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
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- (-) Living Our Faith (11)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11
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Change can be uncomfortable. Like any time we learn a new technology, it can take a little while to adjust.Time for All Ages | January 12, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Change, Faith, Identity, Living Our Faith, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
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Somewhere in the world, there was a child and their grandparent sheltering in place, just like you are now - and they were really fed up, perhaps a bit like you are sometimes. The novelty of being at home all the time and doing whatever they wanted had worn off for the child and they felt...Story | By Jenn Blosser | April 17, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #COVID19, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Community, Faith, Humanism, Living Our Faith, Love, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
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Today I’m going to tell a story about a girl who was searching for a porpoise. Now, as you probably know, a porpoise is a sea mammal in the dolphin family. Porpoises are smaller and shyer than dolphins. They are more difficult to find, but porpoises are very important. Minister (or other Worship...Time for All Ages | By Chrissy Bushyager | May 6, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Caring, Commitment, Discernment, Environment, Identity, Living Our Faith, Meaning, Purpose, Responsibility
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This message for all ages involves two people, one of whom will need to bring forward a broken mug, plate, or bowl. These two leaders might hold a private rehearsal so that, in worship, this feels natural and playful — and yet meaningful....Time for All Ages | By Jaelynn Pema-la Scott, Erika Hewitt | December 16, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Beginnings, Brokenness, Community, Direct Experience, Healing, Humanism, Integrity, International, Living Our Faith, Love, Relationships, Responsibility, Secular, Trust
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[We suggest that the Worship Leader act out the relevant parts of this message: e.g clutch a bag tightly; let the contents spill; hold it like a "club" for bopping congregants over the head.] Babies don’t believe anything. Babies aren’t born Buddhists or Baptists or believers of any sort. But...Time for All Ages | By Gary Kowalski | September 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Belief, Credo, Faith, Freedom, Identity, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Reason, Unitarian Universalism
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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 WorshipWebTagged 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
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This Time for All Ages is greatly enhanced by visual elements. If you're able to create a slide show, it may be helpful to show the accompanying images, as well as diagrams of the geocentric and heliocentric models of the solar system. We humans have always looked up at the stars, wondered about...Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt | March 21, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, Earth Day, History, Identity, International, Living Our Faith, Partner Church Observation, Religion, Science, Secular, Wonder
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Once there was an emperor who needed a new set of clothes to wear in the grand parade. He called two of his finest cloth weavers to order one. They looked at each other and decided this would be a chance to make a little extra money from the deal. “Oh Emperor,” one said, “We have invented the...Story | By Barbara Gadon | February 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Courage, Direct Experience, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Responsibility, Truth
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This morning I’ve invited a special guest to join us, someone who has quite a story to tell. [Pull out costume and put on hat and blanket/cloak. Prepare to change your voice just a bit, and your manner, so as to be in character.] Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to join you for a little...Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Connections, Diversity, Division, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, WorshipWeb
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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 WorshipWebTagged 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
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I have a story for you. It's a tale of two heads of lettuce. This one (hold up head of lettuce and maybe even move around the sanctuary as you speak) was grown in Salinas Valley, CA. It was grown according to conventional, industrial farming methods by a multi-national corporation. They used...Time for All Ages | By Melissa Carvill-Ziemer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Economy, Food, Living Our Faith, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility