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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December 7, 2016 “Use loneliness. Its ache creates urgency to reconnect with the world.” — Natalie Goldberg I know a little about "merry" meeting "mess" at the holidays — and by a little I mean How much time have you got? Four Christmases ago, a painful break-up sent me spinning into a long...Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | December 7, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Commitment, God, Healing, Hope, Pain, Sadness, Spiritual Practice -
“‘God did it’ isn’t an explanation,” said Joseph. He got no account for the baby’s chromosomes, No description of the mechanism that Transmuted the divine shadow into royal blood. “‘The devil made me do it’ would have sounded better to me,” said Joseph, Though it never did him...Poetry | By Jim Burklo | December 6, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Faith, Family, God, Love, Mystery, Parents, Trust -
When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to...Affirmation | By Howard Thurman | December 6, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Hope, Justice, New Year, Peace, Purpose, Redemption, Service, Twelfth Night / Epiphany, Work -
This is the key to the mystery, The Word became flesh.Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | December 1, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Awe, Body, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, God, Immanence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
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 -
This blessing was written in honor of two Unitarians, Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who during WWII dared to risk their own comfort in order to help save the lives of those in desperate need. As we gather together, May we remember When you share with me what is most important to you, That is where...Blessing | By Andrée Mol | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Compassion, Courage, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Hospitality, Justice, Listening, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacrifice, Salvation, Thanksgiving, Unitarianism -
The wheel of the year has turned again. Once more the Thanksgiving season has arrived. How shall we sing our song of gratitude now? For what shall we give thanks? For this moment; for friends near and far; for our breath; for love; for courage and clarity; for strength; for delight; for laughter;...Opening | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Arts & Music, Awe, Direct Experience, Generations, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Wonder -
God has a fondness for what is fragile. This means us. Advent tells us that God came to us—and comes to us still—with complete vulnerability. Christ is to be found among what is fragile—including us, ourselves, when pain and loss have left us feeling less than whole. In coming to us as a...Reflection | By Jan Richardson | November 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Brokenness, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, God, Immanence, Relationships, Vulnerability -
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 -
Gracious God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. In the Psalms you tell us our days in this life are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone....Prayer | By Susan Maginn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Christianity, Coming of Age, Generations, God, Graduation Recognition, Love, Young Adults
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We gather here today to share and give thanks, To tell stories and break bread and be together in holy communion. We light our chalice this morning in the spirit of thanksgiving, With love, hope, and generosity of spirit, Grateful for this blessed opportunity to be together.Chalice Lighting | By Nick Wilbourn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian), Gratitude, History, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism -
May we give thanks always, believing that, even in the world’s bleakest moments, the dance of life is always underway.Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | November 23, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Balance, Despair, Earth-Centered, Hope, Nature, Thanksgiving -
Christmas doesn’t wimp out when times are hard – it comes anyway, even if there are hardly any presents.Reflection | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | November 22, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Change, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Creativity, Direct Experience, Hope, Tradition -
We gather at Thanksgiving, in some sense, to retell the creation myth of our country. In this myth is our very best and our very worst: a boldness; a care for the common good; a wish to say we before I. Yet from even before the first Thanksgiving feast, it’s a story of theft and violence, and a...Reading | By David Schwartz | November 15, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Generations, History, Humanism, Indigenous American, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Thanksgiving -
Our first breath is followed by our first song Lusty, loud and primal A solo that announces to the world, “I have arrived!” We are the music. As toddlers hearing our first reggae beat We let our spines and hips bend and sway in response As natural as the beat of our hearts We are the music. The...Reading | By Renee Ruchotzke | November 12, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arts & Music, Direct Experience, Humanism, Music Sunday, Secular, Unity -
This is not a prayer that you may find hope For hope is a luxury that some cannot find and others cannot afford This is not a prayer that you find more love in the world Though I hope you continue to feel love and send love to those near and far I pray instead that you may find tools A hammer lyi...Meditation | By Jessica York | November 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Community, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Justice, Living Our Faith, Politics, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
Welcome, you who come in need of healing, you who are confused, or have been betrayed. Welcome, with your problems and your pain. Welcome, too, your joys and your wonderings, welcome your need to hope, your longing for assurance. Instead of answers, here may you find safety for your questions.Opening | By Maureen Killoran | November 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Caring, Courage, Democracy, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Trauma, Unitarian Universalism
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Please join me in a litany of solidarity. Many of us face oppression, or our loved ones face oppression, and we fear that oppression will worsen....Litany | By Catie Scudera | November 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Interdependence, Justice, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Secular, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
I got out of bed this morning because of all those who had to get out of bed before me: Martin and Coretta, the day after his home was bombed. (What did they tell the children?) My father, every day of his young life in Lowndes County, Alabama....Meditation | By Theresa Hardy | November 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Generations, History, Hope, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Self-Respect -
How is it with your soul? This is the question that John Wesley, Anglican priest and the founder of Methodism, was known to ask of participants in small reflection groups. I ask you because, for me, this has been a hard week. So, beloveds, how is it with your souls?...Affirmation | By Ashley Horan | November 9, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Community, Despair, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Interdependence, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Unity