Good stories are central to good worship. As a Time for All Ages, as part of a sermon, or as part of a multigenerational service, stories engage our hearts and minds and help us grow.
Stories from Other Unitarian Universalist (UU) Sources
- Tapestry of Faith stories: search or browse the list (over 450 stories for children, youth, and adults)
- Story anthologies for children from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bookstore.
Storytelling in Worship
✳ Pssst! Have you visited our Storytelling page? It's filled with tips, how-to's, and lots of resources!
Featured Books
- Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World
- Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents
- A Lamp in Every Corner: A UU Storybook
- Mira and the Big Story
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.
- Aging (1)
- Animals (1)
- Awe (1)
- Caring (1)
- Character (1)
- Compassion (2)
- Conscience (3)
- Contemplation (1)
- Courage (2)
- Creativity (1)
- Diversity (1)
- Empathy (1)
- Faith (1)
- Family (3)
- Fathers (1)
- Freedom (1)
- Friendship (1)
- Generations (3)
- Generosity (2)
- God (1)
- Growth (1)
- History (2)
- Home (1)
- Humility (1)
- Imagination (1)
- Inclusion (1)
- Individualism (1)
- Interdependence (1)
- Journey (1)
- Joy (1)
- Love (1)
- Mothers (2)
- Multiculturalism (1)
- Parents (7)
- Playfulness (1)
- Relationships (1)
- Searching (1)
- Solidarity (1)
- Tradition (1)
- (-) Children (11)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11
-
an original retelling Daedalus was a brilliant inventor, and he had made a career, even a legend of himself for being able to create the seemingly impossible. So when he decided to escape from his tower prison by flying over the ocean like a bird, his son, Icarus, had no doubt he would do it. It...Story | By Erica Shadowsong | March 4, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Conscience, Courage, Creativity, Freedom, Humility, Individualism, Parents, Searching
-
Did you notice that in the story of Christmas there are lots of journeys? Mary and Joseph have to go on a journey. The shepherds have to go on a journey. And those angels must have gone on a journey to find the shepherds....Script | By Kathy Schmitz | October 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Generations, Imagination, Journey, Relationships
-
Once upon a time, a baby was born. Even before that baby was born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby. The people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby didn’t know exactly what that baby would be like. And so, they wondered: Would the baby have a smile...Time for All Ages | By Gwen Matthews | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Awe, Child Dedication, Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Family, Fathers, Generations, Humanism, Mothers, Parents, Secular, Tradition
-
In his autobiography, Theodore Parker relates that as a child, four or five years old, living on a farm in Roxbury, he was walking through the fields one day absent-mindedly swinging a stick through the tall grass. This was many years ago, in the days before the Civil War. It was summertime. He...Time for All Ages | By Gary Kowalski | September 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Children, Compassion, Conscience, History, Parents, Unitarianism
-
Mary: Hi! Are you on the way to the hill country, too? I’m going to the hill country. I'm on my way to see my cousin Elizabeth. I can’t wait to tell her what happened: the Angel Gabriel came to me and said that I’m going to have a baby, and that I should name him Jesus. The angel said, “He...Script | By Lyn Cox | December 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Family, Mothers, Parents
-
To prepare for this activity, place umbrellas in the pews. Instruct people to open the umbrellas when the man in the story receives the umbrella. Today we have a very special item in our very special Mystery Box. This item is going to teach us more about sanctuaries....Story | By Tim Atkins | June 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Character, Children, Empathy, Generosity, Interdependence
-
A Christmas Play for Grownups Minister: Tonight I invite you to imagine yourselves there that holy night, when a mother and father had their first child. We try to imagine what went through the minds and hearts of the parents of Jesus, in the months leading up to his birth....Script | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, God, Love, Parents, Unitarian Universalism
-
This is a fable you can use as is, or adapt for your needs — embellish it and perform it with lots of dramatic emphasis — the underlined words almost always get a laugh — adults really like the story too. The story was loosely adapted from a story that George Reavis wrote when he was the...Story | By Devorah Greenstein | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Playfulness, Multiculturalism
-
It was December. I was in a new school in a new place and there were new teachers and new classmates. And we were living in a new house too. Also there was no snow in Florida. That was a lot of new things at once. I didn’t like it. At least I had my bicycle—it was my old bicycle so it wasn’t...Story | By Orlanda R Brugnola | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Generosity, Home, Joy, Parents
-
I want to tell you a story about being new—and how sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it isn’t. Once there was a second grader named Paul. In September, he moved to a new town, had a new teacher and a new class and a brand-new desk. There was a boy sitting across from him with bright red hair,...Time for All Ages | By Mandy Neff | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Children, Compassion, Conscience, Courage, Direct Experience, Friendship, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism
-
For any of the components, below, you might insert other options from WorshipWeb's resources -- or write your own!...Complete Service | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Children, Coming of Age, Faith, Family, Generations, Growth, History, Parents, Unitarian Universalism