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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 75

  • 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 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
  • An illustration of Malvina Reynolds singing with her guitar under a "December 7" banner. Text says: "Malvina Reynolds was the 20th century Jewish Unitarian Universalist, a political activist, and a singer/songwriter best known for her song "Little Boxes." She also appeared on season four of Sesame Street as Kate. In 1970, Reynolds recorded the Hanukkah song, "Eight Candles." It has since become a holiday favorite.
    December seventh, "Eight Candles" (1970). Malvina Reynolds was a 20th century Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, socialist, songwriter, and performer who is best known for her song “Little Boxes.” In 1970 she recorded the Hanukkah Song “Eight Candles.” It has since become a holiday favorite.
    Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | December 11, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, America, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • Seen from the chest up, a side view of three generations: a Black son, father, and grandfather standing side by side.
    I rise on the shoulders of ancestors whose names I can not know.
    Reflection | By Glen Thomas Rideout | September 14, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Oppression, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    There’s never been a time in the United States history when black rebellions did not spark existential fear among white people.
    Reading | By Michelle Alexander, Leslie Alexander | May 12, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Freedom, History, Juneteenth, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • MLK in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963.
    We have come here today to remember what some are intent on making us forget.
    Affirmation | By Addae Ama Kraba | January 10, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: History, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Four members of the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, with their backs to the camrea, are each draped in a traditional Squamish or Lil'wat blanket.
    I was leaving my mom in another world, located far away from mine.
    Reflection | By Mike Adams | October 6, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: History, Identity, Indigenous American, Indigenous Peoples Day, Race/Ethnicity, Worship
  • A hand holds a slide up to the light, on which is a dated image of a woman and man posing outside.
    Sometimes it feels like Father’s Day is more about enshrining a myth than it is about facing the realities of fatherhood.
    Meditation | By Ryan Urie | July 26, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, History, Parents, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A black man in a dark space looks sideways into the camera. Across his face, in colored light, the letters A G C T represent DNA nucleotides.
    I've adopted the practice of spiritual reconnection with my ancestors to heal intergenerational trauma.
    Reflection | By Jabari S. Jones | February 10, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Diversity, Generations, Healing, History, International, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Transformation, Trauma, Worship
  • A U.S. flag and a pair of hands intrude into a picture of bubbles against an evergreen tree
    The soul of America has yet to be born.
    Reading | By Peggy Clarke | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Democracy, Generations, History, Humanism, Indigenous Peoples Day, July 4th, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
  • 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
  • In a sea of protestors wearing black, a person holds a sign reading "Black trans lives matter."
    May we all remember how inextricably we are linked in this fight for justice and freedom.
    Reflection | By Otto O’Connor | June 10, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Direct Experience, Generations, History, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism
  • From above, an artful arrangement of tulips, a Hebrew prayer book, matzoh, egg, and cup of wine.
    In ancient times, they said Dayenu It would have been enough to have been spared after the plagues. It would have been enough to have been freed of slavery, It would have been enough to have had food in the desert, Now we question, when will it be enough again? Dayenu Will it be enough to stay home?
    Opening | By Elizabeth Mount | April 6, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Generations, History, Judaism, Passover (Pesach), Tradition
  • Ibram Kendi, holding a microphone, speaks to someone off camera.
    Ironically, Americans who self-identify as not racist—whether they're conservatives, moderates, liberals, radicals, progressives—they don't realize… that we are connecting ourselves to a history of slave traders who self-identified as not racist (although they didn't use that term). We're...
    Reading | By Ibram X Kendi | January 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Identity, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
  • A full moon rises behind the silhouette of trees
    As we kindle this the flame, we honor and remember Those who have passed into the mystery. Their brightness lives on in our vision; their courage lives on in our commitments; and their love continues to bless the world through us.
    Chalice Lighting | By Florence Caplow | October 31, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Connections, Death, Generations, History, Humanism, Mystery, Samhain
  • A spiral of rainbow-spectrum light
    Voice 1 Welcome, you who approach this time as a journey toward the horizon, the beginning of the next chapter, seeking all of the insights and opportunities the new day offers....
    Invocation | By Lyn Cox | October 25, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Generations, History, Paganism, Prophetic Words & Deeds
  • On a desolate beach, driftwood forms a ghostly "boat"
    On August 25, 1619, the ship the White Lion arrived at Point Comfort, now known as Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton, Virginia. The ship contained enslaved Africans. This is the first recorded arrival of Africans in America....
    Affirmation | By Kristen L. Harper | October 10, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), America, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Juneteenth, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    Reader 1: In 1637, the white settlers in what was to become the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, wanted to start a church. What they longed for was sincere religious association based in love, and founded in freedom. Reader 2: The idea of a free church took shape among the people—a church whose...
    Affirmation | By Erika Hewitt | August 8, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Covenant, History, Identity, Installations, Interdependence, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    This ritual entails having an empty vase on the altar, and cut flowers. It's especially meaningful to have founders or other "pillars" of the congregation have flowers with them in the service, and to have the congregation's children bring those flowers forward and put them in the vase (perhaps...
    Affirmation | By Erika Hewitt | August 8, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Humanism, Identity, Installations, New Member Ceremony, New Year, Secular
  • A mosaic ceiling, in bright blue and white patterns, with a gold arced inset of a shepherd with sheep
    “The favoured method of showing the supremacy of the Christian belief was the destruction of the holy trees of the Germans. These were trees, usually old oaks or elm trees, dedicated to the gods....
    Homily | By Myke Johnson | July 27, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beauty, Christianity, Discernment, Easter, History