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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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  • An elderly person with short curly white hair adjusts their glasses so they can wipe away tears with a tissue.
    May you be tender and gentle with yourself
    Prayer | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | September 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Love, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Stress, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A sculpture by Jane Mortimer ("Loss"), showing a seated figure with their head tucked against their knees
    When we feel overwhelmed, we gather to find a path, to find new ways forward.
    Responsive Reading | By David Breeden | September 19, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Humanism, Memorial Services, Purpose, Searching, Secular, Strength, Stress, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Two wooden knitting needles plunged into a ball of thick purple yarn
    Knit six purl six sets of two rows four rows six rows up to twelve, patterns, repeating, steady, soothingly same. This is not what life is like. Life is like picking up a tousled hunk of yarn pulled out of the basket by an impatient child looking for a string too many times. You find an end. You...
    Poetry | By Dawn Star Sarahs-Borchelt | October 16, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Brokenness, Connections, Direct Experience, Grief, Humanism, Interdependence, Life Transition, Pain, Secular, Stress