Deeper Joy: Games, Songs, Activities and Practices for Community-Builders!

By Jennica Davis-Hockett

The Community Building Map to Deeper Joy is an evolving compilation of games, songs, activities and practices designed for community builders, activists, educators, and anyone interested in fostering inclusive, multigenerational communities centered in Love. Most of these games and activities are from the “folksphere,” who knows when or by whom they were invented, but they’ve been passed down by oral tradition in performance and movement circles for generations. If you find a game that looks strikingly like something you created and you’d like credit please reach out to youth@uua.org!

Purchase a 16”x20” poster of the map

Intro To The Community Building Map To Deeper Joy (DOCX)

Orientation To The Community Building Map To Deeper Joy (DOCX)

The image shows a white music player interface displaying a playlist called "Deeper Joy Playlist" with the subtitle "Songs for conjuring JOY". The player is set against a background of the illustrated map to deeper joy. The cover image for the playlist is the image of The Healing Springs, a serene pool surrounded by trees and rocks. — Deeper Joy Playlist

New worlds are possible and this Deeper Joy playlist of soul-stirring songs will have you busting a move to bring them into being. These carefully curated tracks are designed to ignite your spirit and conjure a joyfulness that resonates long after the music fades.

Deeper Joy Spotify Playlist

Community Building Map to Deeper Joy

A whimsical, colorful, illustrated map depicting a variety of enchanting places and labeled locations like a harbor, river, beach, lighthouse, cliffs, springs, forest, canyons and bay.

Bonding Harbor
From Deeper Joy

The first step in building community is to identify some cohesiveness and a very low stakes sense of contributing to the collective.
Opening Up Beach
From Deeper Joy

When we share low risk or non threatening stuff about ourselves and our lives and feel like we are received, considered and valued our sense of safety increases.
Forest of Affirmation
From Deeper Joy

When we value other’s experiences, witness their growth and support them in their tender moments our trustworthiness increases. These are the times we offer gratitude for each other and the group and celebrate our differences and our gifts.
Cliffs of Exclusivity
From Deeper Joy

Watch out for the jagged borders that actively or inadvertently keep others out instead of drawing the circle wider.
Covenant Lighthouse
From Deeper Joy

Like a red and white striped beacon in rough waters, the agreements we make with one another guide our way. Covenants are our UU theology of messing up & repair. They are what we can refer back to when we get lost. Like a lighthouse, our covenants create the conditions for safety.
Healing Springs
From Deeper Joy

When there is hurt or harm, the way we show up for each other matters. Repair, amends and recovery are vital on the journey to deeper joy.
Stretching River
From Deeper Joy

Trials, problem-solving opportunities and challenges can all bring a group closer to each other.
Canyons of Deeper Sharing
From Deeper Joy

With the right conditions and preparation, groups can support each other in the depths and heights of their spiritual growth. Sharing can mean stories about ourselves, sharing about our feelings and situations, or sharing experiences together, making shared memories, and sharing moments of awe.
Tepid Bay
From Deeper Joy

It might be tempting to endlessly paddle around in the Tepid Bay, the waters are calm and you’re a safe distance away from everything. But the waters are also shallow. And after the sun sets, it’s kind of lonely out there.
Deeper Joy Philosophy and Principles
From Deeper Joy

Each location on the Community Building Map to Deeper Joy represent different “features” of a community based on what the group experiences together. A leader or facilitator has a number of choices to make about what experiences they want to offer the group to shape the desired features. In the…
Journeys of Deeper Joy

Ember Oak Kelley

From Deeper Joy

Engage your UU community with an RPG that blends imaginative roleplaying with reflection and community-building for all ages. Embark on journeys in the world of Covenantia, and explore what it means to live out our UU values.