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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Overview: Harvest, Balance, and Mulching for Spring Theme or Background: Equinox/Harvest Time Materials involved: Apples for folks to share, paper leaf cutouts, pens, bowl of water, bell or gong Details: Opening Words: Robert T....Complete Service | By Austin Putman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Balance, Contemplation, Earth, Earth-Centered, Food, Nature, Paganism, Samhain -
"Whatsoever you wish that others do unto you, do so to them; for this is the Law of the Prophets."—Matthew 7:12 I should probably get one thing clear at the outset: I don’t claim to know much about stability, much less to possess it. In fact, when I think about what I’ve experienced in life,...Sermon | By John A. Buehrens | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Commitment, Grace, Strength -
"When we seek wisdom," says one Native American spiritual leader, "we go up on the hill and talk to the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka. Four days and four nights, without food and water. And we listen. And God speaks." Roy Phillips, minister of the Unitarian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, writes about...Reading | By John A. Buehrens | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Contemplation, Searching, Solitude
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I have a story to tell you, about the less-than-triumphal first appearance I made in a pulpit. I was a first-year seminarian, doing my field work at the old First Parish in Lexington, Massachusetts. When they invited me to preach my first sermon on such an important day as Palm Sunday, I was...Sermon | By John A. Buehrens | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Christianity, Failure, Forgiveness
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When we remember those whom we have loved and lost, help us to remember also, O God, how great a privilege is human loving, and that not to have loved at all would have been loss far greater still. Amen. “What’s a soul?” Not a question Unitarian Universalists ask very often. We are more likely...Sermon | By John A. Buehrens | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Grief, Growth, Healing, Purpose, Solidarity
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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 -
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'Thank You,' it will be enough" — Meister Eckhart Today we have set aside time to publicly say thank you to our siblings who have served in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy and Marines; to say 'Thank You' to all who served, whatev...Meditation | By Wren Bellavance-Grace | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Democracy, Healing, Service, Veterans Day, War
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One snowflake is a marvel, a miracle; Four snowflakes, five, and the kids begin to run around in the yard One hundred and the cars start slowing down; One thousand, two...you can see where this is going....Closing | By Erik Walker Wikstrom | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Power, Purpose, Strength, Unity -
In 1935, a US government truck pulled up to my grandfather’s house, a two-room sharecropper’s shack in which sixteen people lived. They were starving to death. Not malnutrition. Starvation. The truck brought surplus food, which on that particular visit consisted of a gallon of mustard. My father...Sermon | By David Breeden | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Human Rights, Labor Day, Money, Poverty, Work
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"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America..." "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!..." 1 "Sisters are we, Spurs always true, our hearts ring out for the yellow and blue..." "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both..." 2 A...Sermon | By Leslie Becknell | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Faith, Spiritual Practice, Unitarian Universalism
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A Sermon for First UU Church of New Orleans and Community Church of New Orleans Sunday, August 27, 2006 First Presbyterian Church The clouds gather and the rumbling is enough to unsettle anyone....Sermon | By Marta I. Valentín | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Diversity, Generosity
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Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere; its temple, all space; its shrine, the good heart; its creed, all truth; its ritual, works of love; its profession of faith, divine living.Reading | By Theodore Parker | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Faith, Unitarian Universalism
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A few summers ago my wife Suzanne and I took our son Christopher gem mining in the mountains of North Carolina. We mounded a pile of mud and dirt, got a sifter, and began sifting through the soil in search of treasure. Liberal religious education is like gem mining. In a Unitarian Universalist...Meditation | By Christopher Buice | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Children's Sabbath, Education, Teacher Dedication
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Adapted from Flower Sunday, 1969 On a day such as this may a great change come upon us. The sounds we have been hearing have been discordant; the sights we have been seeing have been violent; the words we have been reading have been hateful. All this has been wearying, discouraging and distracting.Meditation | By William B Rice | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Flower Communion
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First, let me bring you greetings from the larger family of faith of which you are a part. The Unitarian Universalist Association is the coming together of, now, 1055 free, liberal religious congregations in North America....Sermon | By William G. Sinkford | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Class, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation
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God of our hearts, that which enlightens and ennobles us, we come together in a unity of spirit to celebrate a personal commitment of these young men and women. We join in thanksgiving....Meditation | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Coming of Age
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For any of the components, below, you might insert other options from WorshipWeb's resources -- or write your own!...Complete Service | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Children, Coming of Age, Faith, Family, Generations, Growth, History, Parents, Unitarian Universalism
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We are here today to recognize the completion of your program of study for this Coming of Age ceremony and to celebrate with you the faith you have come to accept through this year of questioning and investigating. Some of you were brought to a Unitarian Universalist church to be Dedicated and...Opening | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Coming of Age
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Two women, thin, one small, one gray-haired, sit side by side on a high-backed bench. The smaller one leans against the other, lays her head atop the other’s shoulder, wraps her arm around the other. The one wrapped around, leaned against and onto, sits upright. The smaller one sits up also, but...Meditation | By Nancy Shaffer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday
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Now, go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage. Prove all things and hold fast that which is good. Amen.Closing | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Coming of Age