Unitarian Universalists honor and celebrate a wide range of holidays and occasions over the course of a year. Unlike other faith traditions that use a single lectionary (a collection of scripture readings appointed for a given day or occasion), the topics and themes for Unitarian Universalist worship services are usually chosen independently by worship leaders in congregations. These include unique UU traditions, like the Flower Ceremony, as well as holidays from other faith traditions, such as Christmas or Beltane.
View and download the 2023-24 UUA Worship Calendar (PDF), which includes faith-based and secular holidays that UU congregations often celebrate. The calendar also includes monthly worship themes used in popular theme-based ministry programs. To download or print, follow the link and use the File menu, then select the Landscape layout option.
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"Our children did not get their wounds alone. They were created by the actions of our family, our communities and our world. They were created by the things we choose to believe in, the causes we chose to champion and the despair we chose to neglect....Quote | By Yolo Akili | November 4, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Child Dedication, Children, Community, Family, Generations, Healing, Humanism, Love, Parents, Responsibility, Seven Principles, Wholeness -
For all who die in war We lift up our hearts For all who live in suffering in the aftermath of violence We lift up our hearts For all who give their lives in smoke and flame We lift up our hearts For all who go on in honor of the dead We lift up our hearts For all who have served We lift up our...Prayer | By Amy Petrie Shaw | October 30, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Brokenness, Buddhism, Christianity, Conflict, Direct Experience, Islam, Judaism, Memorial Day, Pain, Peace, Reconciliation, Religion, United Nations Day, Veterans Day, War, WorshipWeb -
O God of many names, the personal and mysterious, We have come to a quiet time, an interior place, a place for the deepening of spirit, the enrichment of soul. We seek to know ourselves by knowing you....Prayer | By Katie Kandarian-Morris | October 29, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Coming Out, Faith, Integrity, Mystery, Trust, Vulnerability -
Let us wake up. Not just from the Sunday morning exhaustion, from the wish for a few more drowsy minutes in bed. Let us wake up to this world we live in: to its beauty and wonder, and also to its tragedy and pain. We must wake up to this reality: that not all in our world have what we do, however...Opening | By Christian Schmidt | October 29, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Challenge, Direct Experience, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism -
As we begin to settle to a deeper more inward place; to be fully present right now in this place made for head and heart together; we might begin to feel how our own bodies are not only flesh and blood — but skeleton bones as well. No matter how old we are, no matter how we move from place to...Meditation | By Katie Kandarian-Morris | October 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Souls Day, Awe, Body, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Nature, Playfulness -
As the first hint of green begins to peek through the barren ground As that little sprig grows into a healthy stem As that stem grows into a stalk and forms a bud As that bud slowly opens with each new day To form a yellow daffodil Let us be, like that first hint of green, renewed by the warm of ...Chalice Lighting | By Jennifer McGlothin | October 20, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Awe, Beauty, Beginnings, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Easter, Flower Communion, Growth, Health, Interdependence, Nature, Secular, Spring, Unitarian Universalism, Vernal Equinox -
Under the wide sky, upon this earth the feet will dance of children stretching, swinging, leaping in joy, challenging themselves with new achievements as the years go by. Memory of goodness is made in such moments as this place will bring. May those who play here feel cared for and filled with life.Blessing | By Emmy Lou Belcher | October 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Body, Building/Space Dedication, Challenge, Children, Community, Generations, Gratitude, Growth, Home, Joy, Playfulness -
We gather this afternoon, under this sky with these clouds and sun, connecting with this earth, which nourishes and supports us, to dedicate this natural playground. New things need to be recognized and appreciated – that’s what we do with a dedication. To dedicate means to set something aside...Blessing | By Jonalu Johnstone | October 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Body, Building/Space Dedication, Children, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth, Friendship, Gratitude, Joy, Playfulness
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We, all of us, build houses for our dreams.. The masonry and lumber, glass and tiles, A solid form, wherein we see our hopes, A shelter and protection for our growth....Blessing | By Dori J. Somers | October 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Building/Space Dedication, Community, Courage, Dignity, Direct Experience, Growth, Home, Hope, Inclusion, Integrity, Love, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
In Jewish tradition, the four chapters of the Book of Jonah are read aloud at Yom Kippur. Jonah is a minor prophet in the Hebrew Bible but he has a big message. Some of you may know his story. Jonah is sent by God to Nineveh to warn the people that if they do not change their ways they will be...Story | By Joanne Giannino | September 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anger, Community, Compromise, Forgiveness, God, Good, Judaism, Transformation, Yom Kippur
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Image | By AmyBeth Gibbs | September 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Forgiveness, God, Judaism, Love, Rosh Hashanah, Tradition, Wonder, Yom Kippur -
We enter this meeting house for kindness and comfort. May rough-worn hands and aching backs be healed. We enter this meeting house of hope for equality. May those who labor to survive live to know justice. We enter this meeting house of love and vocation. May our bonds of solidarity be strengthened.Opening | By Megan Visser | September 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Justice, Labor Day, Work, Worth, WorshipWeb -
And so we gather, from the ebb and flow of our lives Thirsty for connection to ourselves Thirsty for connection to others Thirsty for connection to the larger life. As we light this chalice May all who gather here be filled: Filled with joy and hope Filled with compassion and love Here, may we be...Chalice Lighting | By Gregory Pelley | September 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Agnosticism, Body, Community, Compassion, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth, Homecoming / Ingathering, Hope, Humanism, Joy, Love, Nature, Searching, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, WorshipWeb -
This water is sacred. It is made sacred by the many hands that have poured it with intention and love, the many stories that each drop contains, the many lives surrounding it in this unique moment, connected by commitment and faith. This water is sacred. May it continue to flow through this...Litany | By Ranwa Hammamy | September 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Diversity, Earth, Hope, Nature, Relationships, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, WorshipWeb -
As drops of rain that find each other and build to become a track, a rivulet, a stream, a river, a sea, so are we drawn together; so are we fortunate to find each other; so are we bound together, on this shared passage toward an unknown ocean and eternity.Affirmation | By Elizabeth Lerner Maclay | September 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Homecoming / Ingathering, Nature, New Member Ceremony, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Water Communion, WorshipWeb -
Now the autumn shudders In the rose's root, Far and wide the ladders Lean among the fruit. Now the autumn clambers Up the trellised frame And the rose remembers The dust from which it came. Brighter than the blossom On the rose's bough Sits the wizened orange, Bitter berry now; Beauty never...Poetry | By Edna St. Vincent Millay | August 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Beauty, Death, Earth-Centered, Fall, Humility, Samhain -
#BlackLivesMatter Let the only burning be the fire of commitment in our hearts, minds, hands, spirits in our community of faith. Live solidarity. Use your voice. Demand justice... better, live it into being. Cry out for others to join you. Name hate as hate—without shrinking back without...Poetry | By Jeannie Shero | August 11, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Change, Direct Experience, Honesty, Humanism, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Oppression, Power, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
The following is a creative format for a water communion, but most other worship elements have been removed to highlight they way that the communion is structured. Note: this service, as written didn’t include a Joys and Sorrows component; its creator hoped for the larger container of the water...Ritual | By Darcey Elizabeth Hegvik Laine | August 6, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Water Communion
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What does “fair” mean? Is “fair” the same thing as “equal”? Which one is reflected in the concept of “justice”? Designed to be used as a Message for All Ages or as part of a Children's Chapel service, this activity uses cookies (yum!) to explore the differences between fair and...Activity | By Erika Hewitt | August 3, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Equity, Food, Justice, Playfulness, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Seven Principles -
This charge was written to be led by several voices: one person says a line, and then all in attendance respond, “We charge you to engage.” Because your congregation is located in one of the poorest cities in the nation in the richest state per capita in the country We charge you to engage...Litany | By Cathy Rion Starr | June 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Faith, Humanism, Installations, Justice, Oppression, Ordinations, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism