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 - 7 of 7

  • Love cannot be bought or sold; it does not make a profit. Love does not hide from truth. Love dives deep. Love takes on flesh. Love is queer. Love is platonic. Love is erotic. Love is asexual. Love confronts evil. Love delights in pleasure. Love touches and weeps and flirts and feeds and creates.
    Affirmation | By enfleshed | January 21, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Humanism, Intimacy, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Relationships, Secular, Valentine's Day
  • "Marriage isn’t meant to make you happy; marriage is there so that it gives you a life in which you find happiness."...
    Quote | By Esther Perel | June 5, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Happiness, Intimacy, Marriage, Relationships, Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies
  • When we talk about a liberal theology and ethic of sexuality, we need to start in our vulnerable, needy bodies, in real life, in the struggle to navigate our embodied neediness with others in an embrace of the still-possible mutual wholeness and transformation. Any theology of sex that doesn’t...
    Reading | By Gretchen Haley | February 22, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Body, Coming Out, Gender / Sex Change, Healing, Intimacy, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Sexuality, Wholeness
  • We arrive from many different experiences and backgrounds. Some of us have trouble speaking; others are so young that they’re still learning to talk. Some of us speak English as a second language, and others of us can speak several foreign languages....
    Opening | By Erika Hewitt | February 8, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Business Meetings, Community, Conflict, Connections, Direct Experience, Integrity, Interdependence, Intimacy, Living Our Faith, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism, Valentine's Day
  • Today I have too many friends who are dying. Sometimes at a memorial service I feel dissatisfied, and I’m the preacher in charge. I realize I can’t figure out how to preach my view of resurrection. I know that people would want to hear it, I’m not worried about offending or confusing anyone. I...
    Meditation | By Meg Barnhouse | May 28, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Death, Direct Experience, Family, Friendship, Happiness, Honesty, Intimacy, Love, Memorial Services, Nature, Peace, Truth
  • Spirit of Life, God of Love, I am entwined in your delicate web of mutuality. The life energy that makes me reach for the sun also moves me to become wrapped, like the strong bittersweet vine and the delicate sweet pea, around those I meet and love. Here in the tangle of my daily life I feel your...
    Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Beauty, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Intimacy, Love, Nature, Climate Justice
  • We give thanks for love, Agape and Eros, Chocolates and pillow talk, And all of cupid’s arrows. For unrequited yearning And the grand passion burning, For quiet appreciation And platonic contemplation. For lovers, too, we offer thanks: Those gay and straight, near and dear, Gender metamorphic or...
    Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Intimacy, Love, Sexuality, Valentine's Day