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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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12
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We are an angry and beautiful people.Reflection | By Laura Solomon | June 1, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Brokenness, Connections, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Fear, Humanism, Love, Suffering, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
God of our hearts, God of our understandings, God who gives us hope and inspires us to commitment, God who commands us to remember: We come together today with hearts contrite and broken; We come together with minds awake, comprehension striving against incomprehension; We come together in hope...Prayer | By Paul Oakley | August 3, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, God, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Judaism, Solidarity, Suffering -
This is a prayer for when words fail, for when they are not big enough or small enough to slip into the little cracks left in our hearts by life’s unbearable pressures....Prayer | By Leslie Takahashi | July 17, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Community, Disaster or Crisis, Fear, Hope, Power, Suffering, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
As the news cycle brings us images of terror and heartbreak once again, We grieve together As each of us faces into this new level of horror, We grieve together As we remember other moments of pain, fear, and loss, We grieve together Yearning for an end to violence and suffering, We grieve togeth...Litany | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | December 8, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Brokenness, Community, Connections, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Healing, Solidarity, Suffering, Unitarian Universalism -
It is always good to give thanks! All that we have is a gift from life: our food, our relationships, our shelter from the cold. And when we give thanks, it is always good to be mindful of all people, and notice those who are suffering and do what we can to ease suffering and change its causes....Opening | By Myke Johnson | November 23, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Gratitude, Healing, Justice, Spiritual Practice, Suffering, Thanksgiving, Vulnerability, Wholeness -
Let us enter into a time of meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Feel the earth beneath your feet as it supports you. Feel the love of this community as it surrounds and enfolds you. Feel your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Listen to your heartbeat. Listen to your heart . . ....Meditation | By Thomas Rhodes | April 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Compassion, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Healing, Hope, Love, Suffering, Wholeness -
On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, we remember those who have been murdered for being who they are, those who face violence on a daily basis, those who have lost loved ones, and those who worry for loved ones. May we come to a time when we cease to shame children around gender roles and...Prayer | By Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe | February 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Gender, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Suffering, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Violence, Wholeness -
Today we gather with determination and commitment that is grounded in a profound sense of sorrow for those who have suffered and will suffer in the future because of climate change. As always, those who suffer most are the poor and marginalized....Prayer | By Peter Morales | February 18, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Disaster, Mourning, Solidarity, Suffering, Climate Justice -
Note: Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) 2016 begins in the evening of Wednesday, May 4 and ends in the evening of Thursday, May 5. This week holds the annual observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah. Jewish communities prefer not to call the dreadful events of the 1930's and...Ritual | By Mary Wellemeyer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Grief, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Hope, Human Rights, Judaism, Responsibility, Suffering
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Holy One, We are on our knees In awe and supplication For we have remembered the incomprehensible value Of every human life. We have heard the thrum of helicopter blades And wailing sirens. We have smelled the ash and smoke....Prayer | By Sue Phillips | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Compassion, Death, Despair, Disaster, Disaster or Crisis, Good, Kindness, Suffering
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Sometimes I feel like a motherless child... Here may you find a warm greeting a kind word a gentle touch Sometimes I feel like I have no friend... Here may you find a community of support a pulse of liberation a vision of hope Sometimes I feel I am almost gone......Opening | By Amy Bowden Freedman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Despair, Friendship, Juneteenth, Kindness, Suffering
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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