Kristin Maier, author of A Good Telling: Bringing Worship to Life with Story (Skinner House Books, 2013) shares the first in a series of tips for good storytelling. Purchase A Good Telling at the UUA Bookstore.

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

Storytelling in Worship

✳ Pssst! Have you visited our Storytelling page? It's filled with tips, how-to's, and lots of resources!

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7

  • What happens when you don’t agree?
    Story | By Renee Ruchotzke | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Choice, Community, Compromise, Conflict, Relationships, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • This Message for All Ages requires its leader to feel comfortable soliciting answers from the congregation—both children and adults—and then reframe or summarize each response for all to hear. Will you play a game of “Let’s Pretend” with me? It goes like this: You’re on a television game...
    Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt | May 2, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Abundance, Challenge, Choice, Ethics, Integrity
  • Jesus was a teacher, long ago, of love and compassion.
    Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt | August 2, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Calling, Caring, Choice, Christianity, Love, Presence, Responsibility, Sacrifice
  • A Free Retelling of the Shevirat haKeilim (from the Kabbalah) At the beginning of time, before anything else at all existed, Love was all there was, and it filled up everything in the whole universe. But Love got bored and lonely. There was no one to be in love with....
    Story | By Amy Petrie Shaw | August 1, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Choice, Good, Healing, Judaism, Justice, Meaning, Purpose, Transformation
  • Our Time for All Ages this morning is a time of make-believe. I’d like you to put your imagination caps on so that we can pretend together. Raise your hand if you've ever been to a baseball game. How many of you follow a team you think of as “your” team? Well, I have bad news. (Here’s the...
    Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt | April 2, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Belief, Choice, Courage, Generations, History, International, Living Our Faith, Partner Church Observation, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Psychology, Secular
  • I’m curious to know what you believe… about what is the best...food. Think about that for a moment. And if you’re wondering what I mean exactly, I leave it to each of you to interpret as you choose. What do you believe is the best food? [Allow a few moments for reflection.] And when you have...
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 28, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Authority, Choice, Direct Experience, Food, Freedom, Meaning, Responsibility, Searching, Unitarian Universalism
  • I want to tell you about a T-ball game, a story credited to storyteller Bill Harley. If, like me, you grew up before T-ball, you'll need to know that it’s a game like softball, but with gentle rules for 5 to 8-year olds, kids just starting out in life. Now, the particular T-ball team Bill...
    Story | By John Parker Manwell | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Choice, Love, Presence