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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 child smiles up in wonder amid multiple vertical strings of light
    The stories remind us there is still and always joy in this world, but it usually comes right alongside the struggle.
    Reflection | By Elea Kemler | December 16, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Hope, Joy, Searching, Worship
  • A whisk and dustpan filled with dry twigs, fallen spruce needles, and broken Christmas ornaments
    This is a "love saves" story.
    Reflection | By Paul S Sawyer | December 9, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Advent, Anger, Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Living Our Faith, Love, Psychology, Relationships, Respect, Responsibility, Self-Respect, Worship
  • With white Christmas lights strung in the background, and lit candles, a paper Advent calendar on a table has open doors.
    This year, the Advent season seems particularly seized by a spirit of the expected, the longing.
    Reflection | By Robin Tanner | December 2, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Advent, Children, Christianity, Hope, Living Our Faith, Parents, Purpose, Worship
  • A string of Christmas lights rests on bright pink branches of a Christmas tree that's obviously artificial.
    Make sure, both at Christmastime and in other times, that you ask for that which you really want.
    Homily | By Megan Foley | December 1, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Abundance, Advent, Belief, Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Discernment, Generosity, Humanism, Listening, Meaning, Secular, Worship
  • Swimmers in the waves of the sea look to a pink sky, where a murmuration of starlings forms a striking shape.
    The wilderness alongside every moment, sprawling in each direction, holds more than the silence that theologians imagine of God.
    Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 25, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Contemplation, Death, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, God, Imagination, Nature, Transcendence, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    May you rejoice in the unknown. May you hug uncertainty to you tight.
    Benediction | By David Breeden | November 24, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    The person who enjoys privilege always knows less about the person who lives under the weight of that privilege than the people who are actually under it.
    Quote | By Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 24, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Justice, Power, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Worship
  • Against a blue sky, a bright red spiral of roller coaster track carries yellow cars of passengers, who are suspended upside down.
    We seek blessed assurance through pandemic chaos, relentless loss, and unimaginable stress.
    Reflection | By Taryn Strauss | November 18, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Children, Family, Humanism, Integrity, Secular, Seven Principles, Worship
  • A U.S. flag and a pair of hands intrude into a picture of bubbles against an evergreen tree
    The soul of America has yet to be born.
    Reading | By Peggy Clarke | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Democracy, Generations, History, Humanism, Indigenous Peoples Day, July 4th, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
  • A line of framed family photos, all on a surface, some out of focus
    Let us honor our ancestors by doing the work of living boldly, loving mightily, and creating heaven on earth.
    Benediction | By Leia Durland-Jones | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Souls Day, Family, Generations, History, Memorial Services
  • A person in a gray shirt is doing a jigsaw puzzle, holding up a piece to someone else on a video call on a cell phone.
    It's okay to be feel weary of resiliency and wholeness and learning and growth.
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Change, Community, Growth, Resilience, Self-Care, Wholeness, Worship
  • A bright gold sun on the horizon seems to rest on a person's outstretched hands, palms up,
    We are all in this together, and when bad things happen that are preventable by human means, we are all implicated.
    Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | November 11, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Evil, Goddess, International, Worship
  • A bouquet of pink and white flowers rests on a wooden coffin, as seen from above.
    May today bring forth transformation in ourselves—from grief, healing; from memory, wholeness; and from celebration, love.
    Chalice Lighting | By Mira Mickiewicz | November 10, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Memorial Services, Remembrance Day, Worship
  • Protesters hold a Standing on the Side of Love banner outside the US Supreme Court
    To be a Unitarian Universalist means we’ll never be done with the work.
    Chalice Lighting | By Erika Hewitt | November 9, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Identity, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Seven Principles, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism
  • Team with hands together and looking very happy
    As Unitarian Universalists, our journey is to transform the big and the small, to transform ourselves, and to transform the world.
    Responsive Reading | By Elizabeth Nguyen | November 9, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Calling, Freedom, Justice, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Seven Principles, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism, Wholeness, Worship
  • The Statue of Liberty, as seen from behind and from the waist up, against a grey sky.
    Uncertain as the world feels right now, love will bear whatever lies ahead.
    Reflection | By Julie Fanselow | November 4, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: America, Body, Brokenness, Democracy, Direct Experience, Healing, Health, Humanism, Marriage, Secular, Worship
  • A wisp of smoke rises from an extinguished candle.
    Hope continues, uncertain and true, like candlelight, ready to spark again.
    Chalice Extinguishing | By Kevin Jagoe | November 2, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Fall, Hope, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship
  • a dark-skinned woman’s portrait blends into dissolving colourful paint
    Learning to love all of me—including the parts I used to be scared of—made the fear go away.
    Reflection | By Ndidi Achebe | October 28, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Family, Mental Health, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    The history of conquest is a scourge on the human condition. A lingering one.
    Quote | By Imani Perry | October 27, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Evil, Freedom, Greed, History, Humanism, Oppression, Poverty, Secular
  • A Black woman smiles, as she is surrounded by a ring of monarch butterflies.
    At the core of American racism is the belief that the things we the Blacks desire, the fact that we the Blacks desire, are perversions.
    Reading | By Imani Perry | October 27, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, America, Anti-Oppression, Challenge, Character, Imagination, Race/Ethnicity