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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I understand history as possibility...that could also stop being a possibility. —Paulo Freire The winds of extinction sing a mournful song in the rustling grass, where the bobwhite drums and the meadowlark's melody is vanishing. The winds of extinction sing a mournful song in the dark forest...Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Climate Justice, Despair, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Nature, Unitarian Universalism -
Spirit of Life, God of Love, who are we to know how you moved over the waters when all was new? We were not there when you parted them and formed dry land. We didn't hear you cry with joy when earth gave birth to life, or when love began to grow in the human heart....Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Climate Justice, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Humility, Nature, Responsibility, Stewardship
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Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? —Kabir Suppose you cried a thousand years for a child who died when she drank bad water. Suppose you organized a great movement to clean the water. Suppose you carried the first filled glass to the...Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Climate Justice, Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, International, Relationships, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
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(Ahmedabad, India, 2001) Mother Earth is shouting but we do not hear. She is filled with anguish, for all we understand is death. And in her agony she suffers too over the fact that she must kill her own to get our attentionn...Poetry | By Marta I. Valentín | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Climate Justice, Death, Disaster, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Unitarian Universalism
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The earth. One planet. Round, global, so that when you trace its shape with your finger, you end up where you started. It's one. It's whole. All the dotted lines we draw on our maps of this globe are just that, dotted lines. They smear easily. Oceans can be crossed. Even the desert can be crossed.Poetry | By Mark Belletini | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Climate Justice, Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, International, Nature, Wholeness
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This is our earth. It falls through heaven like a pearl in a glass of plum wine. There are no other earths that I know of. There are no other skies that we have mapped. This is our earth. The Oneness who gave birth to it remains nameless. There was no midwife then to bring us word of the birth-cry.Poetry | By Mark Belletini | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Climate Justice, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, Nature, Worship -
Holy Unnamable One, Wholly Unknowable One, Again we have read the story. Again we have sung the tale. Again we wonder at our place in it. Is it ours to tell? How can it beours to live?...Prayer | By Lisa Doege | March 16, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Birth, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Hope, Listening, Mystery, Peace, Privilege
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This image was created by Ellen Rockett, a Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adult, to accompany the seven separate images/smartphone wallpapers also found on WorshipWeb....Image | By Ellen Rockett | March 13, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Democracy, Interdependence, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Worth -
Spirit of Life, God of Love, grant me the courage to love boldly in the face of my greatest fears. Grow me in your wisdom and let my actions speak when silence threatens justice and indifference disturbs peace....Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Courage, Fear, Humility, Justice, Love, Peace, Unitarian Universalism, Wisdom
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Into the dwelling place of togetherness, we come to collect remnants of hope.Responsive Reading | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Hope, Justice, Peace, Solidarity, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Vision -
Spirit of Life, God of Love, I am entwined in your delicate web of mutuality. The life energy that makes me reach for the sun also moves me to become wrapped, like the strong bittersweet vine and the delicate sweet pea, around those I meet and love. Here in the tangle of my daily life I feel your...Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Beauty, Climate Justice, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Intimacy, Love, Nature
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Here, I will be discovered and lost: Here, I will, perhaps, be stone and silence. —Pablo Neruda Someday, out there, on a day like this in a place I will never see, where the clearing winds always come after the storm, I will arrive nameless on a distant memory carrying with me all the best I gave...Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Identity, Love, Meaning, Purpose, Truth
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Spirit of my longing and lonely heart, help me travel through the barren borderlands that separate me from others. Teach me to willingly explore relationships with those who frighten or threaten me, grant me the courage to risk confidently my own comforts, that I might make others more comfortable.Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Choice, Compassion, Connections, Courage, Empathy, Resilience, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
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In a worship service, the congregation presented farewell gifts to the outgoing Director of Religious Education/Exploration (DRE) before the following: MINISTER: In (season, year), this congregation and NAME entered into a formal/unspoken covenant with one another. NAME agreed to step out of her...Ritual | By Tess Baumberger | March 11, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Children, Gratitude, Leadership, Letting Go, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Service, Teacher Recognition, Unitarian Universalism
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I am one of those people who love to make New Year’s resolutions. Why not create a vital, remodeled persona, new and improved? Just write down all the things you want to accomplish, all the projects you want to complete, all the character improvements you want to make, and all the skills you want...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Change, Grace, Love, Progress, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
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When my youngest child was a baby, the sweetest part of my day was putting David to sleep. At fifteen months he had a demanding schedule. There were toilet paper rolls to unravel, dressers to empty, bookshelves to clear, trash baskets to dump on the floor, papers to tear, pans to bang, books to...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Buddhism, Children, Direct Experience, Love, Mothers, Peace, Self-Care, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Weakness, Wisdom
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My husband, the physics teacher, receives a weekly magazine called Science News. A recent cover story, in bold letters, riveted my attention and I snatched it: “Controlling Chaos.” Now, that’s a practical theology! My hopes soared. Here, in concise scientific prose, was the potential solution...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Peace, Science, Stress, Unitarian Universalism, Work
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Please note: this ritual was preceded by the departing minister's homily, in which she looked back at the installation service and the promises they had made to each other as minister and congregation. She then continued as follows....Ritual | By Tess Baumberger | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Ending, Leadership, Letting Go, Ministerial Transition, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism
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Life does not call us merely to do over and over again what we have already done; nor does it call us to act out, as puppets, parts already assigned to us. No. In the midst of a situation which is itself ever changing, we are free to bring into realization new relationships of understanding and...Quote | By Frank O. Holmes | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Character, Choice, Courage, Freedom, Growth, Integrity
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To repent means to turn in a new direction—not just to admit what we have done wrong, but to resolve to be a better person.Quote | By Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Character, Choice, Growth, Integrity, Psychology, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism