BBUUC’s Annual Family Easter Service & Flower Communion
Jennifer Bacmeister & Claudia Marshall, Worship Co-Leaders
Beth Curtis, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
Gary Smart, Pianist
Timothy Edwards, Violinist, Guest Musician
Our Family Easter Service will include the traditional Flower Communion, a joyful Unitarian Universalist ritual that celebrates renewal, beauty, and the strength of our shared community. Please bring a flower for yourself and each family member. It may be a favorite bloom from your yard, your garden, or any other source. During the service, we will place our flowers together in a shared vase, creating a vibrant bouquet that reflects both the diversity of our congregation and the renewing beauty of nature that Easter and spring invite us to celebrate.
Following the service, children are invited to join us for an Easter Egg Hunt on the church grounds, followed by a potluck luncheon in the sanctuary. Kids,bring your Easter baskets for the festivities. Adults, please bring a favorite dish to share (see the sign-up sheet at church). Easter bonnets are warmly welcomed—but entirely optional!
About the Flower Communion:
The Flower Communion is an annual Unitarian Universalist ritual that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. It was created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and later introduced to the United States by his widow, Rev. Maya Čapek. In this ceremony, each person brings a flower and places it in a shared vase. The congregation blesses the flowers, and they are then redistributed, so that everyone leaves with a different flower than the one they brought, symbolizing both our individuality and our deep connection to one another.
Don’t forget to bring your loose change (or extra paper money) for our monthly “Pennies from Heaven” collection! Our second-quarter recipient of your “Pennies from Heaven” donations is “Everypet” (formerly “First Coast No More Homeless Pets”), which helps keep pets with the families who love them by making veterinary care affordable, providing emergency pet food, and offering low-cost spay-and-neuter services. Their work saves thousands of animals each year—including more than 8,000 cats—from entering shelters or facing euthanasia.
About our Guest Musician
Timothy Edwards began his violin studies in the public schools of Detroit before studying at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM). He has performed extensively, holding positions as section performer, principal, and concertmaster at the DesMoines Metro Opera, Flint Symphony, Toledo Symphony, with substitute positions with the Detroit Symphony and Jacksonville Symphony. Timothy enjoyed a vibrant teaching studio of gifted young musicians and has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Florida State College of Jacksonville. He currently serves as soloist and chamber music collaborator on the staff of four churches in the Jacksonville area; and holds the position of Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville, a primarily volunteer organization which provides free concerts to the greater Jacksonville community.