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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

Search Words for Worship Services

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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12

  • A long exposure, stacked image of the Pole Star and the light trail caused by the planets rotation.
    Spirit of Life, ancestor of the stars and the sun, you who embrace the vastness of space and us along with it, be with us today. Hold us in our worry, our exhaustion, our grief. Keep us close as we sit with our truth, whatever that may be....
    Prayer | By Lyn Cox | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Autumnal Equinox, Awe, Contemplation, Courage, Earth-Centered, Nature, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Vulnerability, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder
  • In stark light, against a black background, a simple wooden manger
    Holy One, Emmanuel, You are with us and we with You, now on the eve of a birth like no other, and a birth exactly like all others. We ponder the dreams and foretelling—royalty, savior, the light of the world. Revolution and possibility wrapped in helplessness and vulnerability. Divine love...
    Prayer | By Lisa Doege | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Birth, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Joy, Redemption
  • Over a rocky ridge, the sun comes up in a golden blaze.
    Spirit of Hope, settle into our bones on this Easter morning. Remind us once again that the dawn light is never a gamble; If there ever was a sure bet, it is the sunrise. Even stones crumble even grief changes and shifts and death is a mystery that is certain but not solid; But hope is like the...
    Prayer | By Julia Hamilton | April 14, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Agnosticism, Awe, Earth, Earth-Centered, Easter, Faith, Hope, Mystery, Nature, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder
  • A close-up of a shepherd figurine from a nativity creche, with a sheep draped over his shoulder. In the background, another figure is visible.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Friendship, God, Relationships, Searching
  • Against a stark grey sky, two tall evergreens are decked with simple white lights
    Spirit of life and love, we know you by many names or perhaps no name at all— yet together we know this is a holy night. We come from many different traditions or perhaps no tradition at all — We have celebrated decades of Christmases, or this might be only our first or second time at a...
    Prayer | By Debra Haffner | December 14, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Direct Experience, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism
  • a view from the ground, looking up, at the tops of evergreen trees with a starry sky above. A warm glow of campfire is reflected off of the trees' trunks.
    Spirit of Life, Earth and Sea and Sky, Place of deep longing in my heart Find your way from silence to voice Give me strength and courage to speak truth through my life For I am a creature of the Universe, small but infinite A momentary body in the sea of life, and also the sea itself I am a...
    Prayer | By Alix Klingenberg | May 31, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Awe, Connections, Contemplation, Earth-Centered, Identity, Nature, Prayer Practices, Strength, Unitarian Universalism
  • A night sky with a band of stars
    Holy grandparents of the Universe...energies of creation...endless mysteries of life: You are the music that sounded before our world was born, sound and silence woven throughout the ages, far beyond the most profound wisdom humanity has been able to touch....
    Prayer | By Maureen Killoran | January 25, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Hope, Humility, Paganism, Prayer Practices, Presence, Transcendence, Wonder, WorshipWeb
  • A wind-driven cloud over the south rim of the Grand Canyon, with stars in the background
    This prayer was written to accompany the Advent hymn "People, Look East," #226 in Singing the Living Tradition. Spirit of the Living God, turn our faces to the East to look for your presence. Turn our faces in any and every direction from which you draw near to us....
    Prayer | By Fr. Austin Fleming | December 7, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Awe, Immanence, Transcendence, Wonder
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    O God of many names, the personal and mysterious, We have come to a quiet time, an interior place, a place for the deepening of spirit, the enrichment of soul. We seek to know ourselves by knowing you....
    Prayer | By Katie Kandarian-Morris | October 29, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Coming Out, Faith, Integrity, Mystery, Trust, Vulnerability
  • An abstract pattern of lights: orange circles next to a violet and green vertical band
    Great Spirit of Life, as a new year begins, we turn inward to reflect about the state of our lives: What lessons have we learned in the past year and which new ones now call us forward? To whom do we still owe an apology or expression of thanks? And with whom must we draw fresh boundaries? As we...
    Prayer | By Kate Lore | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Community, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Judaism, New Year, Paganism, Power, Relationships, Rosh Hashanah, Searching, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Awe, Children's Sabbath, Compassion, God, Nature
  • Sun cuts through trees, casting shadows of the trunks on a woodland floor, with a lake in the distance.
    Oh power of springtime, Spirit of green grasses and warm breezes; Goddess of creativity of birth of life renewed You sing all about us at this time. The birds call your sacred name. Buds burst forth with your vestment....
    Prayer | By George A Tyger | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Body, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Grace, Nature, Vernal Equinox