Edit Header for Worship Holidays Search
An unlit chalice on a church altar

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.

LEADER RESOURCE 2 Rituals to Welcome a New Child
a medieval window from the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland, depicting the Nativity
Islamic prayer beads or Subha inside the Süleymaniye Moque (Istanbul).
An altar filled with candles, photos, and flowers

Search Words for Worship Services

Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword or changing the number of items per page requires use of the "Search" button.

Displaying 1 - 50 of 1063

  • A red fox looks into the camera, which is positioned on the yellow stripe separating the two sides of a county road. We see the otherwise empty road receding far into the distance, but the fox is prominent in the foreground. Blurred bushes and trees — yellow, orange, and dark green — line the sides of the road.
    Today, we are charged to remember. To know that as we live together in community, we are also in community with the silently singing lives in the vast congregation of the earth as well... Let us remember, and then act.
    Reading | By Irene Glasse, Rebekah Savage | April 24, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, Nature, Sacred, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Above a cityscape, in a black-and-white photo, a lone crow or corvid spreads its wings mid-flight.
    Crows found ways to adapt to our concrete forests but we have not yet found ways to make sure we are in balance with the rest of creation.
    Reflection | By Christine Slocum | April 17, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Nature, Worship
  • A white and brown shofar resting on a piece of blue satin.
    If you have come here tonight on Rosh Hashanah and feel that there is nothing to examine, no wound in your life to heal, no relationship to repair—then I hope you will listen especially closely to the shofar.
    Quote | By Angela Buchdahl | April 4, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Grief, Healing, Judaism, Reconciliation, Rosh Hashanah, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Four Advent candles in a row in front of a deep black background. All four are lit. The third from the left is pink, and the others are purple.
    Prayers to be said on the four Sundays of Advent while lighting the Advent candle wreath.
    Prayer | By Elizabeth Mount | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christianity, Hope, Joy, Love, Patience, Peace, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A hand holding a piece of chalk against a blank green chalkboard, as if poised to write. The hand is pale-skinned, and the part of the arm we see is clothed in a white shirt with cuffs.
    Let this year be a clean slate for new beginnings.
    Prayer | By Addae Ama Kraba | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Courage, Creativity, Empathy, New Year, Peace, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Behind clouds that are faintly lit by the last light of day, a thin crescent moon and a few stars are visible in the blue/black sky.
    There in the deep sack of night, a tiny Hope was born. 
    Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Birth, Earth-Centered, Hope, Joy, Love, Peace, Sacred, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A silhouette of six or seven young people against a cloudless sky, which ranges from pale blue near the bottom to deep blue at the top of the image.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Character, Children, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Community, Gender, Growth, Identity, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A frozen soap bubble rests on snowy ground, with the sun setting on the horizon in the background.
    As we repent in full body and form, secure our names and the generations to come as you have done through time. God who blessed the womb of life, save us once again.
    Prayer | By Julie Yeeun Kim | January 21, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christianity, Faith, Generations, Interdependence, Patience, Redemption, Salvation, Wisdom, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Roughly 100 white and reddish-brown mushrooms growing on a decaying tree trunk. Most are seen from above, emphasizing their round caps.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Compassion, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Freedom, Growth, Interdependence, Nature, Relationships, Trust, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Our planet appears suspended in space, lit by a blue halo.
    New ideas for connecting our theology to meaningful, sensory-rich worship.
    January 3, 2024 | From WorshipLab
    Tagged as: Earth Day, Climate Justice, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A table full of friends raises their glasses--colored glass goblets--in the air outdoors.
    What “toast, boast, and oath” might you offer this January?
    Reflection | By Sarah Klinger Osborne | January 3, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Choice, Contemplation, Integrity, New Year, Searching, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • A light-skinned Black person's arms cradle a tiny infant whose bare foot soles face the camera.
    Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.
    Reflection | By Marcus Liefert | December 20, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Hope, Parents, Wonder, Worship
  • A lighted candle with three wicks on a dimly-lit table with greenery.
    We pause on this night of mystery, to tell the stories, to sing the songs, and to bring more light into the world.
    Chalice Lighting | By Linda Hart | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Mystery, Peace, Personal Stories, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A stone church stands silhouetted against a night sky in which the Milky Way is visible.
    Pause here, and be renewed and restored.
    Opening | By Linda Hart | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Journey, Self-Care, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A tea light glows in a hollow in a fallen log, surrounded by moss that has been dusted lightly with snow.
    We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.
    Chalice Lighting | By JeKaren Olaoya | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A mountain range is silhouetted by the orange dawn behind it. Most of the sky is still dark, and time-lapse trails of the paths of the stars show the spinning of the Earth.
    The fulcrum of the Earth tilts toward goodness and I will ride along…
    Reading | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Balance, Beauty, Earth, Earth-Centered, Good, Nature, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Through a thick forest, a reindeer peeks out at the camera
    Spirits of winter, I celebrate you!
    Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | December 13, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Animals, Earth-Centered, Generations, Goddess, Imagination, Spiritual Practice, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship
  • Black and white photo of the face of an older white woman, who looks like she is suppressing a smile.
    We are the recipients of an incredible gift and a beautiful vision.
    Offering | By Alice Anacheka-Nasemann | December 12, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Souls Day, Building/Space Dedication, Canvass/Pledge, Commitment, Generations, Gratitude, History, Homecoming / Ingathering, Humanism, Leadership, New Member Ceremony, Samhain, Vision, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A Black man's hand is holding a mirror, in which we see a partial reflection of his face. Our point of view is from over his shoulder, so in the foreground we see a slightly out-of-focus portion of the back of his head.
    In this heartbreak what we carry forth is our humanity in newly revealed form—our hearts tender and delicate.
    Prayer | By Vanessa Titang | December 12, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Community, Compassion, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Healing, Trauma, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Close-up image of several blades of grass coated in small ice crystals. The sun is visible between the blades, and the crystals create a small rainbow.
    Let us open all our senses and let our synapses spark one connection after another.
    Welcome | By Shari Woodbury | December 12, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Connections, Joy, Playfulness, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A sketch of Mary, with a crown of stars and a fist raised. Around her are the words "Cast down the mighty" and "Send the rich away"
    The Magnificat is a courageous and subversive song of praise; a call to social justice.
    Reflection | By Laura Dobson | December 6, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Courage, History, Justice, Multiculturalism, Worship
  • A vibrantly orange and crimson sky, at sunset, with the silhouette of an evergreen tree in front of it.
    Love this world, she whispers.
    Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | November 30, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Beauty, Brokenness, Earth, Love, Wholeness, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    A script for commissioning an affiliated community minister.
    Ritual | By Elizabeth Harding, Susan Frances, Eileen Wiviott | November 20, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community Ministry Sunday, Covenant, Leadership, Ministry, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A delicate pink flower on a white background, with a prism of light reflecting underneath
    We pray for those with power to create peace
    Prayer | By Lara Cowtan | November 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Disaster or Crisis, Peace, Violence, War
  • a person touches a Ghanti bell on a Hindu altar, in front of statues of Ganesha and Lakshmi
    Welcome abundance, welcome prosperity, welcome love, and welcome light.
    Responsive Reading | By Michael J. Tino | October 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Diwali, Goddess, Hinduism, Multiculturalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A silver menorah, against a dark background, holds colored candles. The first three candles and the shamash candle are lit.
    Thoughtful commentary and context for how to light a menorah responsibly and respectfully.
    Video | By Joanna Lubkin | October 10, 2023 | From WorshipLab
    Tagged as: Hanukkah, Judaism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • From the ground level, the camera points up at a tree canopy beneath a blue sky.
    Is it not a marvel?
    Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | September 20, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Awe, Body, Earth, Earth Day, Nature, Wonder
  • A close-up of bright pink peacock flower buds, with a couple of flowers opening.
    I am singing/of the wonder of how roots/so love the buds they bid them grow...
    Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | September 20, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beauty, Earth, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, Nature, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Seven leaves, all of the same variety but in a range of colors from green to gold to red, are strung on a line to represent a continuum.
    May we each find the balance point we need
    Closing | By Michelle Collins | September 15, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Change, Ending, Life Transition, Limitations, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • An elderly person with short curly white hair adjusts their glasses so they can wipe away tears with a tissue.
    May you be tender and gentle with yourself
    Prayer | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | September 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Love, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Stress, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    In our lived lives, family comes in different shapes and sizes and constellations.It is in this variety—this diversity—that our lives are made fuller and our individual selves made more whole. It is in this variety, it is in this diversity, that we look back to the ancestors, recognizing no...
    Reading | By Karen G. Johnston | August 17, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Family, Generations, Integrity, Love, Memorial Services, Truth, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A full range of dolls from the Toy Story movie series is arranged on a porch, backs to the viewer, watching a small child wearing a backpack leave the house
    By giving your church home here a chance to bless your school supplies, you're carrying their good intentions with you when you go to school.
    Blessing | By Tiffany Sapp | August 4, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Backpack Blessing, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Seen from slightly behind, a person with long hair gestures with their hands while talking.
    May we view each other as partners, comrades, friends on the journey
    Prayer | By Christin Green | August 1, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Community, Living Our Faith, Purpose, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A small vase of red Gerbera daisies, a lit taper, and a wooden angel are on a window sill, outside of which there's a grey winter day.
    May we remember that we each carry inside of us a spark of the Divine.
    Blessing | By Beth Monhollen | July 24, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Beginnings, Grace, New Year, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Six cylindrical vases are filled with colored liquid, so that together they form a rainbow. This photo captures the bottom of each vase and the reflection of their color on a blank surface.
    I would have loved it as a kid to have a church that encouraged us to listen to our heartfelt yearning of self.
    Reflection | By Zeb Green | June 7, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Gender, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Truth, Worship
  • A hand opens a door, revealing a restroom.
    I belong, and you belong, and we belong—just as we are.
    Reflection | By Li Kynvi | May 31, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Body, Courage, Direct Experience, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Oppression, Pride Sunday, Privilege, Secular, Worship
  • Against a dark field, five neon arrows in blue, pink, and yellow point in the same direction.
    Is a calling a feeling of joy, of completeness in your work?
    Reading | By Megan Foley | May 22, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Calling, Direct Experience, Leadership, Ordinations, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    Let us bless these candles with our tender hopes for the coming year.
    Ritual | By SarahRuth Davis | May 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Presence, Spirituality, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A person's hands scoop green material into a full compost bin, filled with flowers, eggshells, and colorful vegetable matter.
    The miracle of grace is available to us even when it has been left untended.
    Reflection | By Jennifer Hundley-Batts | May 3, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Abundance, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Food, Grace, Nature, Patience, Stewardship, Summer Solstice, Worship
  • A tiny chickweed seedling still has the cap of its seed pod, while the tiny seedling next to it is unfurling its tiny green leaves.
    Remind me that life is magical and mysterious.
    Reflection | By JD Stillwater | April 19, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Nature, Stewardship, Wonder, Worship
  • A tiny infant is cradled gently against the chest of a man, seen from the neck down, with muscular arms.
    We hold space for all that Father's Day may mean to us.
    Prayer | By Amy Jones | April 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Father's Day, Fathers, Parents, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A bowl of dates, a strand of prayer beads, and a small brass pot.
    Ramadan, never forgotten, entices me back to Love, and I am home once again
    Poetry | By Summer Albayati | April 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Faith, Food, Islam, Ramadan, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • The cast of "Jesus Christ Superstar" on stage, at a moment where Jesus is kneeling with a woman and smiling.
    It’s complicated, sorting out where Jesus fits into my life as a witch. But he hasn’t gone away.
    Reflection | By Myke Johnson | April 5, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Christianity, Easter, Lent, Worship
  • At a March For Our Lives event, a protester is seen from behind wearing a very large sign that says #Enough
    How can I be love instead of being anger and fear?
    Reflection | By DeEtte Waleed | March 29, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Disaster or Crisis, Integrity, Love, Violence, Worship
  • From above, a cross-section of a large, old oak stump--with all of its rings--and an oak sapling growing out of its center.
    I don’t know exactly when it happened, but something began to change.
    Reading | By Tess Baumberger | March 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Aging, Caring, Change, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Generations, Humanism, Life Transition, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Against a white background, several flower bulbs and one upright bulbs with shoots of green rising from its top.
    Beneath the crust of earth, seeds and bulbs lay in store.
    Meditation | By Jennifer Johnson | March 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth, Earth-Centered, Imagination, Nature, Patience, Spring, Vernal Equinox, Winter, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A piece of artwork in a butterfly shape, filled with textures and in the colors of the rainbow.
    Today we celebrate the new name that reflects a truth long-hidden, now revealed.
    Ritual | By Karen G. Johnston | March 9, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Identity, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Life Transition, Naming Ceremony, Self-Respect, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • With multicolored Christmas lights in the background, a Bible is open to the Gospel of Luke
    The circle of evergreens reminds us that life and love will never end.
    Ritual | By Rosemary Morrison | January 26, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christianity, Hope, Joy, Love, Peace, Spiritual Practice
  • A pale background with pink flowers, the UUA logo, and the words "Flower Ceremony Centennial, 1923-2023"
    Celebrate 100 Years of the Flower Ceremony! The first Flower Ceremony was held in Prague, in June 2023, led by Rev. Norbert Čapek.
    Leader Resource | By Erika Hewitt | January 17, 2023 | From WorshipLab
    Tagged as: Flower Communion, Unitarianism, Worship Tips
  • The number "2023" with vintage letterpress printing blocks on rustic wooden background
    I’m proud to belong to a living religious tradition that embraces evolution, both scientifically and spiritually.
    Reflection | By Tim Atkins | January 4, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, New Year, Spiritual Practice, Worship