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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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12
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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/WiserTagged as: All Souls Day, Día de los Muertos, Interfaith, Worship -
In my small-town congregation, our beloved dead seem to linger with us for a little while.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | October 31, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Souls Day, Awe, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Generations, Grief, Love, Memorial Services, Mystery, Remembrance Day, Sorrow -
Holy One, on this day of remembrance we say aloud their names again: the names of those who died this year. Died — the word is jarring. So jarring that we hardly use the word, substituting euphemisms that are a bit more vague. Sometimes people say “lost” when what they mean is dead: “We lost...Prayer | By Lori Walke | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Honesty, Love, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day -
We remember the joys our departed gave us which opened us up to the life shared which is now ours to steward.Meditation | By Leslie Takahashi | December 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Immanence, Life Transition, Memorial Services, Mystery, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
Gather we now into this space, this time when the Wheel turns and the Veil shatters. Gather we now to remember, to grieve, to prophesy, to complete our harvests before the Long Dark comes. Gather we now to tell the Old Stories and sing the Old Songs, to be as we have always been —the Voice of our...Invocation | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | October 26, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Autumnal Equinox, Community, Connections, Día de los Muertos, Earth-Centered, Generations, Halloween, Interdependence, Paganism, Reverence, Sacred, Samhain, Spirituality, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism -
They once dwelled among us, the people of memory.Responsive Reading | By Heather K Janules | October 24, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Family, Generations, Gratitude, Memorial Services, Samhain -
In this hour of holy stillness we gather to honor the life and the person we love. In this hour of Holy Stillness we remind ourselves that the flames of life and love are never fully extinguished. In this hour of Holy Stillness we offer ourselves for sharing the weight of each other’s grief. In...Opening | By Patricia Shelden | April 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Animal Memorial, Death, Día de los Muertos, Ending, Grief, Healing, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Letting Go, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Sadness -
We light this flame As our fervent plea to brighten the dark corners of our hearts; We hold this flame For in it is the promise of warmth for souls grown cold in loss and despair; We kindle this light That we might continue to find comfort in its warmth; strength in its light; holiness in its...Chalice Lighting | By S. William Feiss | November 10, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Animal Memorial, Death, Día de los Muertos, Forgiveness, Healing, Love, Meaning, Memorial Services, Purpose, Sacred, Samhain, Sorrow, Strength, Truth -
As we begin to settle to a deeper more inward place; to be fully present right now in this place made for head and heart together; we might begin to feel how our own bodies are not only flesh and blood — but skeleton bones as well. No matter how old we are, no matter how we move from place to...Meditation | By Katie Kandarian-Morris | October 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Souls Day, Awe, Body, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Nature, Playfulness -
In the struggles we choose for ourselves, in the ways we move forward in our lives and bring our world forward with us, It is right to remember the names of those who gave us strength in this choice of living. It is right to name the power of hard lives well-lived. We share a history with those...Affirmation | By Kathleen McTigue | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Día de los Muertos, Generations, History, Justice, Leadership, Memorial Services, Ordinations, Progress, Responsibility
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Lighting a candle is somewhat like the beginning of life. If that is true, then perhaps extinguishing a candle is like the ending of life. But death may not be the end of us. We live on in the memories of friends and loved ones....Chalice Extinguishing | By Lee Huebert | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Letting Go, Memorial Services, Mystery, Purpose, Remembrance Day, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
(Tea lights are set up in groups of 50 on either side of the chancel in this ritual borrowed from Soulful Sundown.) The long Summer has faded, now, and these first days of November mark the beginning of the coming of Winter....Reading | By Christine Robinson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Souls Day, Community, Connections, Día de los Muertos, Family, Grief, Halloween, Letting Go, Relationships, Samhain