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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This blessing was written in honor of two Unitarians, Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who during WWII dared to risk their own comfort in order to help save the lives of those in desperate need. As we gather together, May we remember When you share with me what is most important to you, That is where...Blessing | By Andrée Mol | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Compassion, Courage, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Hospitality, Justice, Listening, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacrifice, Salvation, Thanksgiving, Unitarianism -
The wheel of the year has turned again. Once more the Thanksgiving season has arrived. How shall we sing our song of gratitude now? For what shall we give thanks? For this moment; for friends near and far; for our breath; for love; for courage and clarity; for strength; for delight; for laughter;...Opening | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Arts & Music, Awe, Direct Experience, Generations, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Wonder -
O Maker of Order and Shaper of Beauty, we are grateful for the world in which we live. Instill in us that sense of awe, that we may walk with humble hearts, open to the beauty of all that surrounds us....Prayer | By Anne Mason | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Acceptance, Awe, Beauty, Healing, Islam, Multiculturalism, Peace, Unitarian Universalism -
Our [congregation name] ancestors are the ones who physically bought this land*, built some of our buildings, raised the money to create this space. They're also the ones who made sure there was a safe and welcoming community, who created a religious education program to promote justice and...Ritual | By Andrew Weber | November 29, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Community, Direct Experience, Generations, Gratitude, History, Inclusion, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Teamwork, Work -
Outside The flags fly Down the highway, hanging on to the back of large trucks or the chest of a man....Poetry | By Laura Bogle | November 29, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Connections, Direct Experience, Indigenous American, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality -
In the houses of the holy, the world pauses. In the hearts of the holy, Love abides. In the havens of the holy, Hope comforts. In the hearths of the holy, Spirit refreshes. Come then, one and all, gather in. Come then, one and all, gather here. Bring here all of your heart, Bring here all of your...Opening | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | November 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Direct Experience, Diversity, Hospitality, Inclusion, Prophetic Words & Deeds -
Loving and Transforming Grace, Source of creation who some know as God -- Be with us now. We have endured the hard night of struggle for our nation’s soul for lo these many months, and find ourselves looking inward, to each other, to all fonts of wisdom, for guidance....Prayer | By Deborah Weiner | November 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Brokenness, Democracy, Despair, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
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God has a fondness for what is fragile. This means us. Advent tells us that God came to us—and comes to us still—with complete vulnerability. Christ is to be found among what is fragile—including us, ourselves, when pain and loss have left us feeling less than whole. In coming to us as a...Reflection | By Jan Richardson | November 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, God, Immanence, Relationships, Vulnerability -
Over 500 years ago, European governments adopted something called the Doctrine of Discovery: any lands and resources not already ruled by a European Christian monarch automatically became the property of whatever government whose subjects traveled to and occupied the territory. This Doctrine of...Homily | By Kristin Grassel Schmidt | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Earth, History, Indigenous American, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Spirituality
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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
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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