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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We who are Unitarian Universalist not only affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; we also affirm the inherent wholeness of every being -- despite apparent brokenness. No one reading these words is a stranger to pain, or the knowledge that things break, or break down: promises,...Reading | By Erika Hewitt | April 30, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Body, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Healing, Hope, Humanism, Wholeness, Worth -
Spirit of Life and Love, dear God of all nations: There is so much work to do. We have only begun to imagine justice and mercy. Help us hold fast to our vision of what can be. May we see the hope in our history, and find the courage and the voice to work for that constant rebirth of freedom and...Prayer | By William G. Sinkford | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Justice, Love -
At age twenty, I had the fortune of traveling the world. Through a study abroad program, I journeyed to awe-inspiring destinations like India, Cuba, and South Africa. In the process, I witnessed extreme poverty, global wealth, power disparity, and the effects of war and militarism—all while...Reading | By Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Change, Direct Experience, Globalism, Living Our Faith, Personal Stories, Privilege, Transformation, Young Adults
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The sacred is present and available to us wherever we look or are willing to find it. If we remain open and expectant—watching out of the corners of our eyes, keeping our ears cocked, putting away all preconceived ideas—our lives will emanate the sacred.Quote | By Abhi Prakash Janamanchi | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Listening, Revelation, Sacred
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The first time my heart felt broken, I went to church. When my mom died, I went to church. When I failed a class, I went to church. When I failed a friend, I went to church. When I felt like I’d failed at life, I went to church. I didn’t go asking for forgiveness. I didn’t go asking for...Reading | By Kenny Wiley | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Death, God, Individualism, Mothers, Personal Stories, Relationships
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In what form did the spirit appear to you today, the blossom of a flower, the tug of a child’s hand, the silent twinkling stars, an old woman smiling at the bus stop, a lover’s gentle hug, a presence so close to your soul you could almost touch it, words of truth formed unbidden in your...Poetry | By Jean M. Olson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, God, Immanence, Mystery, Sacred
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Of course I want the truth, but here’s the rub: Truth doesn’t sit around still as a rock, it breathes and flows and turns inside out. Ever seen a lion in a cage? He paces and glowers. That must be how God feels locked in our little religions. Look how big the sky is, the deep distances between...Poetry | By Janet Hutchinson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, God, Mystery, Revelation, Sacred, Truth, Wonder
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I am praying again and how does one pray when unsure if anything hears? In the world I know as reliable and finite when time and matter cycle back and forth and I understand the answers to so many puzzles there are moments when knowing is nothing and I this accumulation of systems, histories...Poetry | By Barbara J Pescan | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Atheism, Direct Experience, Spiritual Practice, Truth, Wonder
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It is not old, Yet it comes through the wisdom of the ages. It is not young, Yet it comes through the passion of innocence. It is not revolutionary, Yet it comes proclaiming change. It is not solitary, Yet it travels alone, seeking the open heart. It is not lonely, Yet it seeks relationship....Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, God, Reverence, Sacred
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You bring yourself before the sacred, before the holy, before what is ultimate and bigger than your lone life bigger than your worries bigger than your money problems bigger than the fight you had with your sister and your aches and pains bigger, even, than your whole being, your self who is part...Poetry | By Angela Herrera | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Generations, Mystery, Sacred, Wonder
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Barukh atah, Emeth! Blest are you, o Truth. Like the fabled Moses, I too can never claim to have seen you “face to face.” Too often, I’ve hung my own face on you and pretended that I know something I do not. Indeed, my most honest heart confesses that at most, I have only caught the briefest...Poetry | By Mark Belletini | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Connections, Earth, Imagination, Interdependence, Nature, Truth, Wonder -
The delicate, flapping wings of a butterfly have the power to set molecules of air in motion, in turn moving more molecules of air—a tiny act that is eventually capable of affecting weather patterns on the other side of the planet. This notion comes from a concept within Chaos Theory called the...Reading | By Dana Capasso | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Direct Experience, Interdependence
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“The beauty of the world is the mouth of a labyrinth,” writes Simone Weil. We would be foolish not to follow its call. And so we enter the labyrinth, lured by the whiff of a dream still in the making: the possibility of a new relationship, the promise of a new career, the potential for a new...Reading | By Erik W. Martínez Resly | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Change, Failure, Faith, Journey, Living Our Faith
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May you be brave enough to expose your aching woundedness and reveal your vulnerability. May you speak your deepest truths, knowing that they will change as you do. May you sing the music within you, composing your own melody, playing your song with all your heart....Blessing | By Jean M. Olson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Bridging Ceremony, Brokenness, Change, Child Dedication, Courage, Integrity, Journey, Love, New Child, Truth, Vulnerability, Young Adults, Youth/Teens
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shouting back to Stevie Smith who cried “I’m drowning! Not waving!” I ain’t waving babe, I’m drowning going down in a cold lonely sea I ain’t waving babe, I’m drowning so babe quit waving at me I ain’t waving babe, I’m crying I’m crying, oh why can’t you see? I ain’t fooling...Poetry | By Ric Masten | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Brokenness, Caring, Connections, Despair, Pain
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I stretch forth my hand Knowing not what I shall touch... A tender spot, An open wound, Warmth, Pulsing life, Fragile blossoms, A rock, Ice. I am tentative, trembling... Wishing to avoid hurt, Wanting to link my life with Life. Lonely, I desire companions Naked, I long for defenders....Poetry | By Gordon B McKeeman | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Caring, Connections, Despair, Hope, Intimacy, Vulnerability
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In order to get out I must go through. There is no other way. No other way? But there must be another way, an easier path, a well-lit road. I cast about, scan the horizon— No other way. The way out is the way through. The way through is the way hard....Poetry | By Kathy Fuson Hurt | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Ending, Journey, Letting Go, Patience, Strength
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Headlights, taillights, going, coming; it does not matter inside. Draw a curtain across the window, lock the door and break the key. Let the interior deepen and broaden until it exceeds this little room. You will go out when you are ready, when the tiny inner Self no longer fits. Awareness will...Meditation | By Jean M. Olson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Growth, Identity, Integrity, Progress, Transformation
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It hurts to let go of intensity that zapped like electricity yesterday. It hurts to disconnect arcing power, watch it ground and vanish. What was it that surged through us to lighten gray, indifferent skies? What was it that connected our hearts to hope?...Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Letting Go, Pain, Power
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Oh, the comfort—the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person—having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then...Quote | By Dinah Maria Mulock Craik | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Direct Experience, Friendship, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships