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 body is not what it was I got shin splints from running today Ten years ago all I’d get was smelly feet My back aches just from sitting these days In my youth, all my pain came from climbing trees This body is not what it was Not some alien thing thrust upon me So clumsy, always in the way I...Poetry | By Kayla Parker | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Aging, Body, Change, Direct Experience -
(adapted from the original) I say that it touches us that our blood is sea water and our tears are salt, that the seed of our bodies is scarcely different from the same cells in a seaweed, and that the stuff of our bones is like the coral. I say that the tide rolls in on us, whether we like it or...Poetry | By Marni Harmony | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, Body, Change, Nature, Reverence
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Once upon a time I was Now I am Some day I will become Once there was And now there is Soon there will be And some day there surely shall be Once upon a time we were Now we are And some day (Hallelujah!) we shall surely become Amen Amen...Poetry | By Margaret Williams Braxton | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Character, Direct Experience, Growth, Reverence
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My high school years were speckled with trust walks. In my Unitarian Universalist youth group at the First UU Congregation of Ann Arbor, each year, the incoming freshmen were given blindfolds and a partner. They were led out into the dark, with only hands on their shoulders to guide them. When...Reading | By Rianna Johnson-Levy | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Autumnal Equinox, Beauty, Change, Death, Direct Experience, Growth, Letting Go, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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Spirit of life and love, In the silence In the stillness We hear the call of our own heart Its tender dreams Its sorrows and its triumphs In the silence In the stillness We hear whispers of days gone by Of dreams still becoming The promise of the future We celebrate together Our individual journe...Prayer | By Sara Eileen LaWall | March 6, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Direct Experience, Listening, Silence, Unitarian Universalism, Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies -
This ritual, for use within a worship service, calls for the voices of two lay leaders—such as the Board President and a worship associate—although a single lay leader could just as easily read both parts. Lay Leader 1: The life of our religious community is fluid, ever changing with new lives,...Ritual | By Sandy Hoyt, Suzanne Reitz | March 6, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Ending, Leadership, Letting Go, Ministerial Transition, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Service, Unitarian Universalism
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For millennia People have gathered together to hear stories, To root for the underdog, To jeer the evil and the unkind. We see in our stories Mirrors to our own lives Where we hope good things will happen to good people And that evil will be vanquished....Opening | By Sharon Wylie | March 3, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Evil, Generations, Good, History, Judaism, Purim, Unitarian Universalism
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This pastoral prayer is adapted from the prayer of Shantideva, an 8th century Buddhist monk and major source of inspiration to the Dalai Lama, who references the original prayer often. There are many translations, some of which contain the whole text; some of which do not....Prayer | By Karen G. Johnston | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Brokenness, Buddhism, Healing, Hope, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
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My theology understands humanity as simultaneously fragile and resilient, weak and strong, greedy and generous, mean and compassionate. I see the divine spark in the tension between those opposites....Meditation | By DC Fortune | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Beauty, Humanism, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Resilience, Secular, Strength, Weakness -
Oh spirit of life and love, We pause for a moment on this snowy day to reflect on the changes one week can make in our lives. We celebrate the feast of Imbolc, the pagan holiday that heralds the coming of spring. Our hearts stir with the thought that lambs are being born, that the light is...Prayer | By Deborah Weiner | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Agnosticism, Climate Justice, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Mystery, Nature, Paganism, Reverence, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability, Winter
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My prayer today is that I learn to stay a war atheist— my prayer today for each of us, for everyone in this nation, in this world, is that we all learn to be war atheists. I don’t believe in war anymore. My prayer today is that I never again succumb to fear, fear which seduces me to believe that...Meditation | By Jessica Purple Rodela | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hiroshima Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Memorial Day, Nonviolence, Peace, Remembrance Day
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Listen. Listen to silence. Listen to the wind. Listen to the stars. Hear trees. Dance. Dance to the beat of your neighbor’s heart. Dance to the rhythm of your childhood dreams. Sing. Sing and hum a wordless song to the tune of your rushing blood. And Pray. Pray with a fever that makes you sweat...Opening | By Jessica Purple Rodela | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Listening
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(In the) Spirit of Love and Remembrance, we mourn and honor [pet's name]. In life he embodied: the one-ness of all living things. In death he bears witness: to love beyond the bounds of race, kin, or species. This is a love with which it is tasked upon us: to unite, heal, and consecrate. From the...Prayer | By Dennis McCarty | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Death, Dignity, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Grief, Interdependence, Nature, Sadness, Secular, Sorrow
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We all emerge from Dwell within Are transformed by And called back to Love. May your mind be humbled before this Mystery. May your heart grow hopeful by it. May you be sustained by this Love always.Benediction | By Eric Williams | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Love, Mystery, Reverence, Universalism -
Respect our interdependent web of existence: the image on the right may be used as wallpaper for a smartphone or tablet. The 7th Principle of Unitarian Universalism is respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Nature, Respect, Unitarian Universalism -
Improve the global community: the image on the right may be used as wallpaper for a smartphone or tablet. The 6th Principle of Unitarian Universalism is the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Earth, Globalism, Interdependence, Justice, Peace, Service, Unitarian Universalism -
Support democracy: the image on the right may be used as wallpaper for a smartphone or tablet. The 5th Principle of Unitarian Universalism is the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Democracy, Human Rights, Unitarian Universalism -
Search freely and responsibly for truth & meaning. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Freedom, Meaning, Responsibility, Searching, Truth, Unitarian Universalism -
Accept one another and encourage spiritual growth: the image on the right may be used as wallpaper for a smartphone or tablet. The 3rd Principle of Unitarian Universalism is acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Growth, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism -
Justice, equity and compassion: the image on the right may be used as wallpaper for a smartphone or tablet. The 2nd Principle of Unitarian Universalism is justice, equity and compassion in human relations. The Seven Principles by Ellen Rocket...Image | By Ellen Rockett | February 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Compassion, Equity, Justice, Unitarian Universalism