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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 view of wooden church pews, and the church narthex, from the pulpit. The pulpit holds a piece of sheet music and a microphone.
    an online sermon-writing experience for laypeople
    July 9, 2025 | From WorshipLab
    Tagged as: Worship Tips
  • Two photos in wood frames are propped in front of a row of books. Both photos are in sepia tones, and obviously very old. The first photo, of Rev. Samuel Longfellow, is a close-up of a white man with short parted hair, a mustache, bushy beard, and a bow tie. The second photo, of Rev. Samuel Johnson, is set back slightly, showing a white man with longer dark hair, and a longer beard. He is wearing a suit and bow tie, as well, and his name appears in calligraphy under the portrait.
    The love that brought The Sams into partnership ripples outward from their lives.
    Reflection | By Norman Allen | June 25, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • In the foreground, a small candle is lit inside of a glass jar. It's setting on the back of a wooden church pew, in the dark. In the background, the chancel of the sanctuary is visible, an altar filled with lit candles, and strings of white lights draped across the vaulted ceiling. It's a cozy vibe.
    “The Sams,” as they were known in Transcendentalist circles, revised time-worn lyrics to move beyond dogma and creed.
    Reflection | By Norman Allen | June 18, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • A dark-skinned person, wearing headphones and with closed eyes, as if caught up in the joy of music. The background is stylized with paint-like splashes of color, musical notation, and other artistic elements.
    Art heals.
    Reflection | By Jolie Rocke | June 11, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • Taken from behind and between two people, a woman sitting at a piano uses her hands to position the hands of a young child next to her, as if the child is having trouble striking the correct keys.
    May I always seek the wisdom, beauty, and whimsy in the grace notes of life.
    Reflection | By Sarah Dutton | June 4, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • Against a black background, puffs of glittery smoke appear in a span of teal, blue, violet, lavender, red, orangey-yellow, lime, and green.
    Unitarian Universalism “queers” the idea of theology itself.
    Reflection | By Karishma Gottfried | May 28, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Identity, Imagination, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • From behind, a dark-skinned person wearing jeans and a hoodie holds the hand of a small child. They're standing on a beach, looking at the waves. Next to them, a looming metal border wall, with one tarnished panel, stretches far into the ocean.
    It is a profoundly simple thing to put love at the center.
    Reflection | By Zeb Green | May 21, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • Two leaf-strewn paths diverging in a wooded area with a light dusting of snow on the ground.
    The moral component of history, the most necessary component, is simply a single question, asked over and over again: When it mattered, who sided with justice and who sided with power?
    Quote | By Omar El Akkad | May 19, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Ethics, History, Integrity, Justice, Power, Worship
  • Swirls of red, orange, and yellow light against a black background, giving an impression of fire.
    Guide us all to a Wild and Holy vision of our shared humanity.
    Chalice Lighting | By Shawn Gibson | May 19, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Change, Growth, Sacred, Transformation, Worship
  • Five young multicultural adults are seated at two adjoining desks in a glass-walled room suggesting a library. Two students are looking down at open books, while the other three appear to be chatting with one another.
    I need the balance of accountability and support that comes only from being in deep relationship with others.
    Reflection | By Takiyah Nur Amin | May 14, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Accountability, Challenge, Change, Direct Experience, Humanism, Humility, Listening, Relationships, Responsibility, Trust, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Caught in flight, a red-winged blackbird flies over greenery. The small, bright red patches on its wings blaze against its black body and wings.
    When we live authentically, we honor the truth that all people are beloved.
    Reflection | By Cara Stultz Costello | May 7, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • The words "A lamentation on the first 100 days of this administration" appear over a darkened human figure, from the waist up, holding a lit taper candle in their stacked, upturned palms. The Side With Love name and rainbow heart logo appear in the lower right hand corner.
    May we be a people who side with love.
    Prayer | May 5, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Living Our Faith, Politics, Worship
  • From above, a large white salt crystal rests on a light surface next to a bowl filled with pink rose petals. A narrow prism of rainbow light falls directly between the two objects.
    A ritual honoring the story of love in our lives
    Ritual | By Erika Hewitt | May 1, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), All Souls Day, Beauty, Direct Experience, Father's Day, Letting Go, Love, Mother's Day, Parents, Relationships, Spiritual Practice, Transformation, Valentine's Day, Vulnerability, Worship
  • A dark mosaic, crafted from many small pieces of dark glass, reflect a rainbow of vivid colors.
    Everything is different now.
    Reflection | By Manish Mishra-Marzetti | April 30, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Abundance, America, Direct Experience, Empathy, Family, Fathers, Fear, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Worship
  • A black-and-white photo of an older person carrying a heavy bucket uphill on a dark-colored road next to a whitewashed stucco wall. The person is wearing sandals and a calf-length sleeveless dress made of a diamond-patterned fabric. They are stooped over and walking away from the camera, so all that can be seen of their head is some curly grey hair. They are carrying the bucket with their left arm, and their right arm is bent with the hand at their right hip.
    We don’t have to impress or convince or win over. We don’t have to know the words. It’s okay we didn’t read the book, or pass that class, or carry that title, or meet that mark. We don’t have to be anything but who we are.
    Opening | By Kate Steinberg | April 24, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Community, Compassion, Connections, Interdependence, Justice, Letting Go, Self-Care, Worship
  • A chalice with the word Love over the flame, with six outstretched swirls that create a circular space within them. Together, they form a six-petal flower shape and alternate in color between goldenrod and dark pink. Each contains one of the six UU shared values, printed in a modern font. Clockwise: Transformation (aqua), Equity (bright green), Pluralism (red), Interdependence (dark blue), Justice (goldenrod), and Generosity (dark pink).
    … Love is not only at the center but also the opening that invites us to lament, celebrate, and care.
    Opening | By anastasia birosh | April 24, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Equity, Generosity, Interdependence, Justice, Love, Pluralism, Transformation, Worship
  • In the foreground, the singer of a punk band grips a microphone and sings with passion. Behind him, colored lights and smoke fill a stage that holds three guitarists. In the background, people are rocking out to the music.
    As chaplains, we create spaces that provide ceremony, connection, and sanctuary.
    Reflection | By James Clarke | April 23, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Arts & Music, Caring, Direct Experience, Identity, Inclusion, Individualism, Searching, Worship
  • A close up of a green palm plant front, with the stalk symmetrically dividing its many green leaves.
    Thousands of years ago people in an ancient city sang the songs of their hearts.
    Opening | By Emily R. Mace | April 16, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Love, Meaning, Palm Sunday, Redemption, Sacred, Salvation, Tradition, Worship
  • In a church sanctuary, with a stained glass window behind the pulpit with a blurred figure, two different people with dark skin raise an arm to the sky in praise.
    In an era of certain oppression, living our values calls me to resistance.
    Reflection | By Verdis Robinson | April 16, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Christianity, Easter, Worship
  • Seen from above, an apparently exhausted person lies on a running track. The person has light brown skin and dark black hair, including a beard and mustache. They are wearing black shorts, a long-sleeve black athletic top, and white athletic shoes. The track is blue, with white lane markings, and the person is lying down where there are yellow triangles marking a relay exchange zone. The track markings give the composition of the image an abstract feel.
    Help me remember, Beloved, that the longings of my heart are never satisfied by the sprint but rather by the slow, languid meander.…
    Poetry, Prayer | By Manish Mishra-Marzetti | April 13, 2025 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Balance, Immanence, Journey, Mindfulness, Patience, Trust, Worship