The story of the Flaming Chalice is a touchstone of our faith - sacrifice and zealous effort on behalf of refugees from war.

The Unitarian Service Committee (now the UUSC in Boston) came into being in 1939 when a small group of Unitarians decided that they had to witness to their convictions regarding human dignity. They formed an organization similar in dedication and principles to the American Friends Service Committee.

In dealing with refugees from countless war-torn European nations, it was soon apparent that a logo which could identify the USC was needed to bridge the language gulf.

An Austrian refugee, Hans Deutsch, who lived in Paris until France was invaded in 1940, fled to Portugal and there joined the staff of the USC for a period of six months as Secretary and Assistant to Dr. Charles R. Joy, the Executive Director of the Unitarian Service Committee.

Dr. Joy asked Deutsch - a musician, craftsman and artist - to design an appropriate emblem for the Committee. Thus, the flaming chalice was born - a symbol that is frequently recognized throughout the world as the emblem of Unitarian Universalists.

This symbol atrracted a young Jewish refugee from Czechlosvakia, Lotta Hitschmanova, who later founded USC Canada based on the USC model and her experience as a refugee within that model.

It is amazing what can happen when people try to help others - the flame is passed along.