Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Holidays and Celebrations

Child Dedication Ceremony

Several times a year, parents are invited to bring their children for a Child Dedication Ceremony during Sunday Worship.  This ceremony may include children of any age.  Children, parents, guardians, and the congregation pledge themselves to help these children grow while in their care.

New Member Welcoming Ceremony

We formally welcome new members three times a year during Sunday Worship Service. IF you have recently joined, the Membership Committee will contact you about the next service.

Water Ceremony

When we return to the two service schedule in the fall, the first service includes the Water Ceremony.  Each person brings a small amount of water which represents the places we have been through the summer.  We pour our waters together as we gather in community.  This ritual is becoming common in our denomination.

Thanksgiving Dinner Potluck

On Thanksgiving afternoon, members, friends and their guests gather in the Fireside Room to share the traditional meal together.  Turkey and mashed potatoes are cooked at church, and the side dishes and desserts are supplied by those attending.  

Contacts: Florence Haas and Marilyn Stoddard

Winter Solstice Celebration

In the dark of December, near the solar solstice, we turn toward earth-centered traditions, acknowledging that the darkness of the sky may reflect darkness in our souls,  yet also with the hope that this is the deepest dark, and light will follow.

Christmas Eve

We celebrate the traditional Christian holiday with song and story, singing the traditional carols and finding meaning in the birth of Jesus for our lives today.  

Passover Seder Potluck

In spring we celebrate Seder, the traditional Jewish ceremony which begins Passover, with an all-church dinner. Members, friends, and guests prepare the ritual foods and read the traditional story. Contact: Susan Plass

Easter

Each year on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the renewal of the earth and of ourselves.

Flower Communion

The first occurrence of this ceremony was in Czechoslovakia following World War I. The Unitarian Church in Prague had survived the war, and Norbert Čapek, the minister, asked people to go gather flowers and bring them to decorate the church. For this celebration each person brings a flower, and takes home one brought by another.