United Nations Sunday

International Engagement & Building Peace

Share information about your congregation's UN Sunday service! Share your event here.

What is UN Sunday?

United Nations Sunday celebrates the work of the United Nations and your Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations (UU@UN). Each year we encourage congregations to have a service and/or event to celebrate! We create a collection of UN Sunday Resource (check them out below) which highlight our suggested theme and provide readings, an RE curriculum, planning timeline and checklist, order of service (including hymns), and more! Our UN Sunday theme is based on the April Intergenerational Spring Seminar topic. The 2020 theme is All In for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet.

As UN Day is October 24, we invite you to hold the 2020 service and/or event on Sunday, October 25. If this date in unavailable, try another weekend in October or another date that works for your congregation.

Additionally, we ask congregations to dedicate their UN Sunday offering to support the work of the UU Office at the United Nations. We depend on individual and congregational support to keep this work going.

UN Sunday Resources

We encourage Ministers, Lay Leaders, as well as Youth and Adult Envoys to use our prepared materials and/or develop your own ideas for a UN Sunday service.

Many resources for UN Sunday 2020 are now available! Click through to access the resources; additional pages will be added as they are finalized.

UN Sunday: Celebrating the Unitarian Universalist - United Nations Connection: This section provides an overview of how to use the United Nations Sunday resources, what the United Nations is all about, and what to know before starting to plan your service.
- About United Nations Sunday 2020: Learn about UUism at the United Nations and why we celebrate on UN Sunday, especially in 2020: the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the UN.
- Map of UN Sunday services: Seek inspiration from congregations that have held UN Sunday services in prior years.
2020 Theme "All In for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet": This section provides information about this year's theme and can be used as inspiration when writing a sermon or reflection.
- Climate Justice at the United Nations: Learn what the UU Office and others in the UN system are working on to further the cause of Climate Justice.
  - Climate Justice and the Sustainable Development Goals
  - Climate Justice and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Climate Justice and Unitarian Universalism: A discussion of the theological grounding for UU climate justice work and organizations doing the work.
- UU@UN Intergenerational Spring Seminar: Use resources from our 2020 Seminar on the same theme before, during, and after your UN Sunday service.
- Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Concrete suggestions for congregational action to engage with the UN Sunday theme.
- Suggested Resources for Additional Learning and Action
Planning your UN Sunday Service: This section includes a checklist and other resources to guide clergy and laypeople in putting together a UN Sunday service.
- Timeline for UN Sunday Service Planning: The suggested timeline is created for an October service; if your UN Sunday service falls at a different time of year, simply adjust accordingly.
- Sample Order of Service: Suggested readings, hymns, and more for a UN Sunday service on this theme.
- UN Sunday Religious Education: Suggested stories and activities. Please work with the religious educator in your congregation to craft a lesson that will work well.
  - Activities and Curricula for UN Sunday RE
Beyond UN Sunday: Stay involved with the UU@UN beyond United Nations Sunday.
- Blue Ribbon Congregation Award: If you take a special collection during your UN Sunday service to support the UU@UN, you're close to becoming a Blue Ribbon Congregation; take a few more actions and you're there!
- Dana McLean Greeley Sermon Competition: Submit your UN Sunday Sermon or address that speaks to the work of the UN and/or UU@UN on climate justice.
- About the UU@UN: Learn more about ongoing programs of the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations.
  - UU@UN Program Areas
  - How the UU@UN Works at the UN

Resources from Prior Years' Themes

A resource packet is created each year by the UU@UN to help congregations plan a UN Sunday service pertaining to that year's theme. While some of the information may be out of date, you may find these resources useful:

2019 UN Sunday Packet (PDF): Equity in Action: Gender in an Intersecting World

Some additional resources for 2019 UN Sunday that didn't fit in the packet:
- The Gender Unicorn graphic from transstudent.org: The graphic can be filled out online or printed out. Individuals mark where they land on each scale of identity, expression, attraction, and etc.
- Handout from UNICEF USA on UNICEF’s Role in Combatting Discrimination and Violence Against LGBTIQ People
- Further Engagement to Achieve Gender Equity in an Intersecting World

2018 UN Sunday Packet (PDF): When Crisis Calls: Advancing Just Migration For All

Some additional resources for 2018 UN Sunday that didn't fit in the packet:
- Lovingkindness Meditation for Refugees (PDF)
- Resources from the UN Refugee Agency:
  - Photos of Refugees from UNHCR
  - Resources from UNHCR for teaching kids of different ages about the refugee crisis
  - Videos from UNHCR that will change the way you see refugees
- Contact The Hymn Society to request free access to "Singing Welcome: Hymns and Songs of Hospitality to Refugees and Immigrants"

2017 UN Sunday Packet (PDF): Arm in Arm: Interfaith Action to Disarm Our Planet

2016 UN Sunday Packet (PDF): The Colors of Inequality: Costs and Consequences

2015 UN Sunday Packet (PDF): International Criminal Justice: From Punitive to Restorative

Part 1: UN Sunday: Celebrating the Unitarian Universalist - United Nations Connection

These resources are created by the Unitarian Universalist Office at the UN to help UU congregations plan a worship service that honors the work of the United Nations, particularly addressing this year’s theme, All In for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet.
Part 2: 2020 Theme "All In for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet"

Use these resources to educate yourself on this year’s UN Sunday theme, All in for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet. Included in this section are details about Climate Justice at the UN, Climate Justice and Unitarian Universalism, and suggested congregational actions to further climate...
Part 3: Planning a UN Sunday Service

The following guide to planning a United Nations Sunday at your congregation is adapted from the work of Sylvia Heap (longtime Envoy at All Souls UU Church in Watertown, NY), who has been planning these services for over 40 years. The UN Sunday theme follows our Spring Seminar theme, which this...