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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(written for the Presidential Election, 2016) I walk in, as on pilgrimage. The altar cloths are red, white, and blue the ushers are the women who have been running these things who have been running everything since before I was born. I’m handed the ballot like a scroll because the questions seem...Poetry | By Luke Stevens-Royer | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Democracy, Direct Experience, Hope, Secular, Service, Spiritual Practice -
To the refugee family seeking a safe place For their children’s dreams, say: I am with you in this. To the trans teenager longing for a world That accepts them for who they are, say: I am with you in this....Litany | By Phillip Lund | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Caring, Compassion, Connections, Disaster or Crisis, Immigration, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
Gracious God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. In the Psalms you tell us our days in this life are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone....Prayer | By Susan Maginn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Christianity, Coming of Age, Generations, God, Graduation Recognition, Love, Young Adults -
We gather here today to share and give thanks, To tell stories and break bread and be together in holy communion. We light our chalice this morning in the spirit of thanksgiving, With love, hope, and generosity of spirit, Grateful for this blessed opportunity to be together.Chalice Lighting | By Nick Wilbourn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian), Gratitude, History, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism -
May we give thanks always, believing that, even in the world’s bleakest moments, the dance of life is always underway.Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | November 23, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Balance, Despair, Earth-Centered, Hope, Nature, Thanksgiving -
Christmas doesn’t wimp out when times are hard – it comes anyway, even if there are hardly any presents.Reflection | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | November 22, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Change, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Creativity, Direct Experience, Hope, Tradition -
November 16, 2016 "Well, the only chains we can stand / Are the chains between hand and hand Keep your eyes on the prize / Hold on" —Adapted lyrics to “Gospel Plow,”* attributed to Alice Wine Holding on does not come easy to me. As a teenager who left home and bounced around, I am talented at...Reflection | By Robin Tanner | November 16, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: America, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Democracy, Despair, Hope, Relationships, Secular -
We gather at Thanksgiving, in some sense, to retell the creation myth of our country. In this myth is our very best and our very worst: a boldness; a care for the common good; a wish to say we before I. Yet from even before the first Thanksgiving feast, it’s a story of theft and violence, and a...Reading | By David Schwartz | November 15, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Generations, History, Humanism, Indigenous American, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Thanksgiving -
Our first breath is followed by our first song Lusty, loud and primal A solo that announces to the world, “I have arrived!” We are the music. As toddlers hearing our first reggae beat We let our spines and hips bend and sway in response As natural as the beat of our hearts We are the music. The...Reading | By Renee Ruchotzke | November 12, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arts & Music, Direct Experience, Humanism, Music Sunday, Secular, Unity -
This is not a prayer that you may find hope For hope is a luxury that some cannot find and others cannot afford This is not a prayer that you find more love in the world Though I hope you continue to feel love and send love to those near and far I pray instead that you may find tools A hammer lyi...Meditation | By Jessica York | November 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Community, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Justice, Living Our Faith, Politics, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
Welcome, you who come in need of healing, you who are confused, or have been betrayed. Welcome, with your problems and your pain. Welcome, too, your joys and your wonderings, welcome your need to hope, your longing for assurance. Instead of answers, here may you find safety for your questions.Opening | By Maureen Killoran | November 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Caring, Courage, Democracy, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Trauma, Unitarian Universalism
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Please join me in a litany of solidarity. Many of us face oppression, or our loved ones face oppression, and we fear that oppression will worsen....Litany | By Catie Scudera | November 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Interdependence, Justice, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Secular, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
I got out of bed this morning because of all those who had to get out of bed before me: Martin and Coretta, the day after his home was bombed. (What did they tell the children?) My father, every day of his young life in Lowndes County, Alabama....Meditation | By Theresa Hardy | November 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Generations, History, Hope, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Self-Respect -
Those of us with some privilege in this empire may be tempted to seek refuge in it, as if privilege was ever going to save us. But who’s to say whether you’ve come to this place and position for a time such as this?Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 9, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Brokenness, Commitment, Despair, Direct Experience, Humanism, Integrity, Judaism, Politics, Secular -
You are loved beyond belief. You are enough, you are precious, your work and your life matter, and you are not alone. You are part of a “we,” a great cloud of witnesses living and dead who have insisted that this beautiful, broken world of ours is a blessing…Affirmation | By Ashley Horan | November 9, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Interdependence, Resilience, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
Someone called me a "bleeding heart liberal." It was not intended as a compliment. However, I will always consider it one of the biggest compliments of my life. My heart bleeds for the underdog. My heart fights for those who can't fight. My heart rejoices in seeing others overcome adversity. My...Meditation | By Sara Sutherland Dean | November 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Character, Compassion, Courage, Direct Experience, Empathy, Humanism, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Love, Secular, Solidarity -
May we remember we are a people of resilience. We have faced uncertainty before; we have weathered storms; we have been consumed by flames; we have risen like the phoenix from the ashes. And we will again.Prayer | By Sara Eileen LaWall | November 7, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Democracy, Diversity, Interdependence, Resilience, Unity -
On this sacred day of choosing—with gratitude to those who entrusted us with this honored task, who struggled and suffered that we might have the power to choose—may we choose well. May we choose love over fear, wisdom over cleverness, courage over cowardice, life over death, kindness over...Prayer | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | November 7, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, America, Democracy, Discernment, Generations, Humility, Living Our Faith, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
“Any religion that puts hate speech in the mouth of God is no religion at all.”...Quote | By Jacqueline J. Lewis | November 4, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Direct Experience, Faith, God, Identity, Love
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We light this chalice in honor of Life’s sacred dance of living and dying. May its flame remind us of those who have passed to us fragments of holiness. May it remind us that we too are participants in the dance. inspired by Wendell Berry and Sara Moores Campbell...Chalice Lighting | By Joanne Giannino | November 4, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Death, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Hope, Humanism