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 - 11 of 11

  • Once there was a wise woman named Athenerva.* Athenerva would travel from town to town in her country, spending a few days, maybe a week in each town. People came to her with difficult problems or arguments they were having with others, and she would help them find their way toward satisfying...
    Story | By Gail Sphar | May 8, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Belief, Diversity, God, Goddess, Imagination
  • Once upon a time there was a tiny, little, itty bitty, very small, tiny little god named Tiny. She lived her life hearing stories of all the big gods and, well, let’s face it, she was jealous. She knew she needed to think of some kind of special spark of an idea that would make her existence...
    Story | By Becky Brooks | March 26, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Compassion, Connections, God, Presence, Relationships
  • Imagine if Easter preachers—and all the rest of us—had the chutzpah of Mary Magdalene.
    Time for All Ages | By Anne S. Howard | March 22, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Abundance, Christianity, Courage, Easter, God, Good, Power, Revelation
  • In Jewish tradition, the four chapters of the Book of Jonah are read aloud at Yom Kippur. Jonah is a minor prophet in the Hebrew Bible but he has a big message. Some of you may know his story. Jonah is sent by God to Nineveh to warn the people that if they do not change their ways they will be...
    Story | By Joanne Giannino | September 22, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anger, Community, Compromise, Forgiveness, God, Good, Judaism, Transformation, Yom Kippur
  • Once upon a time there was a teacher named Sophia. Sophia had been a teacher in the town where she lived for so long that the kids she first had in her class grew up and had kids of their own and sent them to her class too....
    Story | By Becky Brooks | April 15, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Abundance, Generosity, God, Home, Hospitality, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism
  • Once upon a time, there was a village with a road that went straight through the center of town. One day, something strange happened. God walked down the road . . . and she was beautiful! She wore a long flowing robe and on top of her head there was a wonderful hat....
    Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Conflict, Direct Experience, Diversity, Division, God, Relationships, Truth
  • My name is Mary Magdalene. You may have heard of me. I lived a long, long time ago, 2,000 years ago. And I’m here today to tell you the story of Easter as I saw it. But first I should tell you that some people think I'm a little crazy. Legend has it that I spent most of my life alone in a cave,...
    Script | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Courage, Easter, God, Love, Oppression, Revelation, Unitarian Universalism
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, God, Love, Parents, Unitarian Universalism
  • A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...
    Story | By Christian Schmidt | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Children's Sabbath, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, God, Interdependence, Justice Sunday, Service, Water Communion
  • There was a Mystery. She was a great Mystery. And nobody understood or appreciated her mainly because there was no one else around to appreciate or understand much of anything.
    Story | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth Day, God, Mystery, Playfulness
  • One day, a rabbit set out from the woods, carrying a question to all the other creatures that it met. The rabbit came first to a butterfly fluttering in an open field, and asked, "Friend butterfly, what can you tell me about the thing called 'god’?" The butterfly thought for a moment, and said,...
    Story | By Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Direct Experience, God