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.
Search Words for Worship Services
Toggle to filter resultsAvailable filters:
Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword or changing the number of items per page requires use of the "Search" button.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13
-
Let this year be a clean slate for new beginnings.Prayer | By Addae Ama Kraba | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Courage, Creativity, Empathy, New Year, Peace, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We pause as the path of the sun reverses, seemingly holding its place for a moment of turning. Let us delve into the gifts of darkness at the winter solstice. We follow curiosity and contemplation down into the cold earth, taking a journey to the world below the surface....Meditation | By Lyn Cox | March 17, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Contemplation, Creativity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Growth, Healing, Journey, Trust, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Eternal Spirit, from whom all things come and to whom all things return, We gather this morning in community seeking to live in the harmony. Each of us here gathered lives out our lives knowing our own story, our own private melody. Life – at its highest and its sweetest – is a sharing. Life is...Prayer | By Douglas Taylor | December 7, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Arts & Music, Commitment, Community, Creativity, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Music Sunday, Unitarian Universalism -
I invite you now to join me in the spirit of meditation and imagination. Find a comfortable position in your seat and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and try to find the restorative power of air and water in the breath. We must breathe to live, but our bodies also need water to survive. Our...Meditation | By Israel Buffardi | December 7, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Beginnings, Body, Commitment, Courage, Creativity, Generations, History, Judaism, New Year, Power, Rosh Hashanah, Searching, Spiritual Practice -
Music is my solace and my comfort, the one thing that’s always with me. I feel its vibration deep in my soul; it’s my spiritual practice. Music tells the story of my life.Reflection | By Connie Simon | May 23, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Body, Creativity, Direct Experience, Music Sunday, Secular, Spiritual Practice -
I invite you to enter a period of quiet for a guided meditation. You may wish to adjust your position so that your spine is straight, your body relaxed, your hands resting gently in your lap. You will probably want to close your eyes and shut out all the distractions of the light....Meditation | By Shari Woodbury | March 15, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Awe, Creativity, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Healing, Humanism, Presence, Silence, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
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 -
One day, your church was born. Maybe it was a gathering of saints, called together for the common worship of a wrathful god, ceaselessly praying between bouts of decrying the evil of Christmas or dancing. Or maybe a few brave souls answered a notice in the newspaper, curiosity piqued by the...Reading | By Sean Neil-Barron | February 26, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Building/Space Dedication, Business Meetings, Change, Child Dedication, Community, Creativity, Direct Experience, Generations, Installations, Leadership, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Religion, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb -
Spirit of Life, Who draws us together in a web of holy relationships, Make your presence known with us and in us and among us. Remind us that we are not alone in history, Ignite us with the courage of the living tradition. Remind us that we are not alone in entering the future, Anchor us with...Prayer | By Lyn Cox | May 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Compassion, Creativity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Interdependence, Joys & Concerns, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, WorshipWeb -
Creative spirit, source of life and love: We give thanks for the beauty of this day and for the company of those assembled here. Thank you for the breezes of change, clearing our heads and bringing fresh ideas. May they cleanse our minds of the oppressions and isms that divide us....Prayer | By Lyn Cox | May 7, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Beauty, Change, Christianity, Creativity, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Judaism, May Day / Beltane, Nature, WorshipWeb -
In this new year, let us be amazed. Let us search for new life and hope in our midst. Let us nurture creativity in every form. Let us be reminded that new insights of the universe are always being made. In this new year, let us be amazed.Prayer | By Aaron Stockwell Wisman | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Christianity, Creativity, Direct Experience, Humility, Nature, New Year, Revelation, Reverence, Science, Searching, Secular, Twelfth Night / Epiphany
-
NOTE: All or part of this ritual can be used to bless a sacred space. We blessed our newly renovated sanctuary for the qualities and attributes we were trying to create with our renovations. Between each blessing, we sang a hymn, had a children’s story, took the offering, had a choir anthem, and...Blessing | By Sandra Fees | February 18, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Building/Space Dedication, Community, Creativity, Diversity, Generations, Hospitality, Inclusion, Integrity, Love, Peace, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism
-
Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in your ongoing creation around us and within us. We come to rejoice, but we come with burdens of sorrow and pain, of shame and fear, of false obligation and false pride. On this Easter morning may we discover a joyous and courageous...Meditation | By Ruth E Gibson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Calling, Character, Creativity, Easter, Hope, Power