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.
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I don’t know exactly when it happened, but something began to change.Reading | By Tess Baumberger | March 13, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Aging, Caring, Change, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Generations, Humanism, Life Transition, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Today we celebrate the new name that reflects a truth long-hidden, now revealed.Ritual | By Karen G. Johnston | March 9, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Identity, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Life Transition, Naming Ceremony, Self-Respect, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We give thanks to the Sacred, woven in and among us, for the teachers, youth advisors, youth mentors, and parents in our community.Ritual | By Elizabeth Harding | October 17, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Children, Family, Leadership, Relationships, Teacher Recognition -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Easter, Empathy, Ministry, Service, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Breathe in for caregivers of all kinds who give of themselves to make other people’s lives better, more whole.Prayer | By Sara Goodman | June 2, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Family, Generations, Grief, Imagination, Mother's Day, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism -
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/WiserTagged 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 -
Jesus had no political power. He lived his whole life in the shadow of the Roman empire, and that empire killed him. Yet Jesus healed the sick, he listened, he moved among the ordinary people, in the lowly places.Reflection | By Myke Johnson | April 8, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #COVID19, 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Calling, Caring, Christianity, Democracy, Easter, Evil, Good Friday, Healing, Hope, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility -
In this community, we hold hope close. We don’t always know what comes next, but that cannot dissuade us. We don’t always know just what to do, but that will not mean that we are lost in the wilderness. We rely on the certainty beneath, the foundation of our values and ethics. —Rev. Theresa I.Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | March 11, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #COVID19, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Community, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Fear, Humanism, Interdependence, Leadership, Relationships, Responsibility, Secular -
The tree stood in the middle of the village. Its trunk was so large that it took six people holding hands to reach around it. The roots were strong and wide, and its branches spread out over the village square, offering shelter from the rain, or shade from the summer sun....Story | By Lynn Gardner | March 4, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Canvass/Pledge, Caring, Commitment, Earth-Centered, Generosity, Humanism, Interdependence, Nature, Stewardship -
Spirit of Life On this night, may we bear witness to the guiding lights: the lights in the sky That call us to gather, and to give of ourselves To celebrate new life....Prayer | By Carter Smith | February 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Birth, Caring, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Faith, Happiness, Hope, Love, Presence, Relationships, Transcendence -
What images comes to mind when I say, “Labor Day”? Chances are you think of the holiday weekend and celebrations with your loved ones, the Federal Holiday, Unions and the cause of a working wage and benefits, maybe the history of the struggle of working people to have a fair share of the profits...Reading | By Jennifer Willet | February 5, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Caring, Community, Compassion, Dignity, Disability, Economy, Education, Generations, Interdependence, Labor Day -
It is not by chance that you arrived here today. You have been looking for something larger than yourself. Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a hope for more, A desire for a place of belonging and caring. Through your struggles, someone nurtured you into being, Instilling a belief in a...Opening | By Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson | September 14, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Abundance, Acceptance, Caring, Coming Out, Commitment, Community, Flower Communion, Home, Homecoming / Ingathering, New Member Ceremony, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Direct Experience, Empathy, Healing, Meditation Practices, Multiculturalism, Prayer Practices, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
What DO we do in the face of evil? Anything. Everything. Pray, protest, bake, hug, grieve, wail, laugh, explain, linger, research, fight, cry. What we absolutely must not do is ignore it.Reflection | By Becky Brooks | June 14, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Caring, Children, Community, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Multiculturalism, Parents, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Violence -
I believe in the radical idea that men have the full human capacity to nurture.Meditation | By Evin Carvill Ziemer | June 12, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Caring, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Mothers, Parents, Secular
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Our words for the chalice lighting were written from the perspective of Jessica Star Rockers. Perhaps her specific memories will elicit your own. She writes, "Every Sunday morning growing up my father would take us to mass at St. Peter’s Catholic church....Chalice Lighting | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Caring, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Work -
We offer blessings for life and the end of life. Blessings for the dying. Blessings for the caregiver, holding love and carrying burden. Blessed is the Body. Youth claimed by death. Elder claimed by death. Blessed is all creation moving toward one ending in order to begin again. Let us Bless the...Blessing | By Natalie Maxwell Fenimore | January 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, All Souls Day, Animal Memorial, Caring, Change, Death, Direct Experience, Empathy, Grief, Journey, Judaism, Letting Go, Love, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day, Secular, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism -
I am ever grateful for the friends who are my family; who have pieced me together each time I’ve fallen apart; who laugh, cry, dream, and age happily by my side.Reflection | By Marisol Caballero | December 28, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Family, Fathers, Forgiveness, Generations, Humanism, International, Mothers, Secular -
Today, we're thankful for you and what you bring to our church. Your spirit, talents, generosity, imagination, and dedication reaffirm our fellowship and create our Beloved Community. Our heartfelt thanks to you on this day and for all days to come. For those who embrace Thanksgiving as a day to...Blessing | By Gwen Matthews | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Caring, Community, Family, Gratitude, Grief, Humanism, Love, Oppression, Sacred, Secular, Sorrow, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism
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To the refugee family seeking a safe place For their children’s dreams, say: I am with you in this. To the trans teenager longing for a world That accepts them for who they are, say: I am with you in this....Litany | By Phillip Lund | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Caring, Compassion, Connections, Disaster or Crisis, Immigration, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism