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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 24

  • a person touches a Ghanti bell on a Hindu altar, in front of statues of Ganesha and Lakshmi
    Welcome abundance, welcome prosperity, welcome love, and welcome light.
    Responsive Reading | By Michael J. Tino | October 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Diwali, Goddess, Hinduism, Multiculturalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A starry night sky and and an atmospheric glow blanket the well-lit southeastern African coast as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above.
    All that we are, together and individually, is part of the abundance of the universe.
    Responsive Reading | By Julián Jamaica Soto | November 11, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Canvass/Pledge, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Interdependence, Stewardship, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A hand cupping a person's foot in the process of footwashing during a Maundy Thursday Mass.
    Let us imagine washing the feet of someone who has wronged us. Their feet, too, are calloused and muddy from the road.
    Responsive Reading | By Patty Willis | October 3, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Easter, Empathy, Ministry, Service, 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
  • A spiral of rainbow-spectrum light
    Reader 1: We come today to gather together as Unitarian Universalists. Reader 2: We come today to join in the spirit of love and the service of life. Reader 3: We come today to be part of the stream of this living tradition. All: In our gathering, may we be blessed. Reader 1: Our shared faith is...
    Responsive Reading | By Monica Jacobson-Tennessen | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Commitment, Direct Experience, God, Justice, Living Our Faith, Love, Ordinations, Service
  • A blanket of crispy leaves blankets the forest floor
    As we move deeper into the season, There are some things we know. Fall brings a growing darkness That we cannot escape. The nights become cooler And take on winter’s chill. The leaves on the trees and blades of grass Try on new suits of yellow, orange, red and brown....
    Responsive Reading | By Viola Abbitt | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Awe, Beauty, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humility, Letting Go, Nature, Transformation
  • A gender nonconforming 10 year old child playing outside, with a rainbow painted on their cheek.
    We are grateful for the gift of our lives and the gift of other people in our lives. Each of us is created with dignity and worth. We are called to love one another and to do nothing to others that we would find hateful to ourselves. We honor the many ways that people live and love....
    Responsive Reading | June 3, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Diversity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Secular
  • 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
  • 3women_blueshirts_shoveling_dirt_foundation_tyvek_background
    One: On Labor Day we honor our work, physical and mental, paid and unpaid, joyous and heartbreaking. Many: We give thanks for work’s gifts, suffer its difficulties, and strive to make labor just and joyous for all. One: Our work can build our society, provide for our material needs, and give our...
    Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | December 7, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Character, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Integrity, Labor Day, Living Our Faith, Meaning, Purpose, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Work
  • A fluffy white dog sits overlooking a blue lake, with towering mountains behind.
    Leader: Ours is a world alive and aloud with the presence of creatures and critters. Animals abound, interwoven in our human lives and wholly independent. This is the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part....
    Responsive Reading | By Karen G. Johnston | July 17, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animal Blessing, Animals, Awe, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Nature, Relationships, Responsibility
  • A speckled egg and leaves inside of a bird's nest
    One: Despair is sapping our spirits, damaging our souls, hurting our hearts. Many: We need to be resurrected into hope, faith, and trust. Today, may we be resurrected. One: Violence is shortening our lives and robbing us of our joy. Many: We need to be resurrected into peace and its many blessings.
    Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | September 12, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Brokenness, Despair, Direct Experience, Failure, Good Friday, Grace, Hope, Redemption, Salvation
  • The shadowed silhouettes of two people holding their hands together to form a heart.
    One: Listening is not an act of the ear, listening is an act of the heart. Many: In these times when so much speaks: outrage, anger, disillusionment. One: Rage is a constant cry. Derision has found his voice. The despair of the fair and faithful speaks fast and often. The whisper of despair grows...
    Responsive Reading | By Leslie Takahashi | September 12, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Direct Experience, Empathy, Healing, Meditation Practices, Multiculturalism, Prayer Practices, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
  • 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
  • The back of a person's denim jacket says, "Born this way" in metal studs, with a unicorn. In the background, people wave rainbow flags.
    One: Today, Pride Day, we affirm with joy that we are proud. Many: We are proud to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and questioning. One: We are proud to have survived and thrived despite challenges to our dignity, well-being, and sometimes even our lives. Many: We are proud to be...
    Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | June 10, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Pride Sunday, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism
  • A posy of fading yellow roses is tied to the iron gate in front of a grave or memorial stone.
    Leader: We're not sure what happened. But, we know what it's like when someone appears whose message we feel offers hope, who inspires us with new ways of living....
    Responsive Reading | By Daniel Budd | March 14, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Christianity, Death, Doubt, Easter, Faith, Mystery, Sorrow, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder
  • A small menorah with six lit candles, with a person's face obscured in the dark background
    We light the Hanukkah candles in wonder, joy, and gratitude, each candle a miracle. When the Holy Temple was rededicated at the time of the Maccabean liberation battle, only one day’s worth of oil remained, yet it burned for eight days so we light candles in remembrance....
    Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | January 18, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Awe, Freedom, Hanukkah, Judaism, Trust, Wonder
  • In front of a crowd with signs, a woman raises her fist
    In the face of hate, We answer the call of love.
    Responsive Reading | By Julia Corbett-Hemeyer | December 7, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Equity, Human Rights, Humanism, Indigenous Peoples Day, Justice, Justice Sunday, Living Our Faith, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Pride Sunday, Secular, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, United Nations Day, Vision
  • A close-up of framed photographs. In the foreground, a blurry color photo of two people. In the background, vintage-looking black-and-white photos of couples.
    They once dwelled among us, the people of memory.
    Responsive Reading | By Heather K Janules | October 24, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Family, Generations, Gratitude, Memorial Services, Samhain
  • a close up of delicate, pink cherry blossoms on a branch
    Leader: Quick! Look about you! The snows of Winter are gone and the Earth has awoken once more! Congregation: Hail the Spring in all her green glory! L: The brave small flowers push up from the warming soil; birds return from their southerly homes; the first buds appear on the trees....
    Responsive Reading | By Lorelei Greenwood-Jones | May 13, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Hope, Nature, Spring, Vernal Equinox, Wonder, WorshipWeb
  • Silhouette of a flock of birds on a branch
    Leader: For the love of all began with the world. Congregation: All of Nature is sacred. L: Every creature is a thinking, feeling being. C: We are blessed with wondrous variety. L: We are part of nature and of every being on the planet. What we do to one affects the many. C: In this web of...
    Responsive Reading | By Lorelei Greenwood-Jones | May 13, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Awe, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Nature, Responsibility, Wonder, Climate Justice, WorshipWeb