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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Spirit of the divine masculine, grant us the strength to nurture in ourselves, and in every young person we have the privilege to know, the gifts of patience, curiosity, and compassion.Prayer | By AJ van Tine | February 29, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Character, Children, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Community, Gender, Growth, Identity, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship -
It takes courage to bring our trust forward and invite another person to meet us there. This sometimes sure, often shaky, surrender is an opportunity to discover something deeper than the confines of our individual experience.Reading | By Adaku Utah | January 21, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Compassion, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Freedom, Growth, Interdependence, Nature, Relationships, Trust, WorshipWeb, Worship -
A movement meditation for all agesMeditation | By Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson | March 18, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Growth, Imagination, Nature, Strength, WorshipWeb, Worship -
One day, I’ll have to care for my mother as she once cared for me. I’m not ready to handle the truth that our relationship must change.Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | September 9, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Fear, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Secular, Worship -
One: To become is a life long process. Nothing is constant, not even the self. We evolve in the midst of narratives meant only for some and ways of being made narrow by fear and power. We must, then, have the courage to listen to the truth of our own lives, to the wisdom that comes from within—...Litany | By enfleshed | January 21, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Connections, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Relationships, Sacred, Transformation, Valentine's Day -
A seed knows how to wait. Most seeds wait for several years before starting to grow; a cherry seed can wait for a hundred years with no problem. What exactly each seed is waiting for is known only to that seed. Some unique trigger-combination of temperature-moisture-light and many other things is...Reading | By Hope Jahren | January 9, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Child Dedication, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, Growth, Humanism, Nature, New Child, Patience, Secular, Climate Justice -
Sometimes grief sends notice ahead of time; sometimes, it shows up as an unwelcome, uninvited guest.Reflection | By Monica Dobbins | October 30, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Direct Experience, Grief, Growth, Humanism, Letting Go, Mother's Day, Parents, Secular, Transformation -
This group blessing is designed to be shared by many voices or read by just one. Alex suggests creating an altar with a chalice and testing supplies (which are then distributed to students as they need them). Speaker 1: We have come to the end of the quarter/semester/year. An end to these classes.Blessing | By Alex Haider-Winnett | June 19, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Bridging Ceremony, Challenge, Choice, Commitment, Direct Experience, Education, Forgiveness, Friendship, Growth, Responsibility, Secular, Wisdom, Worth -
We pause as the path of the sun reverses, seemingly holding its place for a moment of turning. Let us delve into the gifts of darkness at the winter solstice. We follow curiosity and contemplation down into the cold earth, taking a journey to the world below the surface....Meditation | By Lyn Cox | March 17, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Contemplation, Creativity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Growth, Healing, Journey, Trust, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Everything is about to change. And it already has. It will be. It was. It is. The dawn you eagerly await to end the long, cold darkness is already full sun far off in the east. Yet even after light’s return spring is months away. Thirty long years pass after His birth before the Messiah comes.Reading | By Mandie McGlynn | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beginnings, Change, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, Ending, Faith, Growth, Hope, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Paganism, Patience, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb -
We seekers are on a quest: A quest to discover truth and meaning. Sometimes we think we’ve found it— Wrapped up, glimmering with newness Straight off the intellectual assembly line. All the answers right here for us And others, if they’d only listen. But truth has a way of coming in disguise,...Opening | By Jason Cook | June 18, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Leadership, Meaning, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Revelation, Searching, Secular, Teacher Dedication, Teacher Recognition, Transformation, Truth, Wisdom -
I light this chalice as a symbol of my commitment to the values of Unitarian Universalism. May its light be a beacon of hope to me, and to all who seek freedom, truth, and meaning in life.Chalice Lighting | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | March 20, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Children, Children's Sabbath, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Family, Growth, Quinceañera, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism -
Welcome to this sacred celebration of emerging adulthood. We are gathered today to rejoice and bear witness as (name) and her parents and friends mark her transition from childhood to the estate of a young woman. The quinceañera tradition has its roots in the ancient cultures of Central and South...Opening | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | March 20, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging, Children, Coming-of-Age, Generations, Growth, International, Quinceañera, Women -
One: It may be the hardest thing we will ever do, Many: Caught up in our self-righteousness, honing our pain. One: The one who offended may not deserve forgiveness Many: And we are not obliged to offer it. One: Why, then, should we forgive? Many: Because we have all caused pain....Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | July 3, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Fire Communion, Forgiveness, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Letting Go, Limitations, New Year, Spiritual Practice, Transformation, Yom Kippur -
Each of us has gifts and wounds from those who fathered us. This is inevitable; even the best fathers in the world disappoint their children sometimes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow up. But I know that some wounds are deeper than others. Some people’s hearts have been broken by their...Reading | By Myke Johnson | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Pain, Parents, Secular -
Kristin Kany wrote this multi-voice poem in 2016 to be read by a group of "diverse moms." I am mother Mother 1: I am Mother Mother 2: I am Mother Mother(s) 3: I am Mother Mother 4: I am Mother Mother(s) 5: I am Mother Mother 6: I am Mother I am Mama, I am Mommy, I am Chinese, Jewish, African,...Affirmation | By Kristin Kany | March 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Relationships, Sacred, Secular -
May you never thirst. May your body and your spirit always have what they need. When you are in need of refreshment, or new life, may the waters be available to you. May you never know thirst unto death, in your body or in your soul. May you never thirst. And may your body and your spirit always...Blessing | By Erica Baron | October 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Balance, Body, Connections, Earth-Centered, Food, Growth, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Searching, Self-Care, Spirituality -
This has been published with "they" pronouns; please use the most fitting pronoun in your own setting. Minister: I call (intern name) to the pulpit. Congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church of (name), we have begun a new thing by bringing (intern) into our midst, to learn the practice of...Ritual | By Michelle Buhite | October 12, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Commitment, Community, Growth, Leadership, Ministerial Transition, Purpose, Relationships, Service, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism -
Kids, I want you to do something special: I want you to put on your backpacks, if you brought them, leaving the back pocket open just enough for us to drop in a small gift...and I want you to stand up on your pews....Blessing | By Jen Crow | August 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Backpack Blessing, Caring, Character, Children, Courage, Family, Growth, Individualism, Integrity, Journey, Parents -
[Names], as you step forward into your next chapter, we send with you our fondest hopes and blessings. May life bring enough challenge to fuel your dreams, enough affirmation to honor your gifts and enough nurture to give your spirit peace. Believe in your vision. Follow your dreams....Blessing | By Maureen Killoran | June 3, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Beginnings, Bridging, Bridging Ceremony, Coming of Age, Community, Generations, Growth, Home, Hope, Humanism, Love, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism, Young Adults, WorshipWeb -
For this blessing, the youth were invited to sit in a semi-circle on the chancel, around the chalice, and then come forward one at a time. The minister/leader may put their hand on the youth's shoulder as they face the congregation: (full name of youth), we bless you today....Ritual | By Julia Hamilton | June 1, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Bridging Ceremony, Growth, Journey, Transformation, Young Adults, Youth/Teens -
Spirit of spring and new life, spirit of decay and death, We turn to your wisdom and strength as we seek to live lives of meaning and love. The cycle of life is powerful. Everything that lives, dies. Everything that dies has lived. There is no escaping this cycle. What then, can we learn from its...Prayer | By Cathy Rion Starr | March 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Community, Contemplation, Death, Earth, Earth-Centered, Easter, Growth, Spring, Vernal Equinox -
If we lived in another climate Our souls might speak other languages We might speak oasis or permafrost, dry season or monsoon But our souls speak spring Our souls speak green shoots pushing through last year’s leaves Our souls speak flower buds stretching to sun Our souls speak mud puddle and...Opening | By Evin Carvill Ziemer | March 23, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Easter, Growth, Hope, Nature, Passover (Pesach), Spring, Vernal Equinox -
To the Weaver of Molecules, the Spinner of Stars the Impulse that gives birth to the Universe, to the Earth, to Me In the deepest, darkest night of my wintered soul I wrap myself in the blanket of my sadness and grief, pain and suffering, doubts and concerns, fears and questions, and look out fro...Meditation | By Cynthia Frado | December 8, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Agnosticism, Depression, Direct Experience, Growth, Healing, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Indigenous American, Meditation Practices, Mourning, Sadness, Secular, Transcendence, Transformation, Trust, Twelfth Night / Epiphany, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb
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As the first hint of green begins to peek through the barren ground As that little sprig grows into a healthy stem As that stem grows into a stalk and forms a bud As that bud slowly opens with each new day To form a yellow daffodil Let us be, like that first hint of green, renewed by the warm of ...Chalice Lighting | By Jennifer McGlothin | October 20, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Awe, Beauty, Beginnings, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Easter, Flower Communion, Growth, Health, Interdependence, Nature, Secular, Spring, Unitarian Universalism, Vernal Equinox -
Under the wide sky, upon this earth the feet will dance of children stretching, swinging, leaping in joy, challenging themselves with new achievements as the years go by. Memory of goodness is made in such moments as this place will bring. May those who play here feel cared for and filled with life.Blessing | By Emmy Lou Belcher | October 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Body, Building/Space Dedication, Challenge, Children, Community, Generations, Gratitude, Growth, Home, Joy, Playfulness -
We, all of us, build houses for our dreams.. The masonry and lumber, glass and tiles, A solid form, wherein we see our hopes, A shelter and protection for our growth....Blessing | By Dori J. Somers | October 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Building/Space Dedication, Community, Courage, Dignity, Direct Experience, Growth, Home, Hope, Inclusion, Integrity, Love, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
The Birthday Circle is a ritual that shows children that they are loved, known, and appreciated in our families and communities....Ritual | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | June 16, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Coming-of-Age, Community, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds -
What a gathering—the purple tongues of iris licking out at spikes of lupine, the orange crepe skirts of poppies lifting over buttercup and daisy. Who can be grim in the face of such abundance? There is nothing to compare, no need for beauty to compete. The voluptuous rhododendron and the plain...Meditation | By Lynn Ungar | May 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Beauty, Beginnings, Community, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, Growth, Happiness, Nature, Spring -
I’m going to talk about something really powerful today: HOPE. And first, I have a question. Have you ever hoped for something? … and did the thing you hoped for happen? [Take responses.] I think that hope is kinda like these: [Pass around basket of acorns and invite children to take one to hold...Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Autumnal Equinox, Caring, Change, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Growth, Hope, Lammas, Self-Care, Summer Solstice, Transformation, Vernal Equinox, WorshipWeb -
Note: This ritual combines fresh water with water from the previous year that has been boiled and filtered. The combined water is poured over the hands into the common bowl. Minister: The ancient Greek philosopher Heracltus of Ephesus is famous for one belief. He taught his students that...Blessing | By Charlie Dieterich | April 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Beginnings, Body, Caring, Children, Earth-Centered, Education, Generations, Gratitude, Growth, Homecoming / Ingathering, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Teacher Recognition, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, WorshipWeb -
Leader 1: It takes a Unitarian Universalist Village to raise a Unitarian Universalist Child. We will read what we believe important for our children to learn, to know, and to experience. We invite you to respond by saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Leader 2: It is important for our...Litany | By Tess Baumberger | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Community, Generations, Growth, New Child, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism
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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 -
The flame of our chalice this morning is a symbol of the warmth and brightness of our connections. The flame lights our way back together again From our separate summer lives, and it lights our way forward Into this new church year of promise and renewal.Chalice Lighting | By Janet Parsons | February 18, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Commitment, Community, Connections, Discernment, Faith, Friendship, Growth, Homecoming / Ingathering, Hope, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
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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ALL: Today we honor the youth among us You who are stepping beyond and away and toward Today we share in your journey And encourage your discovery Young Adults (18-35): Today we welcome your energy And offer you a safe place to grow Today we celebrate your hopes and dreams Come live, breathe, thr...Ritual | By Jaynn Truran | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Bridging Ceremony, Children, Choice, Direct Experience, Ending, Friendship, Generations, Growth, Letting Go, Power, Youth/Teens
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As we light this chalice We take those little sparks Glowing within all of us And combine them to create this flame. —First Parish, Bedford, MA, Coming of Age participant...Chalice Lighting | By Jamie Dorer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Community, Growth, Living Our Faith, Responsibility, Strength, Truth, Unity, Wholeness -
(May be read responsively) We light this chalice to affirm that new light is ever waiting to break through to enlighten our ways: That new truth is ever waiting to break through to illumine our minds: And that new love is ever waiting to break through to warm our hearts. May we be open to this...Chalice Lighting | By Charles A. Howe | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Birth, Calling, Grace, Growth, Healing, Hope, Listening, Love, Truth, Vision, Winter Solstice / Yule -
For any of the components, below, you might insert other options from WorshipWeb's resources -- or write your own!...Complete Service | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Children, Coming of Age, Faith, Family, Generations, Growth, History, Parents, Unitarian Universalism
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May the Waters gathered here remind us of what each of us brings to this community and of the waters that nourished us before we were even born, that continue to give us sustenance and energy for our life journeys. and for all creatures on this earth....Blessing | By Susan Karlson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Earth, Gratitude, Growth, Interdependence, Journey, Nature, Sacred, Searching, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
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I do not know if the seasons remember their history or if the days and nights by which we count time remember their own passing. I do not know if the oak tree remembers its planting or if the pine remembers its slow climb toward sun and stars. I do not know if the squirrel remembers last fall's...Meditation | By Burton D. Carley | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Earth, Earth-Centered, Growth, Meaning, Nature, Reverence, Salvation, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
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There are two things we can learn from a daffodil to help ourselves and each other.Time for All Ages | By Ruth E Gibson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Earth, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, Growth, Nature, Spring, Strength, Transformation, Vernal Equinox, Wonder