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 - 20 of 42

  • 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
  • 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
  • Majestic Tree with strong roots
    A movement meditation for all ages
    Meditation | By Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson | March 18, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Growth, Imagination, Nature, Strength, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A black parent embraces their child, who is smiling in to the camera
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • A group of dancers, lit from above, blurred by being caught in motion.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • Acorns, pine cones, and leaves arranged on a white surface, photographed from above.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • On a city street strewn with fallen leaves, a person with long hair is seen from behind, wearing a backpack.
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • A table covered by papers, a notebook, and a coffee mug-- and a person's hand, writing with a pen.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Bridging Ceremony, Challenge, Choice, Commitment, Direct Experience, Education, Forgiveness, Friendship, Growth, Responsibility, Secular, Wisdom, Worth
  • Northern_Lights_Water_Snow-covered_Rocks-Flickr
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Abundance, Contemplation, Creativity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Growth, Healing, Journey, Trust, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • Flower_ripples_on_water
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Beginnings, Change, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, Ending, Faith, Growth, Hope, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Paganism, Patience, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb
  • Four hands, each making a letter, spell the word "LOVE." In the background is water and sky.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • Children and teachers sitting in a circle around a chalice.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Children, Children's Sabbath, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Family, Growth, Quinceañera, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism
  • A row of young women, visible only from their shoulders to their ankles, in long colorful gowns.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Bridging, Children, Coming-of-Age, Generations, Growth, International, Quinceañera, Women
  • A person's hands and lower arms: the hands touch at the fingertips, palms separated, pointed upwards as if in prayer.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • A square, faded, black-and-white photograph showing two men in overcoats, and a small boy in a suit, giving the impression of three generations.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Pain, Parents, Secular
  • An African-American mother cradles her infant twins, one in each arm, as the babies gaze out of a window.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Relationships, Sacred, Secular
  • With a foaming waterfall behind her, a woman floats in water, smiling, with her bare feet floating in the foreground
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Balance, Body, Connections, Earth-Centered, Food, Growth, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Searching, Self-Care, Spirituality
  • Rev. Natalie Fenimore extends a hand to welcome a new UU minister to fellowship at the 2013 Service of Living Tradition.
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Commitment, Community, Growth, Leadership, Ministerial Transition, Purpose, Relationships, Service, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
  • A range of schoolchildren's backpacks are hung on a wrought-iron fence
    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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Backpack Blessing, Caring, Character, Children, Courage, Family, Growth, Individualism, Integrity, Journey, Parents
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    [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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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