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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I pledge allegiance to the earth on which I stand, and to the environment of which I am a part, one planet in a Process, with soil, water and air like one body, indivisible, with resources to be cherished and protected by all.Reading | By Vern Barnet | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment
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Emmanuel means "God is with us." Who is your Emmanuel? Who is your "God is with us," the one you were promised, the one you have been waiting for? For the ancient prophet Isaiah, he was a boy soon to be born who would guide the people of Judah back to peace and harmony with God....Meditation | By Sarah Movius Schurr | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beauty, Belief, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, God, Listening, Searching, Tradition, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
The world now has the means to end extreme poverty, we pray we will have the will. What is this prayer about? The Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations in 2000 to address issues like extreme poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, women’s health,...Meditation | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Poverty, United Nations Day
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Spirit of Life, You call us to embody equity and freedom in our lives.Meditation | By Eric Cherry | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Compassion, Courage, Disaster or Crisis, Human Rights, International, Leadership, Oppression, Peace, Power, Solidarity, Suffering, Wisdom -
We reflect in thanksgiving this day for all those whose lives have nurtured ours.The life-giving onesWho heal with their presenceWho listen in sympathyWho give wise advice ......Meditation | By Victoria Weinstein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Mother's Day
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We invoke thy gentlest blessings, God, on all true lovers. We praise thee for the great longing that draws the souls of two persons together. We thank thee for the revealing power of love, and the glory of joyous celebrations. We thank thee for the universal ritual of sharing—sharing of love, and...Prayer | By Bettye A Doty | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Family, Friendship, Joy, Love, Table Grace, Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies
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We gather this morning in celebration and appreciation. We rejoice in those true treasures and gifts of life that are beyond any price. We rejoice especially in the children of our church, for their music and their words, for their laughter and their song, and for the bright joy of their very...Meditation | By Sheldon W Bennett | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Flower Communion
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Trees of Earth let bud your leaves let them open wide let them gently fall in annual cycle. Let fallen leaves make soft bed for Jesus at his birth and may leafy humus make renewal of our humanity....Meditation | By Andrew M Hill | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas
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Thou who art the soul and heart of life, save us from fear—the fear of days and nights yet to be, the fear of the known and the unknown, the fear that builds high walls around our spirits and our lives, the fear that closes in and envelops us, the fear that nibbles at the edges of every...Meditation | By David A Johnson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Compassion, Courage, Despair, Discernment, Doubt, Faith, Fear, Freedom, Hope, Palm Sunday, Salvation -
The stone has got to be rolled back from the tomb again and again every year. Roll up your sleeves. He is not coming back, you know....Meditation | By Victoria Weinstein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Easter
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Spirit who is all things to us; Presence in which we live and move and breathe and have our being: What a gift to be here together, sharing our food, our spirit, ourselves! We ask no blessing upon this food, nor upon ourselves, because the blessing is always here, if we but pay attention....Prayer | By Elizabeth L Greene | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Body, Food, Friendship, Gratitude, Table Grace
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Spirit of life, You've been a father and mother to us all We enter into this time of silence and reflection With mixed emotions. This is mother's day—a day set aside to honor, celebrate, and in some cases, simply to reflect on those women who gave us birth. Some of us come to this day with joy,...Meditation | By Kathleen Rolenz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Mother's Day
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Spirit of Life, How easy it is to speak your name and offer this prayer at this season of re-birth and renewal!! The spirit of life is everywhere, evident in each new bud and shoot. We pray that our lives may be blessed with that same renewal we see all around us in nature's annual celebration....Meditation | By Wayne B. Arnason | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Easter
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For their service and their sacrifice, we pause in the silence of memory and respect.Meditation | By Wayne B. Arnason | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Memorial Day
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Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in the ongoing song of life that is within us and around us....Meditation | By Kathleen Rolenz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Easter, Justice, Love, Peace, War
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Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in your ongoing creation around us and within us. We come to rejoice, but we come with burdens of sorrow and pain, of shame and fear, of false obligation and false pride. On this Easter morning may we discover a joyous and courageous...Meditation | By Ruth E Gibson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Calling, Character, Creativity, Easter, Hope, Power
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Spirit of life, we are joined today in a moment of gratitude for a perfect fall day -- for a last blaze of sunshine in a sapphire sky, before the rain and snow -- for gold and crimson leaves, before we are mired in piles of slush -- for the moment of peace and contemplation in which to appreciate...Meditation | By Kerry Meuller | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Fall
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Spirit of Life, The beginning of the holiday season is filled with temptations to conspicuous consumptions, and pleas for generosity. The contrasts between the values represented by this time of year, and our ability to fulfill them, remind us how great the distance can be between aspirations and...Prayer | By Wayne B. Arnason | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Balance, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Hanukkah, Patience, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability, Winter Solstice / Yule
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Spirit of Life, Known to us in many ways, but so often, in so many cultures, in the image of a mother, Hold us in your arms this day. Let all that we value and all that we hold dear in the images of motherhood we carry be our guide. We are grateful for all the parents that share the community of...Meditation | By Wayne B. Arnason | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Mother's Day
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Spirit of Life, known to us in beginnings and endings, In possibilities and promises We give thanks for all that has led to this moment, And all that is yet to come. We give thanks for those who mentored us— The women and men in our lives who were our teachers, Who said the turning words of...Prayer | By Kathleen Rolenz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Generations, Installations, Leadership, Ministerial Transition, Purpose, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Vision, Work