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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This image was created by Ellen Rockett, a Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adult, to accompany the seven separate images/smartphone wallpapers also found on WorshipWeb....Image | By Ellen Rockett | March 13, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Caring, Democracy, Interdependence, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Worth -
Spirit of Life, God of Love, grant me the courage to love boldly in the face of my greatest fears. Grow me in your wisdom and let my actions speak when silence threatens justice and indifference disturbs peace....Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Courage, Fear, Humility, Justice, Love, Peace, Unitarian Universalism, Wisdom -
Into the dwelling place of togetherness, we come to collect remnants of hope.Responsive Reading | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Hope, Justice, Peace, Solidarity, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Vision -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Beauty, Climate Justice, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Intimacy, Love, Nature
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Here, I will be discovered and lost: Here, I will, perhaps, be stone and silence. —Pablo Neruda Someday, out there, on a day like this in a place I will never see, where the clearing winds always come after the storm, I will arrive nameless on a distant memory carrying with me all the best I gave...Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Identity, Love, Meaning, Purpose, Truth
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Spirit of my longing and lonely heart, help me travel through the barren borderlands that separate me from others. Teach me to willingly explore relationships with those who frighten or threaten me, grant me the courage to risk confidently my own comforts, that I might make others more comfortable.Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Choice, Compassion, Connections, Courage, Empathy, Resilience, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
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In a worship service, the congregation presented farewell gifts to the outgoing Director of Religious Education/Exploration (DRE) before the following: MINISTER: In (season, year), this congregation and NAME entered into a formal/unspoken covenant with one another. NAME agreed to step out of her...Ritual | By Tess Baumberger | March 11, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Children, Gratitude, Leadership, Letting Go, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Service, Teacher Recognition, Unitarian Universalism
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I am one of those people who love to make New Year’s resolutions. Why not create a vital, remodeled persona, new and improved? Just write down all the things you want to accomplish, all the projects you want to complete, all the character improvements you want to make, and all the skills you want...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Change, Grace, Love, Progress, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
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When my youngest child was a baby, the sweetest part of my day was putting David to sleep. At fifteen months he had a demanding schedule. There were toilet paper rolls to unravel, dressers to empty, bookshelves to clear, trash baskets to dump on the floor, papers to tear, pans to bang, books to...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Buddhism, Children, Direct Experience, Love, Mothers, Peace, Self-Care, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Weakness, Wisdom
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My husband, the physics teacher, receives a weekly magazine called Science News. A recent cover story, in bold letters, riveted my attention and I snatched it: “Controlling Chaos.” Now, that’s a practical theology! My hopes soared. Here, in concise scientific prose, was the potential solution...Meditation | By Barbara Merritt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Peace, Science, Stress, Unitarian Universalism, Work
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Please note: this ritual was preceded by the departing minister's homily, in which she looked back at the installation service and the promises they had made to each other as minister and congregation. She then continued as follows....Ritual | By Tess Baumberger | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Ending, Leadership, Letting Go, Ministerial Transition, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism
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Life does not call us merely to do over and over again what we have already done; nor does it call us to act out, as puppets, parts already assigned to us. No. In the midst of a situation which is itself ever changing, we are free to bring into realization new relationships of understanding and...Quote | By Frank O. Holmes | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Character, Choice, Courage, Freedom, Growth, Integrity
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To repent means to turn in a new direction—not just to admit what we have done wrong, but to resolve to be a better person.Quote | By Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Character, Choice, Growth, Integrity, Psychology, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism -
This short, personal essay from Raziq Brown speaks to failure, loss and personal growth.Reading | By Raziq Brown | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Direct Experience, Failure, Generations, Men, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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Go forth Because we are always going forth from somewhere Going from our homes, our childhoods Going from our cities and countries Going from innocence to experience to enlightenment Going into mystery and questions Going into the desert Getting to the other side....Poetry | By Rick Hoyt | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Change, Home, Letting Go, Mystery, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wisdom -
Despair is my private pain Born from what I have failed to say failed to do failed to overcome. Be still my inner self let me rise to you let me reach down into your pain and soothe you....Poetry | By Thandeka | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Caring, Compassion, Despair, Direct Experience, Healing, Hope, Pain, Transformation
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To outgrow the past but not extinguish it; To be progressive but not raw, Free but not mad, critical but not sterile, expectant but not deluded; To be scientific but not to live on formulas that cut us off from life; To hear amidst clamor the pure, deep tones of the spirit; To seek the wisdom tha...Poetry | By William Laurence Sullivan | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Change, Character, Growth, Meaning, Peace, Secular, Wisdom
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Leader 1: It takes a Unitarian Universalist Village to raise a Unitarian Universalist Child. We will read what we believe important for our children to learn, to know, and to experience. We invite you to respond by saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Leader 2: It is important for our...Litany | By Tess Baumberger | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Community, Generations, Growth, New Child, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism
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A cold grey sky, a cold grey sea And a cold grey mist that is chilling me; A light that burns on the harbor bar With the dull dim glow of a distant star....Poetry | By Lewis H. Latimer | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Earth, Earth-Centered, Home, Letting Go, Mystery
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Who cast a spell over my world? Who opened the doors, stirred the crowd of possibilities, put gold dust in my dreams causing my life to turn? O Fate, O Love, O Spirit, O God: is it true that all good things must end? Or have you set me on a path of meaning Not luck Of clarity Not magic And this...Poetry | By Angela Herrera | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Direct Experience, God, Grace, Letting Go, Meaning, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder