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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

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 40

  • 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
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    May love guide you on your journey forward
    Benediction | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Ministerial Transition, Ministry, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A beautiful sunflower outdoors
    The work of radical inclusion; of collective liberation.
    Closing | By Emily Richards | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Business Meetings, Living Our Faith, Purpose
  • A close-up of the stacked hands of about five people, standing in a circle.
    Let it be said by generations to come that when the pain of our separation was revealed, we moved closer to the promised land of our beloved community.
    Benediction | By Anya Sammler-Michael | March 22, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Challenge, Compassion, Disaster or Crisis, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Seven Principles, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    May you rejoice in the unknown. May you hug uncertainty to you tight.
    Benediction | By David Breeden | November 24, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A line of framed family photos, all on a surface, some out of focus
    Let us honor our ancestors by doing the work of living boldly, loving mightily, and creating heaven on earth.
    Benediction | By Leia Durland-Jones | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Souls Day, Family, Generations, History, Memorial Services
  • A wisp of smoke rises from an extinguished candle.
    Hope continues, uncertain and true, like candlelight, ready to spark again.
    Chalice Extinguishing | By Kevin Jagoe | November 2, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Fall, Hope, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Foamy waves wash up on craggy rocks, made red by the sun, in Morrazo, Galicia (Spain)
    Love our Earth. Take action to consume less, use less energy, respect water; And be cooperative, collaborative and creative community – like the moss and the mushrooms. Our children’s lives depend on us.
    Closing | By Denise Cawley | June 20, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Commitment, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, Food Justice, Interdependence, Privilege, Respect, Responsibility, Simplicity, Six Sources, Climate Justice
  • A black-and-white photo of people singing (only one person's face and outstretched arms are visible; the rest are torsos)
    As flame is to spirit, so spirit is to breath, and breath to song. Though we extinguish the flame in this sanctuary, may we tend it in our hearts until we meet again.
    Chalice Extinguishing | By Becky Laurent | June 8, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arts & Music, Body, Humanism, Love, Music Sunday, Unitarian Universalism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    We all know loss and pain. Let none of it divide us. In the rising sun today Let us do together what we cannot do alone: Roll away the stones that close our hearts.
    Closing | By Joel Miller | December 21, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Easter, Love, Pain, Unity, Wholeness
  • A half-dozen people (heads and shoulders) silhouetted against a deep blue sky.
    May all our hours together be blessed as this one has been: by open-hearted sharing, learning from one another, and making beautiful harmonies together. And may we greet everyone we encounter with the same acceptance and grateful kinship, until we meet again. Blessed be.
    Closing | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | September 14, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Acceptance, Community, Honesty, Relationships, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
  • Against a darkening sky, the roofline of a house is strung with colored Christmas lights.
    On this, the longest night of the year, we are warmed by the certain knowledge that tomorrow will welcome more light than today. As it has for eons—for billions of years—the coming of light brings life. May we be awed by the great miracles of light and life, and faithfully nurture the mystery...
    Closing | By Gregory Jones | November 21, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Earth, Earth-Centered, Hope, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • On a table, viewed from above: a cup of water, a silver crucifix, and a torn slice of bread.
    Beloved, as we depart this holy space nourished and renewed, let us live into our dreams and expand our circle of justice to encompass all of creation. Let us love one another and the earth, for as a body is animated through the relationships among its many parts, so God is made manifest among us...
    Benediction | By Mandie McGlynn | October 20, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian)
  • Traditional Pesach items arranged on a seder plate
    We are on a journey. We didn’t plan it. We didn’t have time for the bread to rise. We may find ourselves in the wilderness, hungry, thirsty, Doubting that we should have ever come. But look around: We are not alone. It is our journey together: A journey to our better selves, A journey to a...
    Closing | By Debra Haffner | July 4, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Community, Connections, Courage, Doubt, Journey, Judaism, Passover (Pesach)
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    I do not know where we go when we die; And I do not know what the soul is Or what death is or when or why. What I know is that The song once sung cannot be unsung, And the life once lived cannot be unlived, And the love once loved cannot be unloved.
    Closing | By Kenneth W. Collier | April 27, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Agnosticism, Animal Memorial, Death, Direct Experience, Faith, Humanism, Memorial Services, Purpose
  • etched glass chalice made by Wade Stephen Baker, Kwakiutl Artist.
    We have come to share the loss we have felt in (Name) passing and some examples of the joy we carry from her/his/their* life. This we have done. But before we extinguish this chalice, let us acknowledge that we will not – that we cannot – extinguish the love she/he/they showed us; or the memory...
    Chalice Extinguishing | By Greg Ward | April 25, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Interdependence, Love, Memorial Services
  • Against a blurred background of fall foliage, several old gravestones on a cemetery lawn.
    Our grief is a holy thing. It is that proof that another life touched ours in a profound way. It is the mark of love, the mark of connection, and the mark of a life well lived. We will mourn, we will cry, we will miss (Name)....
    Closing | By Tracie Barrett-Welser | April 25, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Death, Grief, Memorial Services, Relationships, Sacred
  • Against a wall painted with blue sky and white clouds, a hand loosly clasps sand, which is trickling out between the person's fingers.
    I invite you to rise in body or in spirit, and join hands with your neighbors. Hands touch hands. These hands you hold now, once held _________’s hands. Hand by hand we touch those who are here with us, and those who are no longer with us. And hand over hand, we touch all of humanity. Let our...
    Benediction | By Matt Alspaugh | April 6, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Connections, Death, Memorial Services, Relationships
  • Moonlight shines down on a thick forest of evergreen trees, dusted with snow
    Night has fallen. Stars beckon in an indigo and velvet sky Somewhere a baby is being born. Tonight, the world lazes in a love of goodness while glories stream from heaven afar God is meeting us, tonight, where we are. So be not afraid, and be of good cheer, We wish you, each and all, very Merry...
    Benediction | By Tom Schade | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Beauty, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Love, Tradition, Wonder
  • Lit candles held in a row of cupped hands
    This was written for Christmas Eve, or other occasions when people are each holding a candle. The spirit of the holy dwells in each of us. The spirit of love dwells in each of us. May the flames in our hands remind us that Eternal Love dwells in our hearts....
    Benediction | By Renee Ruchotzke | January 1, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Connections, Immanence, Love, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder