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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 - 14 of 14

  • 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
  • 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 gender fluid male, with very short hair, an earring, and makeup, with skirt fluttering in air
    We bless today all the masculinities with us and within us.
    Blessing | By Kye Flannery | June 9, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Father's Day, Fathers, Freedom, Gender, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Men, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A 9-cell montage of Angel DeVida, Drag Queen, in amazing make-up and jewelry.
    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/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Freedom, Gender, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacred, Sexuality
  • A transmasculine gender-nonconforming person and transfeminine non-binary person waking up together in bed
    The road not taken is not a fork. That’s too simple a thought, flipping some coin. Either/or. Nope. It’s not this or that. No or yes. It’s nor/ neither and all of the above and more. The road taken goes every way at once. There. There. They. Them. Go. Now. Live.
    Affirmation | By David Breeden | October 6, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Agnosticism, Coming Out, Dignity, Direct Experience, Gender, Humanism, Identity, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Secular, Self-Respect, Sexuality, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Unitarian Universalism
  • From several stories above street level, a large fabric rainbow is carried between contingents at a Pride parade
    Blessed are the wanderers, Seeking affirmation. Blessed are the worshipers, Praying from closets, Pulpits, pews, and hardship. Blessed are the lovers of leaving – Leaving family and familiarity, Leaving tables Where love is not being served. Blessed are those who stay....
    Blessing | By HP Rivers | May 28, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Coming Out, Compassion, Diversity, Family, Gender, Humanism, Justice, Justice Sunday, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Sexuality
  • An oval mirror, lying on grass, reflects the blue sky and two birds flying
    We speak so often of brokenness in religious life, Let us speak today of wholeness....
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | May 28, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Beauty, Coming Out, Gender, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Secular, Self-Respect, Wholeness
  • Transgender_Portraits
    We people, gathered here today on the quest for truth and meaning, bear witness. We bear witness. To the record of human lives extinguished, simply because these people dared to live authentically, we bear witness. To the lives and reported deaths of (number) transgender people, globally, so far...
    Responsive Reading | By Amy Brooks | January 22, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Choice, Conscience, Courage, Diversity, Empathy, Freedom, Gender, Identity, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Unitarian Universalism
  • light plays on the ripples of water's surface, up close
    It was at a gathering of white women when this gathering of the waters first came to pass. White women in a second wave of gender self-awareness; awakening, connecting, making new meaning, shifting the old ethos. The solidarity of these white women was reflected in the waters each brought, waters...
    Invocation | By Renee Ruchotzke | October 2, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Earth, Gender, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
  • Flanked by skyscrapers and marchers, and with rainbow flags waving, two people wear T-shirts saying "Por Nuestros Derechos" ("for our rights")
    Spirit of Life, if you have a lesson for us, it is that all life is beautiful. We are each born into this world who we are, tall or short, with our own colour of skin, with our own sexual orientation....
    Prayer | By Brian Kiely | October 7, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Democracy, Gender, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Privilege, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
  • LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation logo
    This name now symbolizes all that you truly are and are becoming.
    Ritual | By Laura Bogle | April 5, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Body, Direct Experience, Gender, Honesty, Identity, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Life Transition, Multiculturalism, Transformation, Wholeness
  • Seen from above, a mother lying in bed gazes into her infant's eyes.
    In religious community, we share our joys and our triumphs, our sorrows and our broken places. In this circle of care, we make space for the complexity of life, the myriad experiences that bless and break our hearts....
    Affirmation | By Lisa Bovee-Kemper | March 27, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Children, Direct Experience, Diversity, Family, Gender, Generations, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Truth
  • a small flame burns on the wick of a pillar candle with a striped rainbow pattern
    On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, we remember those who have been murdered for being who they are, those who face violence on a daily basis, those who have lost loved ones, and those who worry for loved ones. May we come to a time when we cease to shame children around gender roles and...
    Prayer | By Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe | February 19, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Gender, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Suffering, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Violence, Wholeness
  • Two grooms on their wedding day, smiling. Photo is cropped so that they're visible only from their noses down to their chests.
    How to discuss the truth that some men love men, and some women, women, and some, both, with the children in the church school and church home? Nonchalantly. Without drum-rolls. Without tip-toe preparations. Without calculating and predicting to the nth degree. With candor. With open ears. With...
    Reading | By Mark Belletini | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anti-Oppression, Gender, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Pride Sunday