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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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Displaying 1 - 20 of 1085

  • A clean, empty, brown paper cup photographed against a nondescript grey background.
    During your congregation’s water ceremony, UUs for Justice in the Middle East invite you to place an empty paper cup next to the congregational vessel in solidarity with Palestinians.
    Ritual | By Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) | August 28, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Freedom, Human Rights, Justice, Oppression, Peace, Solidarity, Trauma, War, Water Communion, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A white person’s hand with its fingers dipping into shallow water, with sand and rocks beneath.
    A water communion liturgy that asks that we listen for God’s voice in the waters.
    Ritual | By M Jade Kaiser | August 28, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth, Earth Day, Environment, Interdependence, Nature, Responsibility, Reverence, Water Communion, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Two children in silhouette against a dark, stormy sky. The children are facing one another, and the taller one holds an umbrella over them both.
    You are now holding in your heart a precious commodity. Someone trusted you with what was irking them, what brought them joy, what enraged them, what frightened them, what moved them, or simply, what is.
    Benediction | By Rumni Saha | August 21, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community Ministry Sunday, Ministerial Transition, Ministry, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • An egret takes flight from marshland near still water. The bird’s reflection is visible.
    Give thanks for all the waters that be—for bays and gulfs and shining seas!
    Responsive Reading | By Patricia Montley | August 20, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth, Environment, Interdependence, Nature, Water Communion, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A tree trunk rising out of leaf-covered ground. Further behind, we see a small stand of similar trees, and beyond that there is a lake.
    We honor all our beloved dead whose bodies have returned to the earth, the earth that is our home. We honor their lives which shaped our own. We honor their love, which is beyond death. We honor their teachings, which teach us still.
    Litany | By Elizabeth Bukey Saunter | August 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Death, Earth, Interdependence, Memorial Services, Mystery, Nature, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Four people celebrating with arms raised, seen in silhouette against the sky. The sun is centered behind them, and the sky’s colors range from blue to pink.
    We are whole and holy; we are loved beyond all measure. And in our refusal to accept anything less, may we know we are rooted in the infinite divinity.
    Chalice Lighting | By Jami Yandle | August 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Body, Freedom, Gender, God, Imagination, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Wholeness, Wonder
  • A small copse of oaks in a light misty fog. There are still some green leaves on the trees, but the ground is covered with brown fallen leaves.
    High up, the wild geese have pulled the rusty doorway of Autumn closed behind them, their sharp music a choir of deep acoustic truth.
    Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | July 31, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Autumnal Equinox, Earth, Earth-Centered, Fall, Nature, Winter, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A photo captures a sky, a Black person's upraised fist, and a cardboard sign (as if at a protest) that says, "Freedom Day Juneteenth"
    Let us rejoice for those who safely passed through the shades of night towards the daylight of freedom.
    Prayer | By Addae Ama Kraba | July 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Freedom, History, Juneteenth, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • a translucent bowl of water, from above, holds a small sunflower blossom
    The water of tears, the water of cleansing and renewal, the water of nourishment, and the water of change.
    Ritual | By Madelyn Campbell | July 1, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Change, Grief, Healing, Nature, Water Communion, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • The Juneteenth flag: A solid white five-pointed star on a field of blue and red. The border between the blue top half and the red bottom half is an arch that passes through the center of the star. The five-pointed star is surrounded by the outline of a larger 12-pointed star.
    May we remember the atrocities that brought us here.
    Prayer | By Ali K.C. Bell | June 30, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Freedom, Generations, History, Honesty, Juneteenth, Race/Ethnicity, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A large tree with a sagging branch being held aloft by a prop shaped like a human hand.
    On this Sunday before Labor Day, we light this flame to honor all work. Not only the work we do for pay with our hands, our backs, and our minds, that is important, yes. But also the work we do for love!
    Chalice Lighting | By Paul Dalzell | June 28, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Caring, Community, Connections, Labor Day, Love, Work, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A rough-hewn wooden table top, with a white coffee mug in the foreground and a notebook opened to a blank page in the background.
    The agenda looks long. When will I get home? What surprises and big decisions await us?
    Poetry | By Lisa Smith-Horn | June 28, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Commitment, Connections, Democracy, Governance, Listening, Respect, Trust, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Against the background of a sunset sky, we see the silhouettes of three children leaping into the air, with their arms raised and their legs bent.
    Today, we honor a journey that some of our youth have been on to mindfully enter the next phase of their lives… this is ultimately a time when we have invited them to think specifically about their own path.
    Ritual | By Kharma Amos | June 27, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Character, Children, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Community, Growth, Identity, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • The first slide of a slide deck. The main text, in a green box, says “A Blessing for Queer Youth of Faith,” and the author’s name, Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, appears below the box. On the right side there is a graphic of a purple tulip-like flower, intertwined with a six-color Pride rainbow banner. At the bottom right are the words “Side with Love” next to the Side with Love heart logo, in Pride colors.
    Bless you, for who you are, right now, right here. Bless you in your queerness, your genderfabulousness, your questioning, wondering, exploring, declaring. Bless you in the words you create and evolve and claim for yourself.
    Blessing | By Cathy Rion Starr | June 27, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #LGBTQ, #Pride, #SideWithLove, Community, Connections, Faith, Gender, Identity, Interdependence, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Wholeness, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A small rainbow flag, on a small stick, is held by the outstretched arms of two different people of color.
    “Queer” challenges the status quo; it dares me to be authentically myself.
    Reflection | By Vanessa Titang | June 19, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Pride Sunday, Searching, Self-Respect, Sexuality, Transformation, Worship
  • Two middle-aged people, seen from the shoulders up, press their faces together intimately and smile broadly. A Pride flag is wrapped around their shoulders.
    May everyone feel safe and free to love as they choose.
    Reflection | By Lynette Yetter | June 12, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Brokenness, Community, Despair, Direct Experience, Fear, Friendship, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Oppression, Pain, Pride Sunday, Searching, Women, 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 | June 6, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Community, Covenant, Democracy, Governance, Interdependence, Leadership, Service, Teamwork, Work, WorshipWeb, 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, WorshipWeb, 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
  • 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, WorshipWeb, Worship