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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As we gather in this sacred moment, the Holy Spirit settles among her people.Chalice Lighting | By Phoenix Bell-Shelton Biggs | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian), God, Love -
I wasn’t really “born this way.” I grew this way.Reflection | By Heather McDuffee | September 28, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #Pride, Choice, Coming Out, Friendship, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Marriage, National Coming Out Day, Transformation, Trust, Worship -
Coming out is vulnerable, intimate, and holy.Homily | By Heather McDuffee | September 27, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #Pride, Acceptance, Christianity, Coming Out, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, Friendship, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
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"Most of us have been led to believe that prophets 'foretell' the future. That is true, and it is also misleading. It is not the point here. Prophets are seers of the big patterns; they see what is always and forever true. Prophets like Isaiah know how God acts by watching and listening, and they...Quote | By Richard Rohr | February 25, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Contemplation, Courage, Discernment, God, Lent, Revelation -
We are left with a new sense of ourselves as God’s people.Affirmation | By Walter Brueggemann | February 19, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, God, Lent, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, WorshipWeb, Worship
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Advent is about the new story being written in our lives.Quote | By Jes Kast | September 10, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, God, Hope, Spirituality, Vulnerability, WorshipWeb, Worship -
The drag show was heaven broken open, given to us for the evening. Everything for a little while was perfect—and I saw the face of my God.Reflection | By Jami Yandle | July 1, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Freedom, Gender, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacred, Sexuality -
Reader 1: We come today to gather together as Unitarian Universalists. Reader 2: We come today to join in the spirit of love and the service of life. Reader 3: We come today to be part of the stream of this living tradition. All: In our gathering, may we be blessed. Reader 1: Our shared faith is...Responsive Reading | By Monica Jacobson-Tennessen | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Commitment, Direct Experience, God, Justice, Living Our Faith, Love, Ordinations, Service -
God of our hearts, God of our understandings, God who gives us hope and inspires us to commitment, God who commands us to remember: We come together today with hearts contrite and broken; We come together with minds awake, comprehension striving against incomprehension; We come together in hope...Prayer | By Paul Oakley | August 3, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, God, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Judaism, Solidarity, Suffering -
Gracious God, Is it the glitter? Some people think it's the glitter that makes the Pride parade like heaven. Pearly gates and streets of gold - surely heaven has as much glitter as a Pride parade. There’s definitely enough glitter there to make a person believe that the Pride parade is like...Prayer | By Lori Walke | June 25, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Christianity, God, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Unitarian Universalism -
Within the heart of the flower, the fountain of beauty Within the heart of the community, a fire that warms and dances Within the heart of each of us, a spark of the spirit of life. Holy, holy, holy.Chalice Lighting | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | May 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, God, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Wonder -
Recently, I ordered 4-foot-tall rainbow bunnies for my church. Just after I hit “order,” I wondered if we really needed them. Later that day, one of my parishioners sent me a picture taken in front of a local church: on the lawn was an enormous banner with a picture of the Holy Family, and the...Reading | By Jonathan Chapman | April 25, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Christianity, God, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Pride Sunday, Unitarian Universalism -
Image | By Tim Atkins, Jessica Ferguson | February 9, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Agnosticism, Atheism, God, Gratitude, Love, Paganism, Playfulness, Unitarian Universalism, Valentine's Day -
An adequate Christmas would have you calm and open, taking it in, accepting whatever is. Slow it all down like you might be, in some way, attuned to the pace of the Eternal. If you need, you can fake it at first.Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 29, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Challenge, Choice, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, God, Self-Care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice / Yule -
I was talking to someone recently about the story of her church-going life, and she told me about a time in her life that she stopped coming to church. Many people who have a story about their church-going life also have a story about taking a break from church—when they stopped going, sometimes...Reflection | By Robin Bartlett | November 26, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Despair, God, Hope, Inclusion, Presence -
"The soul is made of love and must ever strive to return to love. Therefore, it can never find rest nor happiness in other things. It must lose itself in love. By its very nature, it must seek God, who is love." —Mechthild of Magdeburg, 13th century Germany For twelve years, Daisy has been the...Reflection | By Jake Morrill | March 8, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, God, Imagination, Lent, Love, Nature, Presence, Sacred, Searching, Unitarian Universalism -
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 -
Your first Christmas, your last Christmas, this Christmas, and the redemption of the whole world are all happening right now, forever.Meditation | By Quinn G. Caldwell | December 14, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, God, Redemption, Spirituality, Tradition, Wonder -
This hymn text was written to accompany the tune St. Louis, commonly known as "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (#246 in Singing the Living Tradition). O Holy Darkness, loving Womb, who nurtures and creates, sustain us through the longest night with dreams of open gates....Music | By Jann Aldredge-Clanton | December 12, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Anti-Oppression, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, God, Mystery, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wisdom, Women -
Dearly beloved, the story is told that a man named Jesus dined nearly two thousand years ago among his disciples on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion. Some say that Jesus took bread, spoke of it as his body, broke it into pieces and passed it among them to eat....Blessing | By Barnaby Feder | December 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Christianity, Communion (Christian), Community, Earth, Faith, Food, Generosity, God, Gratitude, Hospitality, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality -
December 7, 2016 “Use loneliness. Its ache creates urgency to reconnect with the world.” — Natalie Goldberg I know a little about "merry" meeting "mess" at the holidays — and by a little I mean How much time have you got? Four Christmases ago, a painful break-up sent me spinning into a long...Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | December 7, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Commitment, God, Healing, Hope, Pain, Sadness, Spiritual Practice -
“‘God did it’ isn’t an explanation,” said Joseph. He got no account for the baby’s chromosomes, No description of the mechanism that Transmuted the divine shadow into royal blood. “‘The devil made me do it’ would have sounded better to me,” said Joseph, Though it never did him...Poetry | By Jim Burklo | December 6, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Faith, Family, God, Love, Mystery, Parents, Trust -
This is the key to the mystery, The Word became flesh.Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | December 1, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Awe, Body, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, God, Immanence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
God has a fondness for what is fragile. This means us. Advent tells us that God came to us—and comes to us still—with complete vulnerability. Christ is to be found among what is fragile—including us, ourselves, when pain and loss have left us feeling less than whole. In coming to us as a...Reflection | By Jan Richardson | November 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, God, Immanence, Relationships, Vulnerability -
Gracious God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. In the Psalms you tell us our days in this life are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone....Prayer | By Susan Maginn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Christianity, Coming of Age, Generations, God, Graduation Recognition, Love, Young Adults
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O God who gave us life and death, you hold us in your hands. You cradle us in our need, and you push us into growth. We confess to you that all is not well, that we grieve the loss of many things and people....Prayer | By Beth Merrill Neel | August 24, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Christianity, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Fear, God, Healing, Unitarian Universalism -
Imagine if Easter preachers—and all the rest of us—had the chutzpah of Mary Magdalene.Time for All Ages | By Anne S. Howard | March 22, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Abundance, Christianity, Courage, Easter, God, Good, Power, Revelation -
She called to ask if I would baptize her infant son. I said, "What we do is like a baptism, but not exactly. And we normally do it only for people who are part of the church family. The next one we have scheduled is in May." She said, "Could we come to talk with you about it anyway?" They came to...Meditation | By Robert Walsh | January 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Child Dedication, Children, Faith, Family, Fathers, God, Grace, Love, Mothers, New Child, Parents, Salvation, Unitarian Universalism
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Creator of Life, Source of All Being It was from the particles of the Universe that you formed me... Iron and carbon and phosphorous Mixed with energy, passion and dreams. I was made in your image, says ancient Scripture. Made from the colors of the rainbow, Shaped with bones straight and curved,...Meditation | By Cynthia Frado | December 8, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Atheism, Coming of Age, Connections, Direct Experience, Diversity, God, Homecoming / Ingathering, Identity, Inclusion, Individualism, Integrity, National Coming Out Day, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Reverence, Secular, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Unitarian Universalism, United Nations Day, WorshipWeb -
In Jewish tradition, the four chapters of the Book of Jonah are read aloud at Yom Kippur. Jonah is a minor prophet in the Hebrew Bible but he has a big message. Some of you may know his story. Jonah is sent by God to Nineveh to warn the people that if they do not change their ways they will be...Story | By Joanne Giannino | September 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anger, Community, Compromise, Forgiveness, God, Good, Judaism, Transformation, Yom Kippur
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Image | By AmyBeth Gibbs | September 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Forgiveness, God, Judaism, Love, Rosh Hashanah, Tradition, Wonder, Yom Kippur -
Spirit of life and death, Thou who art as present to us in our suffering As in our wellbeing, Abide with us in this permeable time Between dusk and dark. Soothe the secret pains we carry. Bless us with the courage to move toward our grief And not away. When all is hidden— When we find ourselves...Prayer | By Celie Katovitch | June 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Christianity, Direct Experience, Doubt, Faith, God, Good Friday, Grief, Hope, Mourning, Shadow, WorshipWeb -
Loving Creator, beyond our understanding yet closer than our breath, breathe into us your love so that we may love ourselves and others as you do. Help heal the fear, hate, and judgment that wound so many....Prayer | By Amy Johnson | May 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Coming Out, Connections, God, Healing, Inclusion, Love, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Wholeness -
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land to a good and broad land, a land...Meditation | By John Nichols | March 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Freedom, God, Integrity, Judaism, Passover (Pesach)
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My name is Mary Magdalene. You may have heard of me. I lived a long, long time ago, 2,000 years ago. And I’m here today to tell you the story of Easter as I saw it. But first I should tell you that some people think I'm a little crazy. Legend has it that I spent most of my life alone in a cave,...Script | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Courage, Easter, God, Love, Oppression, Revelation, Unitarian Universalism
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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
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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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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
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Dear God, May I be kind, Strong and brave, Joyful, useful, loving, Honest and healthy.Prayer | By Meg Barnhouse | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Courage, God, Health, Kindness, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Strength
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For food in a world where many walk in hunger For faith in a world where many walk in fear For friends in a world where many walk alone We give you thanks, O God. Amen.Prayer | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Children's Sabbath, Food, Friendship, God, Gratitude, Table Grace
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Dear God, hear and bless Your beasts and singing birds; And guard with tenderness Small things that have no words...Prayer | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Awe, Children's Sabbath, Compassion, God, Nature
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O God, we give thanks this day and every day for all you have made known to us through the life of Jesus. Glory to you throughout the ages. We give thanks for all the knowledge, faith and hope that is implanted in our hearts by the teachings of Jesus, whom you sent to us, and spiritually remains...Ritual | By Kenneth Claus | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Christianity, Communion (Christian), Connections, Direct Experience, God, Immanence, Nature, Revelation, Reverence, Tradition, Transformation -
O One, for whom words to describe are always inadequate, we give thanks that you may be often found in the most common, the most basic of human experience. Particularly we give thanks for the common meal: that which has sustained us as individuals, as families and as faith communities. Among the...Ritual | By Kenneth Claus | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Christianity, Communion (Christian), Community, God, Solidarity, Tradition, Transformation, Unity
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We know the story: an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds. The glory of the Lord shone around them. A great light descends on dark fields, happy angels and cherubim sing for joy, play their lutes, and dance about to defy the gravity of earthly cares....Meditation | By Teresa Schwartz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, God, Goddess, Mystery, Searching, Wonder -
There was a Mystery. She was a great Mystery. And nobody understood or appreciated her mainly because there was no one else around to appreciate or understand much of anything.Story | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Earth Day, God, Mystery, Playfulness
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God of life and beauty: We pray for the quietness of snowflakes, knowing that love is quiet. We pray for the kindness of small acts, knowing gentleness is fragile....Prayer | By Lucinda S Duncan | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Compassion, God, Kindness, Living Our Faith, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
I am Unitarian, I live and work in this faith. Jesus is my guide And God is my help. We, humans, are all brothers/sisters, Our law is one: love. The goal of our work is shared, Happy are those of God's Kingdom...Meditation | By Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Faith, God, Love, Partner Church Observation, Purpose, Service, Unitarianism, Unity
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(Hungarian first—English follows) Hol hit—ott szeretet Where there is faith there is love Hol szeretet—ott béke Where there is love there is peace Hol béke—ott áldás Where there is peace there is blessing Hol áldás—ott Isten Where there is blessing there is God Hol Isten—ott...Meditation | By Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Faith, God, History, Love, Partner Church Observation, Peace, Unitarianism
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Emmanuel means "God is with us." Who is your Emmanuel? Who is your "God is with us," the one you were promised, the one you have been waiting for? For the ancient prophet Isaiah, he was a boy soon to be born who would guide the people of Judah back to peace and harmony with God....Meditation | By Sarah Movius Schurr | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beauty, Belief, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, God, Listening, Searching, Tradition, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of prayer: O Holy One, that unites all who are estranged and challenges all who preach division and exclusion, We see that unity so often in the eyes of a child, who sees neither race or creed in any eyes that look back, but only whether tho...Prayer | By Kathleen Rolenz | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Generations, God, Memorial Day, Military Service, Peace, Veterans Day, Violence, War