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 give thanks for all it takes to be a healing presence, and also how simple it is. I confess that I want to be seen as (especially) good (especially) right (especially) useful. I confess that I'm still learning an artful skill....Prayer | By Samantha Lynne Wilson | May 30, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Doubt, Humility, Leadership, Listening, Presence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Self-Respect, Spiritual Practice, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism -
I’d gotten in the habit of keeping my head down and hardly noticing where I was or who was around me. On this day, I decided to greet the world differently.Reflection | By S.J. Butler | May 30, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Children, Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Mothers, Multiculturalism, Parents, Secular -
Within the heart of the flower, the fountain of beauty Within the heart of the community, a fire that warms and dances Within the heart of each of us, a spark of the spirit of life. Holy, holy, holy.Chalice Lighting | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | May 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, God, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Wonder -
Spirit of life and love, God of memory, mourning and history, Bring before us the truths of serving in war Bring before us— In compassion and in gratitude— Those who faced violence so we may know peace We remember these sacrifices through monuments We remember these names, carved into stone...Prayer | By Heather K Janules | May 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), America, Death, Grief, Memorial Day, Military, War -
We come this day, called by war By the suffering we inflict and endure When minds across borders fail to reason and compromise. We come this day, called by loss, The deaths of those who serve in our name, Those whose lives end before their natural course In service to a cause greater than their own.Opening | By Heather K Janules | May 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Grief, Humanism, Memorial Day, Military, Peace, Secular, Violence -
Music is my solace and my comfort, the one thing that’s always with me. I feel its vibration deep in my soul; it’s my spiritual practice. Music tells the story of my life.Reflection | By Connie Simon | May 23, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Body, Creativity, Direct Experience, Music Sunday, Secular, Spiritual Practice -
I choose to believe in community. I choose to believe in the difficult, slow work of building a common life.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | May 16, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Conflict, Democracy, Direct Experience, Humanism, Interdependence, Relationships, Secular, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism -
We give thanks for your presence among us. You are living examples of courage and perseverance. We give thanks for the stories you have collected through the years. By sharing your stories, you help shape ours. We give thanks for the many tasks you have undertaken for the betterment of others. We...Responsive Reading | By Elizabeth Stevens | May 15, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Direct Experience, Generations, Humanism, Inclusion, Relationships, Secular -
Let us give thanks for a bouquet of people. We give thanks for children. Like tulips and iris, they multiply around us, making the world ever more filled with color, beauty, and new life. May we bless them as they replant themselves ever further from us, knowing that they need their own space to...Prayer | By Claire Feingold Thoryn | May 11, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, Friendship, Gratitude, Humanism, Nature, Secular -
Tell me the story of my birth, and help me understand how you were changed the day I entered the world. Help me know love, deep in my bones.Reflection | By Mandie McGlynn | May 9, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Beginnings, Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Secular -
Recently, I ordered 4-foot-tall rainbow bunnies for my church. Just after I hit “order,” I wondered if we really needed them. Later that day, one of my parishioners sent me a picture taken in front of a local church: on the lawn was an enormous banner with a picture of the Holy Family, and the...Reading | By Jonathan Chapman | April 25, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Christianity, God, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Pride Sunday, Unitarian Universalism -
However imperfectly I may be living this life of mine, there’s no one better at it, and there’s no one else who can do it for me.Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | April 25, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Nature, Searching, Secular, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Spring, Vernal Equinox -
My heart broke the day my son stood in the bathroom crying. He handed me a pair of scissors and told me to just cut it. I told him how beautiful his hair was and how sad I would be to see him cut it.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | April 18, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Beauty, Body, Children, Courage, Direct Experience, Gender, Humanism, Mothers, Parents, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Self-Respect, Strength -
I want the spaces in which we meet to be encased by aspirations and forward loving, not affirmations and self-applause. I want to love the people I disagree with, knowing that we’re all just out to find a little more life.Reflection | By DeReau K. Farrar | April 11, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser -
When we say, "Save the rainforest," we don’t mean that we cease to honor the mighty cedars or the reaching pines. We mean that one particular piece of a deeply sacred whole is more at risk than others, and that this risk, this threat, is worthy of our very bravest actions. So it is with black...Quote | By Nancy McDonald Ladd | April 9, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Wholeness -
Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive with one another, we live here in the light of this unlikely world that isn’t ours for long. May we spend generously the time we are given. May we enact our responsibilities as thoroughly as we enjoy our pleasures....Poetry | By John Daniel | April 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Interdependence, Joy, Relationships, Responsibility, Secular, Transcendence, Wonder -
It would be a quieter holiday, no fireworks or loud parades, no speeches, no salutes to any flag, a day of staying home instead of crowding away, a day we celebrate nothing gained in war but what we’re given — how the sun’s warmth is democratic, touching everyone, and the rain is democratic...Poetry | By John Daniel | April 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Earth, Earth Day, Humanism, Imagination, Interdependence, July 4th, Nature, Secular, Wonder -
In real life, we can only place the pieces, one by one, and see what kind of picture we create. Sometimes we turn out to have chosen the wrong piece. Sometimes the picture is wildly unexpected.Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | April 4, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Calling, Choice, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Contemplation, Courage, Direct Experience, Discernment, Hope, Humanism, Journey, Playfulness, Searching, Secular -
Download your own copy of the Easter egg chalice coloring page!Image | By David Snedden | March 30, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Easter -
All the great religions have their stories, and usually a special day that celebrates that story. Today is Easter. Easter and Christmas are the most special days for Christians: on Christmas we tell the story of Jesus being born in the manager; on Easter we tell a story about the end of Jesus’...Time for All Ages | By Sue Andrews | March 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Easter