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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The world is too beautiful to be praised by only one voice. May you have the courage to sing your part. The world is too broken to be healed by only one set of hands. May you have the courage to use your gifts. May you go in peace.Benediction | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Brokenness, Courage, Healing -
Holy Spirit, God of Ages and so many names, we gather once again to rejoice in the light offered to the world by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His walk on this earth was a gift to generations, and today we give thanks for that gift. We know that we are called together today not simply to...Prayer | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Caring, History, Human Rights, Justice, Kindness, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity -
This light we kindle is set in the lamp of our history. We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle, fierce and outspoken hearts and minds that have come before us. Let us be worthy inheritors of this faith and through our good works, pass it boldly to a new generation.Chalice Lighting | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Generations, Giving & Generosity, History, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism -
Call to sing joyfully to fulfill our role as part of creation Let us sing a song to the Eternal. Let the earth and her children break forth in song. Let the sky and its creatures in chorus reply. Let the sea and all that is within it sound out praise. Let the storms raise their voices, the river...Opening | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Creativity, Joy, Judaism
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The author, a member of a Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation, reflects on living with bipolar disorder.Reading | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Disability, Mental Health, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Psychology, Resilience, Self-Care
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In our modern age of apathy and egoism, there is cause for hope whenever people care about something beyond themselves. But there is more to being human than feeling deeply, for we risk becoming impassioned fools. Our minds must conspire with our hearts. We should care enough to think—and think...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Caring, Faith, Meaning, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships
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A voice screeched gate assignments through a nerve-jangling public address system. Even if the announcements had been in English, I doubt that I’d have been able to make sense of them. But whatever was being broadcast to the cavernous waiting area of the Moscow airport prompted mobs of people to...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Compassion, Culture, Direct Experience, Empathy, Gratitude, Humanism, Limitations, Vulnerability -
Our Subaru Forester was sliding sideways down Interstate 80 at fifty miles per hour. My wife, Nan, had gingerly switched to the left-hand lane to avoid a truck that was overturned on the right shoulder, but no amount of experience, skill, or caution could overcome our car’s mass and momentum on a...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, Fear, Meaning, Mystery, Searching
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There is no such thing as a lasting peace, a tranquility that will persist forever, a final resting place for the lion and the lamb. We yearn for the completion of our task, the fulfillment of our striving, the consummation of our journey. And this longing sows the seeds of our defeat....Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Work
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May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace. One of the earliest and most important religious texts of ancient India, the Rig Veda is the oldest of the four collections of hymns...Meditation | By Rig Veda | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hinduism, Transcendence, Wholeness -
There is a love Holding me. There is a love Holding you. There is a love Holding all. I rest in this love. —Rebecca Parker, Unitarian Universalist...Meditation | By Rebecca Ann Parker | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Transcendence
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Dear God, May I be kind, Strong and brave, Joyful, useful, loving, Honest and healthy.Prayer | By Meg Barnhouse | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Courage, God, Health, Kindness, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Strength
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Loving Spirit, Be our guest, Dine with us, Share our bread, That our table Might be blessed And our souls be fed.Blessing | By Gary Kowalski | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Food, Generosity, Gratitude, Home, Hospitality, Presence, Reverence, Sacred, Spirituality, Table Grace
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For food in a world where many walk in hunger For faith in a world where many walk in fear For friends in a world where many walk alone We give you thanks, O God. Amen.Prayer | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Children's Sabbath, Food, Friendship, God, Gratitude, Table Grace
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Love is the Spirit of this church [or: congregation]. May the songs we sing celebrate this Love. May the lives we lead embody this Spirit. May you all go forth in peace.Benediction | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Arts & Music, Love, Purpose, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Worth -
Holy One who has given us the breath of life, Today we remember To breathe deeply To rest To take in To pause before we act… And then to take in another deep breath poised on the edge And risk jumping in Risk taking action Risk speaking up Risk using the gifts we have been given So that at the en...Prayer | By Tamara Lebak | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Courage, Direct Experience, Purpose, Trust, Vulnerability
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The following can be read by one leader, read by several leaders, or read responsively between leader(s) and the congregation. Blessed are you who can question your own assumptions and listen with an open mind; you will receive new insights beyond your imagining. Blessed are you who suffer the...Blessing | By Lindi Ramsden | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Anger, Challenge, Fear, Gratitude, Journey, Joy, Leadership, Meaning, Progress, Relationships
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God of many names, you who have searched what is hidden within us and who knows us to our core: Our intentions, our wounds, our aspirations and our dreams. You who is familiar with all our ways, even before a word is on our tongue you know it completely. Where can we go from your Spirit?...Prayer | By Tamara Lebak | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Direct Experience, God, Immanence, Judaism
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God of many names, You who has endowed us with the inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Let us remember this day that in this country there is no national religion, There is no superior race There is no preferable gender or orientation....Prayer | By Tamara Lebak | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Equity, Freedom, Justice, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular -
We ask to have clarity of Spirit come forth into our lives with the power of a mighty windPrayer | By Tamara Lebak | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Commitment, Compassion, Courage, Direct Experience, Love, Pentecost, Purpose