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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Welcome to all our siblings this morning. We enter into this half circle of diversity, Celebrating the ways that we upright walking two-legged wanderers share With the four-leggeds lounging, lunging and leaping among us, With Winged warblers, With slithering, sliding snaky beings, With circling...Opening | By Susan Karlson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals -
Harpo: Hi there, I'm Harpo the harbor seal. I come back each year and more and more of my friends join me to hang out in Staten Island waters. I'm glad to be invited here to this gathering where you are bringing water from different places this morning....Story | By Susan Karlson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Diversity -
May the Waters gathered here remind us of what each of us brings to this community and of the waters that nourished us before we were even born, that continue to give us sustenance and energy for our life journeys. and for all creatures on this earth....Blessing | By Susan Karlson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Earth, Gratitude, Growth, Interdependence, Journey, Nature, Sacred, Searching, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
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We leave blessed by our connections to one another, to the spirit of life. Walk lightly that you see the life that is below your feet. Spread your arms as if you had wings and could dance through the air. Feel the joy of the breath in your lungs and the fire in your heart. Live to love and be a...Closing | By Susan Karlson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Body, Connections, Playfulness, Service, Unitarian Universalism -
Congregation starts, reading the words in italics. They say I am “illegal”; But so is anyone who ever rolled through a stop sign, jaywalked or threw trash on the ground. Not having a visa is a civil infraction, not a federal crime. They say I am here to take your jobs; But the jobs are often...Reading | By Julia Hamilton | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), America, Anti-Oppression, Immigration, Immigration, Justice, Race/Ethnicity -
Leader (L): When there was a need, you came forward. Congregation (C): And so we thank you. L: In the nighttime or daytime, on weekends and even in the coldest, darkest part of the year, you helped. C: And so we thank you....Reading | By Jay Libby | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Service
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As we light the chalice and fully embrace the sacred space created here this morning, please hold in your hearts the Unitarian Universalist principle which calls upon us to respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part....Chalice Lighting | By Viola Abbitt | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Compassion, Connections, Death, Earth, Gratitude, History, Interdependence, Sacred, Strength, Unitarian Universalism -
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 -
The first step is to notice the mountain. It is there. And it belongs to a range of mountains. There’s no going around it. The next step is to reach the kind of acceptance that has us praying in our hearts: "Lord, I don’t ask you to move the mountain, just give me the strength to climb." The...Sermon | By Paul R Beedle | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Diversity, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Respect, Responsibility, Service
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We retell the birth, life, and death of Dr. King to symbolize that it is not until humanity can measure the worth and meaning of a single life, that it can extend worth that to all souls. But, this is a new day....Homily | By Brent A Smith | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism
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May this flame, symbol of transformation since time began, fire our curiosity, strengthen our wills, and sustain our courage as we seek what is good within and around us.Chalice Lighting | By Bets Wienecke | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Compassion, Courage, Faith, Freedom, Good, Searching, Strength, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
May the light of truth illumine our minds, May the spark of love set our hearts on fire, May the flame of freedom burn brightly within us, Now and always.Chalice Lighting | By Richard M Fewkes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Commitment, Compassion, Ethics, Freedom, Justice, Love, Tradition, Truth, Unitarian Universalism -
May God—the mind that sees our faults, the tears that sting our wounds, the laugh that soothes our aches, and the love that redeems us all—be illuminated by the light we kindle in this house of faith.Chalice Lighting | By Max A Coots | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Brokenness, Caring, Compassion, Despair, Faith, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Healing -
Many of the past generation and many of today have found three abiding values in prayer: the quiet meditation on life, the reaching out toward the universal and the infinite, and the courageous facing of one's profoundest wishes....Chalice Lighting | By Sophia Lyon Fahs | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Children, Courage, Empathy, Generations, Journey, Mystery, Progress -
Long ago the chalice of communion wine was set apart for priests alone. We would have all share in the bounty of the earth: wind and milk, bread and meat, that none may go hungry. Long ago those who spoke their minds freely were put to death by fire. We would use fire to warm all bodies and light...Chalice Lighting | By Maryell Cleary | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Body, Caring, Freedom, History, Inclusion, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, Love, Stewardship, Unitarian Universalism
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"Let there be light!" Let it shine in dark places, in moments of pain, in times of grief, in the darkness of hatred, violence, oppression, where there is discouragement and despair. Wherever darkness is to be put to flight, "Let there be light!"...Chalice Lighting | By Gordon B McKeeman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Balance, Christianity, Compassion, Despair, Grief, Healing, Hope, Oppression, Pain, Sorrow, Unitarian Universalism, Violence -
In this small flame dwell: the beacon light of lanterns guiding travelers home; the warmth of hearth fires tended through the generations; the transforming energy of furnaces and the power and life of our sun. May these blessings -- warmth and light and life-giving energy -- be kindled in each of...Chalice Lighting | By Jean L Wahlstrom | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Community, Family, Friendship, Generations, Home, Journey, Love, Power, Transformation, Winter Solstice / Yule -
In the mystery of life about us there is light. It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together. It opens the pathways to love. In this place of friendship there is freedom. Let the light we kindle go before us, Strong in hope, wide in good will, Inviting the day to come.Chalice Lighting | By George Kimmich Beach | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Connections, Friendship, Good, Growth, Hope, Journey, Joy, Love, Mystery, Unitarian Universalism -
In memory of all the flames that didn't die— in the midst of darkness, in spite of the darkness, we light this flame today. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5 NRSV)...Chalice Lighting | By Amarette Callaway | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Commitment, Courage, Dignity, History, Hope, Journey, Meaning, Power, Service, Strength -
When we scale, at last, the walls...Reading | By Jeffrey B Symynkywicz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas