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 Resources (check out the 2021 resources 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 2023 theme is Demilitarization & Abolition: Resist Policing and Empire.

United Nations Day is October 24, the date the UN Charter was signed in 1945. Many congregations have their UN Sunday service near that date. Other significant days you could consider: International Day for Tolerance on November 16, Human Rights Day on December 10, World Day of Social Justice on February 20, Earth Day on April 22, or any day that works for your congregation.

UN Sunday Resource Packet

United Nations Sunday resources for 2023 are available now!

"Demilitarization & Abolition: Resist Policing and Empire" (Google Doc)

Additional Resources

• About United Nations Sunday: Learn about UUism at the United Nations and why we celebrate on UN Sunday.
• Map of UN Sunday services: Seek inspiration from congregations that have held UN Sunday services in prior years, and add your congregation's service to the map!
• Planning a UN Sunday Service: Check out this checklist of worship planning to-dos, as well as guidance for choosing the date for your service.
• ​Timeline for UN Sunday Service Planning: Find a suggested timeline for holding an October service; if your UN Sunday service falls at a different time of year, simply adjust accordingly.
• ​​Sixth Principle Congregation Award: If you take a special collection during your UN Sunday service to support the UU@UN, you're close to becoming a Sixth Principle Congregation!

Prior Years' UN Sunday Packets

• 2022: "Displacement and Human Rights: All in for Climate Change (Google Doc)"
• 2021: "All In for Climate Justice: Food Equity and Sustainability (Google Doc)"
• 2020: "All In for Climate Justice: People, Power, Planet (Google Doc)"
• 2019: "Equity in Action: Gender in an Intersecting World (PDF)"
• 2018: "When Crisis Calls: Advancing Just Migration for All (PDF)"
• 2017: "Arm in Arm: Interfaith Action to Disarm Our Planet (PDF)"