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

Search Words for Worship Services

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Displaying 101 - 120 of 1057

  • May we whisper thank you for all that is good in our lives. (Thank you) May we shout thank you! for the abundance of blessings. (Thank you) May we feel thank you, thank you, thank you, deep within our hearts and around us right now. May we be thankful, down to our bones, for this time together....
    Prayer | By Debra Haffner | November 16, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Abundance, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Sleep will come upon our eyelids and they will not ever be lifted again.
    Poetry | By Jacob Trapp | November 12, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Death, Ending, Memorial Services, Mystery, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Help us to see that for the smallest, the humblest, the least of these burns the brightest star.
    Chalice Lighting | By Mary Shelden | October 28, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Christianity, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • The dead aren’t really dead; their stories are perpetually being told by the world around us.
    Reflection | By Tania Márquez | October 27, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: All Souls Day, Día de los Muertos, Interfaith, Worship
  • I was leaving my mom in another world, located far away from mine.
    Reflection | By Mike Adams | October 6, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: History, Identity, Indigenous American, Indigenous Peoples Day, Race/Ethnicity, Worship
  • Somehow, the things that are too much to bear alone are bearable together.
    Reflection | By Elizabeth Stevens | September 1, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Disaster or Crisis, Worship
  • Watershed moments are turning points, moments that permanently alter an understanding.
    Opening | By Martina Thompson | August 5, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth-Centered, Nature, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Church is for helping people stay human in the face of inhumane circumstances.
    Audio Recording | By Erika Hewitt, Elizabeth Stevens | August 2, 2021 | From WorshipLab
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Disaster or Crisis, Presence, Self-Care, Trauma, Worship Tips
  • When you doubt yourself or feel afraid; when you fail, as we all do at times, remember that spark—always there sustaining and revitalizing you.
    Blessing | By Rita Capezzi | July 28, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Young Adults, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • We collectively share the sorrow of those individuals in the armed services who lost their lives in war.
    Prayer | By Jennifer Cottrill | July 27, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Death, Memorial Day, Military, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Sometimes it feels like Father’s Day is more about enshrining a myth than it is about facing the realities of fatherhood.
    Meditation | By Ryan Urie | July 26, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, History, Parents, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Čapek turned to the beauty of the countryside; to the beauty of flowers.
    Reading | By Teresa Schwartz, David Schwartz | June 16, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Flower Communion, Unitarianism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Help me live in gratitude for the LGBTQ+ ancestors who paved this road we walk and roll on.
    Reflection | By Li Kynvi | June 9, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Worship
  • The words we cast to fill the silence left by one we loved never are enough.
    Poetry | By David Breeden | June 2, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Contemplation, Death, Grief, Meaning, Memorial Services, Silence
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Family, Generations, Grief, Imagination, Mother's Day, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism
  • Memorial Day is not to be celebrated. It is to be observed, scrutinized, and witnessed on behalf of the true witnesses of our human failure to love our neighbor as ourselves.
    Reflection | By George A Tyger | May 26, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: America, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Memorial Day, Military, Sacrifice, Secular, Service, Worship
  • Spirit of Life, spirit of earth, spirit of all that breathes and all that is: we love you.
    Prayer | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | May 3, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Nature, Responsibility, Stewardship, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.
    Opening | By Elizabeth Mount | April 12, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Children, Connections, Father's Day, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Mother's Day, Parents, Relationships, Secular, Trust, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A triumph of love over death is the core of the Easter message.
    Reflection | By Rachel Lonberg | March 31, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beauty, Christianity, Death, Easter, Joy, Love, Worship
  • Easter is a holiday of miracles.
    Opening | By Peggy Clarke | March 31, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Belief, Christianity, Easter, Hope, Love, Nature, WorshipWeb, Worship