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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Introduction to a New Orleans Jazz Funeral Welcome to a new tradition for our church—a New Orleans-style jazz funeral for the old year. This service offers opportunities for reflection on the past year, a chance to “bury” whatever that was negative or hurtful to us in 20xx, and looks forward...Ritual | By Melanie Morel-Ensminger | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hope, Letting Go, Memorial Services, Mourning, Multiculturalism, Remembrance Day, Wholeness, Multiculturalism -
Recorded music (e.g., Mozart's Requiem; Arvo Pårt's Lamentate) will be playing as the background. Spoken introduction as people prepare to walk in silence: Let us open our minds and hearts to the power of healing that is in us and in the world around us....Ritual | By Melanie Morel-Ensminger | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Christianity, Disaster or Crisis, Earth, Environment, Grief, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Climate Justice
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Spirit of Life, hold us in our pain and comfort us in our grief. Our grief feels boundless; our rage eats at us. We feel pain for all the wild creatures of the Gulf and the wetlands....Meditation | By Melanie Morel-Ensminger | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Earth, Environment, Grief, Secular, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness