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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Holding people accountable for the impact of their behavior is not revenge; it’s what makes change and growth possible, and no real healing in community can come without it.Reflection | By Kristin Grassel Schmidt | January 13, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: America, Conflict, Democracy, Disaster or Crisis, Forgiveness, Humanism, Redemption, Responsibility, Seven Principles, Universalism, Worship -
May this chalice light guide us toward the courageous and openhearted apology, toward repair of relationships in our lives.Chalice Lighting | By Joanna Lubkin | October 1, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Judaism, Relationships, Sacred, Yom Kippur, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Love cannot be bought or sold; it does not make a profit. Love does not hide from truth. Love dives deep. Love takes on flesh. Love is queer. Love is platonic. Love is erotic. Love is asexual. Love confronts evil. Love delights in pleasure. Love touches and weeps and flirts and feeds and creates.Affirmation | By enfleshed | January 21, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Humanism, Intimacy, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Relationships, Secular, Valentine's Day -
Every year, I tell the congregation not to worry about mistakes because there aren’t any; there is only us, telling an old story about love getting born into this aching world.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | December 18, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Love, Playfulness, Tradition, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism -
We pray to you, Mother Earth, with gratitude For your holding and sustaining love For the air, water, and soil that feed us For the mountains and rivers and oceans that calm our spirits For loving and supporting all beings and all creation. We pray to you, Mother Earth, with humility Help us to...Prayer | By Lucy Bunch | June 20, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Beauty, Connections, Courage, Discernment, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Interdependence, Paganism, Strength -
This group blessing is designed to be shared by many voices or read by just one. Alex suggests creating an altar with a chalice and testing supplies (which are then distributed to students as they need them). Speaker 1: We have come to the end of the quarter/semester/year. An end to these classes.Blessing | By Alex Haider-Winnett | June 19, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Bridging Ceremony, Challenge, Choice, Commitment, Direct Experience, Education, Forgiveness, Friendship, Growth, Responsibility, Secular, Wisdom, Worth -
In the days ahead, many of us will gather with family and friends, people with whom we may have long and complicated relationships. It helps to prepare. Let us enter into the spirit of prayer or meditation. Dear Spirit, Great Mystery that has blessed us with Life, help us to feel grateful....Prayer | By Susanne Intriligator | June 18, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Challenge, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Forgiveness, Healing, Humanism, Mother's Day, Searching, Secular, Thanksgiving, Tradition -
We gather with a hunger for reconciliation. What is done cannot be undone. What is done next must now be done with care. We gather because we are hopeful, Because we have visions and dreams of a brighter future. That there may be more than vision in this room, These are the wounds we must heal...Prayer | By Anne Barker | August 22, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Beginnings, Community, Forgiveness, Healing, Indigenous Peoples Day, Listening, Peace, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
This Releasing of Covenant was created to end the final worship service of a settled ministry. Minister: For [number] years you have offered me your free pulpit and the freedom of creativity in worship, gifts for which I’m grateful. I hereby return the ministry of worship to your able hands. Use...Ritual | By Tess Baumberger, Erika Hewitt | August 5, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Ending, Forgiveness, Leadership, Letting Go, Ministerial Transition, Unitarian Universalism -
One: It may be the hardest thing we will ever do, Many: Caught up in our self-righteousness, honing our pain. One: The one who offended may not deserve forgiveness Many: And we are not obliged to offer it. One: Why, then, should we forgive? Many: Because we have all caused pain....Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | July 3, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Fire Communion, Forgiveness, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Letting Go, Limitations, New Year, Spiritual Practice, Transformation, Yom Kippur -
Open your hearts, my friends, And let yourself feel the reality of absence. Open your hearts, and acknowledge That we gather in the presence of death. Open your hearts. Make room For the healing balm of connection, the release of forgiveness. No matter what pain dwells within your spirit, Or how...Opening | By Maureen Killoran | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Forgiveness, Grief, Healing, Love, Memorial Services, Mourning, Relationships, Sorrow, Unitarian Universalism -
I am ever grateful for the friends who are my family; who have pieced me together each time I’ve fallen apart; who laugh, cry, dream, and age happily by my side.Reflection | By Marisol Caballero | December 28, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Family, Fathers, Forgiveness, Generations, Humanism, International, Mothers, Secular -
For those we have hurt in any way, whether through words or deed or thoughts. Here is a place to forgive and to be forgiven. For the excuses we have made, just to be right. Here is a place to forgive and to be forgiven. For the blame we have placed on someone else, again and again....Litany | By Cathy Cartwright-Chow | September 29, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Community, Forgiveness, Grace, Healing, Judaism, Relationships, Responsibility, Rosh Hashanah, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, Yom Kippur -
Imagine this. On the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, every fall, every year, the people make their peace with anyone they have wronged or slighted or injured or in any way neglected in the past twelve months....Meditation | By Victoria Safford | June 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Brokenness, Forgiveness, Healing, Judaism, Relationships, Wholeness, Yom Kippur -
This piece can be read as a meditation, or used as a litany, in which the congregation responds to each line (in unison), "We ask a blessing on this day." In one way or another, each of you was born of a mother. Because we are human, it's likely that your relationship with that mother is, was, or...Litany | By Maureen Killoran | June 3, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Brokenness, Children, Compassion, Conflict, Family, Forgiveness, Healing, Hope, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism, WorshipWeb -
For all who left a relationship in order to save your heart, may your own heartbeat be your blessing. Its rhythm, its particular kinships, its unique rhythm. May you know your own heart as God's blessing....Blessing | By Meg Riley | May 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Body, Brokenness, Conflict, Direct Experience, Division, Divorce / Separation, Forgiveness, Life Transition, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Self-Respect -
Let us tell the stories of mothers… stories that could be true. Let us tell of warm mothers, soft and round, likely to be found with flour on their nose, and always ready to pour you a glass of milk to go with the cookies on your plate. These mothers are increasingly rare. Let us tell of mothers...Meditation | By Maureen Killoran | May 5, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Family, Forgiveness, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Relationships, Secular -
For decades prior to my mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, we had suffered a strained relationship born from her alcoholism. When I learned she had Alzheimer’s, my hope for forgiveness and reconciliation drained away, along with her cognitive abilities. But the world of Alzheimer’s teems...Reading | By Jade C. Angelica | April 18, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Aging, Caring, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Forgiveness, Mother's Day, Mothers, Transformation -
Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love, Spirit of Generosity, As we draw near to that quiet essential side of ourselves, may we open enough to consider the sacred choices we make each minute, each hour, each day that add up to a lifetime. Let us become aware that here is the place to be forgiven, and to...Prayer | By Katie Kandarian-Morris | November 18, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Forgiveness, Grace, Inclusion, Yom Kippur -
We light this flame As our fervent plea to brighten the dark corners of our hearts; We hold this flame For in it is the promise of warmth for souls grown cold in loss and despair; We kindle this light That we might continue to find comfort in its warmth; strength in its light; holiness in its...Chalice Lighting | By S. William Feiss | November 10, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Animal Memorial, Death, Día de los Muertos, Forgiveness, Healing, Love, Meaning, Memorial Services, Purpose, Sacred, Samhain, Sorrow, Strength, Truth -
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 -
Image | By AmyBeth Gibbs | September 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Forgiveness, God, Judaism, Love, Rosh Hashanah, Tradition, Wonder, Yom Kippur -
Holidays are complicated, especially the ones named after roles. Human relationships are messy, including relationships with people who are honored by holidays. For a lot of people, Father’s Day brings up feelings of grief for fathers who were lost, or who couldn’t be there, or who chose not to...Prayer | By Lyn Cox | May 6, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Forgiveness, Healing, Humanism, Men, Parents, Relationships, WorshipWeb -
Forgive me dear father For all the trouble I caused The missed curfews The missed classes Your unfulfilled dreams for me Forgive me dear father But your dreams are not my dreams Forgive me dear father And I will forgive you For missed moments That you sacrificed So that one day I could follow my...Poetry | By Jay Wolin | April 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Father's Day, Fathers, Forgiveness, Generations, Love, Pain, Parents, Relationships, Wisdom, WorshipWeb -
Great Spirit of Life, as a new year begins, we turn inward to reflect about the state of our lives: What lessons have we learned in the past year and which new ones now call us forward? To whom do we still owe an apology or expression of thanks? And with whom must we draw fresh boundaries? As we...Prayer | By Kate Lore | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Community, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Judaism, New Year, Paganism, Power, Relationships, Rosh Hashanah, Searching, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
Note: This ritual involves writing grievances on a piece of paper and casting them into a flame. All our lives we have been told to seek that which is good, to turn our faces from the dark and toward the light, toward beauty, toward truth. But the truth is that the world is not always good. The...Ritual | By Jay E Abernathy, Jr | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Forgiveness, Letting Go, Vulnerability, Wholeness, Yom Kippur
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The Woman Who Outshone the SunThe Legend of Lucia Zenteno Characters Narrator Lucia Zenteno (older child or adult) Iguana (small child) Water (several) Fish (several) Otters (several) Townspeople-elders and children (several) Props Long, flowing, bright skirt with pinned on flowers and butterflie...Story | By Nancy Jilk | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Diversity, Earth Day, Forgiveness
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As the year winds down to its close And we are submerged once again In the seasonal darkness we have come to know so well, We have reason to think back upon the year that was, If only because it will soon be gone....Meditation | By Mark Stringer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Honesty, Letting Go, New Year, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
We light our chalice, symbol of our faith, For truth, sought through a questioning heart and an attentive mind; And for love, pursued through obstacles inside and outside our own human heart; And for forgiveness, and all it entails— The place where truth and love meet and merge.Chalice Lighting | By Vanessa Rush Southern | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Forgiveness, Healing, Hope, Judaism, Living Our Faith, Love, Relationships, Searching, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability, Yom Kippur -
(May be read responsively) For every time we make a mistake and we decide to start again: We light this chalice. For every time we are lonely and we let someone be our friend: We light this chalice. For every time we are disappointed and we choose to hope: We light this chalice.Chalice Lighting | By Maureen Killoran | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Beginnings, Community, Compassion, Forgiveness, Healing, Letting Go, Meaning, Relationships, Sorrow, Unitarian Universalism, Yom Kippur -
The Book of Life is open before us. It tells stories of sadness and happiness, despair and hope, stagnation and change, and a peaceful stillness that transcends both. May you be written in the Book of Life....Closing | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Freedom, Judaism, Letting Go, Rosh Hashanah, Transformation -
I don't know about you, but I'm a little bit skittish about holidays that seem to have originated with the greeting card people. That's not true, in fact, of Mother's Day....Ritual | By Barbara Child | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Reconciliation
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Advent, adventus, means waiting. And the holiday season is nothing if not waiting—to get done the chores; to find the right gift; to find time for quiet moments; to accept that our loved ones will not be as we wish them to be....Chalice Lighting | By David Breeden | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Forgiveness, Generosity, Hope, Justice, Love, Patience, Peace, Strength, Winter, Wisdom -
Great Rainbow Arch your bright light your seven colours your cool dew link sky and earth above the Christmas stable. Hold us all in your encompassing arms. Forgive our exclusion of others earth and life and child. So may we too forgive those who have excluded us. Save us from the darkness of deep...Meditation | By Andrew M Hill | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Earth, Earth-Centered, Forgiveness, Nature, Presence, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule