soon introduced in other Unitarian congregations."

So these days, it may be said with some truth that Unitarians connect with the Spirit in many different ways. And that is good.