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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A Christmas Play for Grownups Minister: Tonight I invite you to imagine yourselves there that holy night, when a mother and father had their first child. We try to imagine what went through the minds and hearts of the parents of Jesus, in the months leading up to his birth....Script | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, God, Love, Parents, Unitarian Universalism -
Something has changed in me this winter. In the past I’ve focused on how long winter is, How miserable I find it, and how it seems so interminable. This winter, I find myself thinking instead That every day, every hour, every minute Brings us just that much closer to spring. We all experience...Poetry | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Advent, Agnosticism, Atheism, Brokenness, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Despair, Earth-Centered, Humanism, New Year, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Winter Solstice / Yule
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Waiting to be born, again, into the morning, onto the day, from dark warm comfort, of my bed full of sleep and blankets, back into bright spring-scented air with all its life and branches....Reading | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Advent, Birth, Christianity, Hope, Letting Go, Patience, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule
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Keeper of our journeys, Today we mark and celebrate a significant moment in the lives of these young people Who this year assume the responsibility of becoming licensed drivers. We ask that they might be gifted with wisdom to make good choices as they navigate the roads ahead....Blessing | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Beginnings, Choice, Discernment, Freedom, Health, Journey, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Respect, Responsibility, Youth Sunday, Youth/Teens
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You never know how things will turn out. Sometimes big events have very small beginnings. A little acorn can turn into a giant oak tree, for example, but you’d never guess from looking that the acorn had all that potential hidden inside. Long ago, Jesus talked with people about that very idea....Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Transformation
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I like congregational meetings. More than any other facet of church life, more than the worship or music or potlucks, these exercises in democratic decision-making go to the heart of our religious heritage....Opening | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Business Meetings, Community, Democracy, History, Unitarian Universalism
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Our time is short here on the earth. Around us swirl immensities of time and space, A universe infinite in all directions. How small our hopes and cares seem Amid the panorama of creation....Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth Day, Earth-Centered, God, Interdependence, Nature, Unity
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We thank you sky for your blue, Also, breeze, for what you do: Everything simple, Undivided, And too ordinary to be tried as true. The sound of rain when we’re warm inside, Purple shadows on the mountainside, Help us to notice, Open our eyes, Give us grateful hearts, And unclinging minds. That we...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Contemplation, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered
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When I think of power, strength, sheer physical force, I think of an avalanche. Tons of thundering snow come falling down the side of a steep mountain with the speed and irresistable force of a locomotive or freight train. In an instant an avalanche can sweep away everything in its path. But...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Christianity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Easter, Flower Communion, Nature, Sacrifice, Transcendence, Transformation
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Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all. May it means just listening. Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer, Quieting the mental chatter and distractions. Maybe it means listening to the birds And the insects, the wind in the leaves, the creaking and groaning of the trees, noticing...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Contemplation, Direct Experience, Listening, Prayer Practices
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On Easter Sunday, we remember the teachings of Jesus as we celebrate the miracle of life, which is also closely related to the mystery of death. Jesus, for example, spoke of a seed. Unless it falls to the earth and is buried, it remains just a seed. But by going down, down beneath the ground, it...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Change, Christianity, Death, Easter, Faith, Growth, Transformation
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Asked if he was lonesome in his hut on Walden Pond, our neighbor Henry Thoreau famously replied, “How could I be lonely? Don’t I live in the Milky Way?” Thoreau doubtless would have been encouraged by the recent discovery of Kepler-22, a planet just 600 light years from earth right in the...Reading | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Advent, Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Science, Wonder
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Is the world getting more connected or more fragmented? Facebook, in conjunction with the University of Milan, recently announced that there were only 4.74 "degrees of separation" among its 700 million users (representing 10% of the world's population). That contrasts with the famous six degrees...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Community, Friendship, Homecoming / Ingathering, Interdependence, Solidarity
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We gather on this beautiful morning, the anniversary of a day painful to remember but impossible to forget ... We remember all the heroes and heroines of that day, the firefighters and emergency responders who demonstrated such courage in the midst of crisis....Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), America, Democracy, Nonviolence, Peace
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Gracious Spirit, Who makes the first to be last and the last to be first, Who makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon all, Help us to understand that life is not an contest Where having the most toys is the point of the game, To realize that the victor’s circle can be the loneliest spot...Prayer | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Dignity, Grace, Humility, Self-Respect
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Children widen the circle of our being in ways that are limitless. Every baby that’s born connects us to our history, our own parents, grandparents and unknown forbears who brought new life to the world in each successive generation. Every baby that’s born links us to the future, to a world yet...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Family, Fathers, Generations, Love, Mothers, Parents -
We draw from many wells, From oceans and rivers, From lakes and streams, From the muddy Mississippi to the roaring Rio Grande, From faraway places and from the ponds and puddles in our own backyards....Ritual | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Buddhism, Christianity, Community, Diversity, Hinduism, Humanism, Inclusion, Taoism, Unity, Water Communion
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We give thanks for love, Agape and Eros, Chocolates and pillow talk, And all of cupid’s arrows. For unrequited yearning And the grand passion burning, For quiet appreciation And platonic contemplation. For lovers, too, we offer thanks: Those gay and straight, near and dear, Gender metamorphic or...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Intimacy, Love, Sexuality, Valentine's Day -
When used as a responsive reading, "We are waiting" is the congregational response. This is the season of anticipation, Of expecting, of hoping, of wanting. This is the time of expecting the arrival of something--or someone. We are waiting. This is the time of living in darkness, in the hues of...Responsive Reading | By Leslie Takahashi | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Calling, Christianity, Contemplation, Hope, Unitarian Universalism, Vision -
A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...Story | By Christian Schmidt | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Children's Sabbath, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, God, Interdependence, Justice Sunday, Service, Water Communion