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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Would you be with me in a spirit of meditation, reflection, and prayer. Friends, it has been another challenging week in our world. I want to invite us to start with some silence, time to reconnect with our breath and reground ourselves. Let’s be in silence together. Silence... ring bell. This...Prayer | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | February 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Humanism, Immigration, Justice, Living Our Faith, Service, Solidarity, Strength, Unitarian Universalism -
Blessed are the homeless and those who beg for spare change, for they will inherit the house of the Lord. Blessed are the black mothers who lament the deaths of their sons at the hands of the state, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex,...Blessing | By Nicole Anderson | January 30, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Compassion, Human Rights, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Violence -
Welcome to this space, this sanctuary of peace where we come to not only create our best selves, but to also do the work of creating a beloved community....Opening | By Jo VonRue, Linette Lowe | January 26, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Direct Experience, Diversity, Hospitality, Humanism, Inclusion, Interdependence, Multiculturalism, Presence, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
Our light is the light of the sun, keeper of all we love; our light is the light of the earth, provider of sustenance; our light is the light of all living things, life precious like our own....Chalice Lighting | By David Breeden | January 25, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Imagination, Nature, Science, Secular, Transcendence, Truth, Unitarian Universalism -
“Empathy is not finite, and compassion is not a pizza with eight slices. When you practice empathy and compassion with someone, there is not less of these qualities to go around. There’s more. Love is the last thing we need to ration in this world. The refugee in Syria doesn’t benefit more if...Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | January 25, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Abundance, Caring, Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Listening, Love, Pain, Secular, Self-Care, Sorrow -
Give voice to sorrow and fear — the wracking sobs at family betraying family the shock at the chasm separating neighbors...Meditation | By Lindasusan Ulrich | January 19, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Anti-Oppression, Community, Courage, Direct Experience, Fear, Hope, Living Our Faith, Politics, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Resilience, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
There is a glow far off in the distance, a light to which no path leads. We know that each time we help another or join with them to heal the world, each time we stand up for justice and what is right, each time we work and hope and love against all odds, a spark is created that adds to the...Meditation | By D. Scott Cooper | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Anti-Oppression, Caring, Direct Experience, Humanism, Journey, Living Our Faith, Relationships, Responsibility, Searching, Secular
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We bow our heads in order to imagine not one path, but many. We imagine a path forward for those who cannot imagine any path forward, because of poor health, financial hardship, family crises, and other roadblocks we cannot begin to understand or imagine. We struggle to imagine a path forward for...Prayer | By D. Scott Cooper | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Advent, Anti-Oppression, Class, Conflict, Hope, Immigration, Journey, Justice Sunday, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Worry -
Hope is not just a good idea Love is not naïve Faith is not just the brave face we put on a hopeless situation...Quote | By Tom Schade | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Courage, Faith, Hope, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Love -
O God, who moves among the stars of the cold clear sky, whose voice whispers in the silence of falling snow, whose silence stills our hearts and leaves us wondering and waiting. Lord, We are seeking Christmas, searching in this season for a hidden door to a forgotten room in the house of our very...Prayer | By Tom Schade | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Friendship, God, Relationships, Searching -
Night has fallen. Stars beckon in an indigo and velvet sky Somewhere a baby is being born. Tonight, the world lazes in a love of goodness while glories stream from heaven afar God is meeting us, tonight, where we are. So be not afraid, and be of good cheer, We wish you, each and all, very Merry...Benediction | By Tom Schade | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beauty, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Love, Tradition, Wonder -
Tonight, everyone is displaced and homeless. Tonight, everyone searches for Bethlehem. On this night, when the darkness comes so close, We listen in the stillness for the songs of angels. Like shepherds, we aren't too sure of what is happening. We don't know why we are so expectant. We don't know...Meditation | By Tom Schade | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Home, Hope, Journey, Searching -
“Suddenly summoned to witness something great and horrendous, we kept fighting not to reduce it to our own smallness.” —John Updike, “Tuesday, and After,” The New Yorker, September 24, 2001 We sat on the back steps watching transfixed as hundreds of rust-red spiders, big as thumbs, dropped...Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | January 18, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Balance, Brokenness, Courage, Despair, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Hope, Nature, Solidarity, Unity, Violence -
In times like these, we may seek a new word. But perhaps, in times like these, more than new words, we need old words. We made the journey back to Bethlehem; to the old story of a young, unwed, pregnant girl and her fiancé, Joseph, a poor, young carpenter. The Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus,...Reflection | By Teresa Schwartz | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Fear, Journey, Tradition, Twelfth Night / Epiphany -
We light the Hanukkah candles in wonder, joy, and gratitude, each candle a miracle. When the Holy Temple was rededicated at the time of the Maccabean liberation battle, only one day’s worth of oil remained, yet it burned for eight days so we light candles in remembrance....Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Awe, Freedom, Hanukkah, Judaism, Trust, Wonder -
.I want liberty and justice for all in my country. That will ask of me—and of many of you—the discipline of discomfort.Reflection | By Jake Morrill | January 11, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Challenge, Change, Democracy, Direct Experience, Humanism, Integrity, Politics, Secular, Strength -
The winter solstice is a time to look back upon our ancestors, gather our family and friends close, and rejoice in the return of the sun. It is a time of renewed hope and a time of resurrection – for just as Arianrhod’s Wheel turns and the Oak King resumes his rightful place, so must we go on.Meditation | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | January 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Spirituality, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
May you be safe. May you be free from all harm. As the road or skies carry you toward your fellow pilgrims, may you sense the presence of those who travel with you in spirit, whose hopes and hearts are tucked into your pockets, who name your journey’s purpose as sacred. May you encounter...Blessing | By Erika Hewitt | January 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Connections, Courage, Democracy, Direct Experience, Diversity, Human Rights, Humanism, Journey, Living Our Faith, Secular
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“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ―Albert Einstein This was not my plan for January 1st, 2017: disheveled, wearing a pair of pajamas, and with unbrushed teeth at the pediatric urgent care in New...Reflection | By Robin Tanner | January 4, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser -
There are two questions that [a person] must ask [themselves]. The first is "Where am I going?" and the second is "Who will go with me?" If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble. source: Fire in the Belly by Sam Keen, p. 12.Quote | By Howard Thurman | January 3, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Compromise, Direct Experience, Discernment, Ethics, Humanism, Interdependence, Journey, Leadership, Listening, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Secular, Unity, Vision