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

  • Once upon a time there was a family. Maybe this family had not quite enough to eat. Or maybe they had just about enough. Or … perhaps they had MORE than enough. You might not have been able to tell. THEY might not have been able to tell. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you have enough or not.
    Story | By Dawn Star Sarahs-Borchelt | April 3, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Family, Generosity, Home, Hospitality, Humanism, Inclusion, Secular, Stewardship, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism, Wealth
  • This is the story of a young girl named Amelia. Amelia was fascinated by tales of people with super powers, like Wonder Woman, or magic like Harry Potter. She yearned to have powers like that so she could help people. Like the boy she often saw sitting all alone at lunch, looking very sad....
    Story | By Gail Sphar | April 28, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Change, Community, Compassion, Courage, Environment, Inclusion, Kindness, Leadership, Strength
  • Characters: Narrator, Very Important Person, Enemies (including Leader of the Enemies), Spider, and at least four Cave Rocks. Materials needed: Grey, silver, or white yarn Narrator: I’d like to share a story with you today – a story about a simple little spider who did an amazing thing. You’ll...
    Time for All Ages | By Diana Davies | March 28, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Animals, Caring, Earth, Inclusion, Interdependence, International, Kindness, Nature, Salvation, Secular, Self-Respect
  • While created as a Time for All Ages, the footnotes in this resource contain suggestions for expanding this moment into an entire Children's Chapel. Please note: This Time for All Ages involves teaching the traditional Arabic greeting "as-salaamu ‘alaikum." Out of respect for that culture, and...
    Time for All Ages | By Maryah Converse | March 12, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Caring, Hospitality, Inclusion, Islam, Multiculturalism
  • This children's worship activity relies on the use of objects that you'll have to assemble. Its author used Quarto! game pieces (shown in the accompanying picture)....
    Complete Service | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Diversity, Division, Inclusion, Interdependence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unity, Worship Tips, WorshipWeb
  • Have you ever wondered how it came to be that churches are known as places where you can get a helping hand when you need one? It seems to me that a key source of the charitable nature of churches goes all the way back to the time of Jesus. You see, in the society in which Jesus lived—in his time...
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Easter, Inclusion, Justice Sunday, Living Our Faith, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Service, WorshipWeb
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Playfulness, Multiculturalism