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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To me democracy is an exciting, living practice, what we do every day. To most democracy doesn’t relate to our daily lives and it sure isn’t much fun. I now see that to engage in democracy, to jump into this living practice we all need something tangible to act on... Because food is our most...Quote | By Frances Moore Lappe | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Democracy, Direct Experience, Food, Food Justice, Meaning -
Moses was a rancher. Long before he became a famous Biblical patriarch who led his people to freedom from slavery, he was a simple rancher. And this simple rancher was tending his flock on the side of a mountain one day circa 1527 BCE, when he came upon a small forest fire—a burning bush. He was...Sermon | By Ana Porter | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Conscience, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Living Our Faith, Money
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To water in excelsis. In vino veritas. As the Son of Man (or, Jesus) came eating and drinking and made friends with the people of the earth regardless of social distinction or class, let us strive to do likewise in our own eating and drinking, thinking and speaking, living and acting....Closing | By Richard M Fewkes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Community, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Friendship, Gratitude -
We gather to be together,We gather to celebrate and to support our beloved communityWe gather to commune in body as well as in spirit.Let us share both the food and the fellowship we find here tonight.Meditation | By Katie Stein Sather | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Food Justice
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I want to tell you right up-front that I am unabashedly pro-life. I am also unashamedly pro-abortion. What I am not is unequivocally running for political office! Now, some of you might consider my reproductive platform to be oxymoronic. The fact is that many of us find ourselves in this place of...Sermon | By Cynthia Frado | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Compassion, Discernment, Reproductive Justice, Sexuality
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It is 2 a.m. I am sleeping in the chaplain’s on-call room at an inner city hospital. My room hovers over the Emergency Entrance and the darkness is punctuated with sirens and lights. It is my night to be available for those unexpected things that happen in the night. But, unlike most of my calls,...Sermon | By Krista Taves | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Grief, Reproductive Justice, Rights
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After I graduated from college, I worked for Planned Parenthood for several years. Most days, I walked through protestors to get to work. They usually carried crosses and said things like, "Jesus will forgive you if you repent for your work." It turned out that the most revolutionary thing I did...Sermon | By Lisa Sargent | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Human Rights, Reproductive Justice
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As we leave this hallowed place, may our feet remember its feel, So that wherever we walk, we know ourselves to be on hallowed ground. May we know that we are kin with every soul, every star, every stone and leaf of grass. And may our words be gentle and our touch be kind. Blessed be.Closing | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Reverence
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A former South African paramilitary commander looks across his dining room table into the interviewer's camera. He is in his early sixties, overweight, with short gray hair. He wears glasses and a polo shirt. It's late morning. He explains: "We were at war. We believed that if the Blacks were...Sermon | By David Schwartz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Conscience, Dissent, Spiritual Practice
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This service was written for a Children’s Chapel of children and youth from preschool to eighth grade. It could be adapted for an all-ages worship service.Complete Service | By Kathy Underwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Spiritual Practice, Spirituality
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For five thousand years, or more,more than two hundred fifty generations,human beings have been invoking spiritual power.My predecessors, and yours,have gathered togetherto make sense of their livesand their place in the cosmos.And they have spoken aloud,and invited what they conceived as sacred ...Opening | By Matthew Johnson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Generations, History, Indigenous American, Meaning, Mystery, Power, Purpose -
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 -
"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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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 -
Why Christmas? Especially to one who doubts? Are you not being hypocritical? Unitarian Universalists, with their penchant for secular humanism are fond of arguing the validity of Christmas: Is it a Christian holiday? A pagan holiday? A secular holiday?...Opening | By Lenny Scovel | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas
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On a foggy Christmas Eve, Santa realized Rudolph could make the difference in guiding the sleigh.Meditation | By Edward Harris | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Secular, Service, Teamwork
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Advent, adventus, means waiting. And the holiday season is nothing if not waiting—to get done the chores; to find the right gift; to find time for quiet moments; to accept that our loved ones will not be as we wish them to be....Chalice Lighting | By David Breeden | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Forgiveness, Generosity, Hope, Justice, Love, Patience, Peace, Strength, Winter, Wisdom -
Now is the moment of magic, when the whole, round earth turns again toward the sun....Meditation | By Victoria Safford | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Hanukkah, IllUUmination, Kwanzaa, Love, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
"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
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"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