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 morning, I want us to grapple with one of the most universal and troubling facts of human existence. Though every last one of us would have it otherwise, it is an unavoidable reality that during our lifetimes people close to us will become sick, suffer great pain, and, in some cases, die. It...Sermon | By Scott W. Alexander | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Illness, Presence, Relationships, Suffering -
Elie Wiesel was just a wide-eyed and innocent adolescent when he and all the other Jews of the Transylvanian village of Sighet were jammed into cattle cars one April night in 1944 by SS troops, and shipped to Auschwitz....Sermon | By Scott W. Alexander | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Christianity, Despair, Evil, God, Judaism, Searching
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An Austrian millionaire was in the news this month for giving away all of his fortune. Why? "For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said....Sermon | By Vail Weller | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Generosity, Money, Responsibility, Stewardship, Transformation
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George: This is Angel Gabriel of KGOD airwaves, coming to you live from the downtown mall in Bethlehem. The air is positively solar as frenzied shoppers scurry from store to store, their camels and donkeys weighted down with purchases. The beasts bawl. There are only, count ‘em and weep shoppers,...Story | By Lois Van Leer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Hanukkah, Judaism, Kwanzaa, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Paganism, Winter Solstice / Yule
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Since the economy is in a kind of black hole, I was interested to read that researchers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have traced the building blocks of the universe back one more step and it leads to the massive black holes in space. We know that the Earth did not spring out of thin air...Reading | By Burton D. Carley | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Joy, Purpose
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Breathe with me You who feel sorrows calling across the oceans, calling across the room, echoing in the spacious cavern of your chest. Breathe with me You who wake with the sun carrying a restlessness to make justice and do mercy....Meditation | By Susan Maginn | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Humility
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Let us bless the Earth, And all that is steady and firm. Let us bless the Sky, And all that is open and filled with light. Let us bless their union, Holy and without ceasing. Let us bless their children, The bounty of field and forest, Stones, plants, animals, and all living things....Prayer | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Healing, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Lammas, Nature, Paganism, Relationships, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox
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The world is too beautiful to be praised by only one voice. May you have the courage to sing your part. The world is too broken to be healed by only one set of hands. May you have the courage to use your gifts. May you go in peace.Benediction | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Brokenness, Courage, Healing
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Holy Spirit, God of Ages and so many names, we gather once again to rejoice in the light offered to the world by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His walk on this earth was a gift to generations, and today we give thanks for that gift. We know that we are called together today not simply to...Prayer | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Caring, History, Human Rights, Justice, Kindness, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity -
This light we kindle is set in the lamp of our history. We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle, fierce and outspoken hearts and minds that have come before us. Let us be worthy inheritors of this faith and through our good works, pass it boldly to a new generation.Chalice Lighting | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Generations, Giving & Generosity, History, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism -
Call to sing joyfully to fulfill our role as part of creation Let us sing a song to the Eternal. Let the earth and her children break forth in song. Let the sky and its creatures in chorus reply. Let the sea and all that is within it sound out praise. Let the storms raise their voices, the river...Opening | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Creativity, Joy, Judaism
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In our modern age of apathy and egoism, there is cause for hope whenever people care about something beyond themselves. But there is more to being human than feeling deeply, for we risk becoming impassioned fools. Our minds must conspire with our hearts. We should care enough to think—and think...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Caring, Faith, Meaning, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships
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For nearly thirty years, Forrest Church served as the spiritual leader of the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in New York City. During his ministry, the church became both a haven for spiritual seekers and a beacon of social outreach to the community. He helped to found a shelter for...Activity | By Peter Friedrichs | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Fear, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Vision, Wisdom
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Cast Abigail Adams Julia Ward Howe Frances Watkins Harper Clara Barton Florence Nightingale Lydia Maria Child Script All the women file onto the stage (through the side door on the stage, and stand with shawls over their heads, their backs to the audience). Narrator: Women in the 18th and 19th...Script | By Susan Jhirad | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Equity, Gender, Human Rights, Rights, Secular, Women
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A voice screeched gate assignments through a nerve-jangling public address system. Even if the announcements had been in English, I doubt that I’d have been able to make sense of them. But whatever was being broadcast to the cavernous waiting area of the Moscow airport prompted mobs of people to...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Compassion, Culture, Direct Experience, Empathy, Gratitude, Humanism, Limitations, Vulnerability -
Our Subaru Forester was sliding sideways down Interstate 80 at fifty miles per hour. My wife, Nan, had gingerly switched to the left-hand lane to avoid a truck that was overturned on the right shoulder, but no amount of experience, skill, or caution could overcome our car’s mass and momentum on a...Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, Fear, Meaning, Mystery, Searching
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There is no such thing as a lasting peace, a tranquility that will persist forever, a final resting place for the lion and the lamb. We yearn for the completion of our task, the fulfillment of our striving, the consummation of our journey. And this longing sows the seeds of our defeat....Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Work
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There is a love Holding me. There is a love Holding you. There is a love Holding all. I rest in this love. —Rebecca Parker, Unitarian Universalist...Meditation | By Rebecca Ann Parker | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Transcendence
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Dear God, May I be kind, Strong and brave, Joyful, useful, loving, Honest and healthy.Prayer | By Meg Barnhouse | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Courage, God, Health, Kindness, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Strength
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Loving Spirit, Be our guest, Dine with us, Share our bread, That our table Might be blessed And our souls be fed.Blessing | By Gary Kowalski | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Food, Generosity, Gratitude, Home, Hospitality, Presence, Reverence, Sacred, Spirituality, Table Grace