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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"Those who believed and adopted exile and fought for the Faith, with their property and their persons, in the cause of Allah, as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid—these are (all) friends and protectors, one of another." —Al-Anfal, 8:72...Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Faith, Islam, Multiculturalism, Strength, Wisdom -
"And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbor who is a stranger, and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess....Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Compassion, Islam, Multiculturalism, Relationships, Wisdom
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"And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear not to give to the near of kind and to the needy, and to refugees for the cause of God. Let them forgive and show indulgence." — An-Nur, 24:22...Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Dignity, Forgiveness, Islam, Relationships, Wisdom
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"...you are no longer strangers and sojourners but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Ephesians is a book in the New (Greek) Testament; it's one of Paul's epistles (or letters), written to an early Christian church in Ephesus.Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Connections, God, Unity
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"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another....Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Freedom, Interdependence, Love, Service
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"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." — Hebrews 13:2 Hebrews is a book in the New (Greek) Testament; it's an epistle (or letter) written by an unknown author before 70 CE.Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Christianity, Generosity, Hospitality, Inclusion, Stewardship
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"[Lord,] when did we see you a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."...Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Hospitality, Interdependence, Service
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"If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him—stranger or resident—so that he can live with you." Levtitcus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible (sometimes called the Old Testament) and the third of five books of the Torah (or...Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Generosity, Judaism, Stewardship
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"Put up at the moment of greatest suffering a prayer, not for thy own escape, but for the enfranchisement of some being dear to thee, and the sovereign spirit will accept thy ransom."...Quote | By Thomas Wentworth Higginson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Faith, History, Hope, Spiritual Practice, Suffering
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“Her specter haunted all who knew her, and many who did not. Henry James, born in New York in 1843, stood beside his father on a Hudson River excursion boat and heard Washington Irving tell that Margaret Fuller had been drowned the day before. Even at the age of seven this small boy was resolved...Quote | By Perry Miller | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, History, Leadership, Women
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"When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall do them no wrong, the strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as natives among you, and you love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Levtitcus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible (sometimes called the Ol...Quote | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Hospitality, Immigration, Judaism, Kindness, Multiculturalism
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This is a fable you can use as is, or adapt for your needs — embellish it and perform it with lots of dramatic emphasis — the underlined words almost always get a laugh — adults really like the story too. The story was loosely adapted from a story that George Reavis wrote when he was the...Story | By Devorah Greenstein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Playfulness
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A while ago my friend told me that his son had come home from school with a new put-down expression. “That is sooo gay.” My friend explained to his son that perhaps he didn’t want to say that—after all, he lived in a family with two daddies—“gay” as a put-down just didn’t seem the...Sermon | By Devorah Greenstein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Aging, Anti-Oppression, Body, Disability, Inclusion, Integrity, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
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My friend Sue has a son with autism who is now 19 years old. When Adam was younger (8–13) and when they would go to the grocery store, he would inevitably make a scene because he would want his parents to buy something he couldn’t have. This would be no ordinary scene of power play and wielding...Sermon | By Laurie Thomas | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Disability, Honesty, Illness, Multiculturalism, Parents, Relationships, Respect, Unitarian Universalism
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God, or however you wish to name the Divine, does not make mistakes. What does this mean? What does this mean when a mother gives birth to a child with mental retardation or cerebral palsy? What does this mean when a child is in an accident and becomes seriously physically impaired?...Sermon | By Sally Patton | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 6th Principle (World Community), Disability, Hospitality, Illness, Mental Health, Multiculturalism, Unitarian Universalism
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As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. C: “Worth” takes endless forms. As we find more expressions of our worth, we grow richer as a church community. We believe in justice, equity and compassion in human relations. C: If we let rationalizations...Responsive Reading | By Michael Daeschlein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism
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Spirit of Love, we pray for all your people. For people who are blind and cannot see and for those who can see but are blind to people around them Spirit, in your mercy, help us touch each other....Prayer | By Bonnie Vegiard | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Direct Experience, Healing, Health, Illness, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds
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What you risk telling your story: You will bore them. Your voice will break, your ink spill and stain your coat. No one will understand, their eyes become fences. You will park yourself forever on the outside, your differentness once and for all revealed, dangerous. The names you give to yourself...Reading | By Laura Hershey | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Conscience, Direct Experience, Identity, Power, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Truth, Vulnerability
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Source of Life who is known by many names; Over-turner and illuminator of hearts; We gather with gratitude for the earth and all who journey in it. We give thanks for the interconnectedness of all creation....Prayer | By Jessica Vazquez Torres | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Christianity, Dignity, Immigration, Interdependence, Islam, Justice, Justice Sunday, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
Doctor, you say there are no haloes around the streetlights in Paris and what I see is an aberration caused by old age, an affliction. I tell you it has taken me all my life to arrive at the vision of gas lamps as angels, to soften and blur and finally banish the edges you regret I don't see, to...Poetry | By Lisel Mueller | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Beauty, Calling, Reverence, Vision