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An unlit chalice on a church altar

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.

LEADER RESOURCE 2 Rituals to Welcome a New Child
a medieval window from the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland, depicting the Nativity
Islamic prayer beads or Subha inside the Süleymaniye Moque (Istanbul).
An altar filled with candles, photos, and flowers

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  • A black-and-white photograph of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911), standing with her two hands resting on the back of a chair.
    Justice, simple justice, is the right, not simply of the strong and powerful, but of the weakest and feeblest of all God’s children.
    Quote | By Frances Ellen Watkins Harper | June 6, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Compassion, Human Rights, Justice, Worship
  • chalice at St. Cloud UU Fellowship
    May we be kind in our speaking, thoughtful in our deliberating, and never stray from the love that binds us together.
    Opening | By Linda Hart | June 6, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Community, Covenant, Democracy, Governance, Interdependence, Leadership, Service, Teamwork, Work, Worship
  • A black-and-white “Black Lives Matter” flag flying on a short flagpole being carried by a Black person with glasses and a procedure mask, in a march. The flag is the central part of the image, with the person's head, blurry, just visible in the lower left as they pass by the viewer.
    This ritual is written for a congregation to bless a Black Lives Matter banner and raise it on their church building. It could easily be adapted for rededication of a banner, or for other banners that a congregation might display on their building to declare their values.
    Ritual | By Allison Palm | June 6, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Community, Conscience, Human Rights, Inclusion, Juneteenth, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Power, Pride Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Worship
  • A nonbinary teen--white, with freckles and shoulder-length brown hair--holds a camera up, partially obscuring their face, as they look at the photographer.
    Being nonbinary has finally brought me home to myself.
    Reflection | By Mare Martell | June 5, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #LGBTQ, #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Discernment, Gender, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Searching, Self-Respect, Transformation, Wholeness, Worship
  • A black and white photo of eight hands of various ages and colors resting on top of one another.
    A universalist God for a tragic era is not a gauzy, hymn-singing force of personal devotion that draws us endlessly toward itself, but a fierce and compelling power that grips us by the collar amid our rebellious descent and calls us to choose the will to mutuality…
    Quote | By Nancy McDonald Ladd | May 31, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Conscience, God, Interdependence, Love, Universalism, Worship
  • A woman with long hair, mostly in silhouette, holds a sparkler near the camera. The camera is focused mostly on the bright red and yellow sparks, with the woman behind them slightly blurred.
    The essence that is you—that spark of life, is in your body; is of your body; and it is—you are—divine.
    Opening | By Gwen Matthews | May 30, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Humanism, Sacred, Worship
  • A fabric rainbow tote bag dangles from someone's hand. They're standing on a sidewalk, wearing trousers, visible only from the hip down.
    My queerness is about mindset and attitude and intention.
    Reflection | By Paige Getty | May 29, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, Worship
  • Close up of person resting their chin on their hands and looking off into the distance to our left. The scene is lit in black light, which makes glitter makeup on the person’s head and neck fluoresce in yellows and reds.
    This glitter that we share with each other today is a reminder that each of us is beautiful in our sacred imperfection, our ever-changing selves, our glorious plurality.
    Ritual | By Hannah Roberts Villnave, Kayla Parker, Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | May 23, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Gender, Identity, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Playfulness, Pride Sunday, Respect, Sexuality, Wholeness, Worship
  • In profile, a person prays: their eyes are closed, and their forehead rests on their clasped hands.
    I have often felt the divine most present when I feel dissolved into a holy community.
    Reflection | By Julie Yeeun Kim | May 22, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • An elderly woman wearing a paing-spattered apron sits in front of an easel, smiling, as she paints a beautiful landscape.
    It takes a community to remember someone in all of their many facets.
    Reflection | By Aaron Stockwell Wisman | May 15, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • An infant, lying on a bed and swaddled in a blanket, has their hand held by an adult. Their hands and part of their torso are all we see.
    Dear world, how does love right now move me to action?
    Reflection | By Sarah Pirtle | May 8, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Patience, Worry, Worship
  • An adult’s hands gently resting on the bare feet of a child, on a clean white sheet. The adult and child have brown skin, and the adult’s nails are painted coral.
    We come into consciousness in the middle of the story...
    Prayer | By Linda Hart | May 3, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Birth, Compassion, Family, Generations, Grace, Gratitude, Grief, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Worship
  • A person is curled up, sleeping on a slab of cardboard, with a bag and cup next to them. They're on a sidewalk near a busy street with traffic and pedestrians.
    Harm of one is harm of all.
    Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | May 1, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Compassion, Connections, Direct Experience, Empathy, Ethics, Humanism, Interdependence, Poverty, Privilege, Responsibility, Secular, Suffering, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    The patchwork quilt of our theological heritage is torn and fraying in places, and it is stunningly vibrant in others. Some sections have been mended or wholly replaced… As we mature spiritually as a tradition and as people, we develop our capacities to be with the broken and the beautiful…
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Beauty, Brokenness, Growth, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    There is a mandate emerging from our theological heritage to dismantle the structures and systems which silence, harm, and exploit human beings and the varied ecosystems of our planet…
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Equity, Justice, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    In an era when it is becoming clear that industrialized nations under a system of global corporation-controlled capitalism need to change quickly and dramatically for the benefit of all life, we will be called to experience generosity, gratitude, and hope in new ways.
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Change, Generosity, Gratitude, Hope, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    Our religious communities at their best are places where we grow our capacities to be with experience in all its complexity and paradox, to listen deeply to one another, to allow ourselves to be seen and held in love, and to respond creatively and collectively.
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Community, Creativity, Empathy, Listening, Love, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    The religious responsibility of the faithful is to remove and dismantle the systems and structures that prevent the full flourishing of life and to enhance and side with the movement of creative and active love.
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Justice, Love, Responsibility, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    We declare that there are many paths to the sacred. We hold fast to the notion that one religion does not hold all the truth for all time, not even Unitarian Universalism. We maintain that a free, open, and respectful dialogue is one of the primary ways our theological perspectives evolve and grow.
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Pluralism, Sacred, Truth, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    … increasing religious plurality in our congregations has brought in perspectives and practices from earth-based religions of many kinds, amplifying an understanding of humankind as one part of a great interconnected web of all existence and deepening our humility and reverence for the web of life.
    Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #UUAGA, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humility, Pluralism, Reverence, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism