Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Books

Books in the UUA's Tapestry of Faith Toolkit series provide background knowledge, inspiration, stories, activities, and practical guidance. Religious professionals, lay leaders (including youth leaders), and parents and caregivers seeking active roles in their children's faith development use Toolkit books to engage with others to explore and live our faith in our congregations, neighborhoods, nation, and world. Available from the UUA Bookstore.

Creating Justice Together: Service Projects for Families and Multigenerational Groups
By Susan Dana Lawrence
The managing editor for the UUA's flagship Tapestry of Faith curricula presents 36 hands-on Faith in Action projects to share compassion, do service, and spread justice in a way that yields growth in faith for all participants in a family or other multigenerational group. From cooking in a homemade solar oven to writing to a soldier serving overseas or making a welcome kit for a new neighbor, activities in this book guide adults and children to connect their experiences with their values and to share or journal reflections so that growth in faith can be rich, personal, and long-lasting.

Journeys of the Spirit: Planning and Leading Mission Trips with Youth 
By Jennifer McAdoo and Anne Principe
Mission trips can be more than a chance to partner with others and offer help. A trip can awaken or deepen participants' connection to a greater call. This book for youth advisors and youth leaders helps create and implement a spiritually transformative service project, from choosing a mission and engaging the congregation's support to logistics, safety considerations, and spiritual reflection during and after the trip. Testimonials from youth, young adults, and religious educators describe how mission trips changed them forever.

Missionaries, Builders, and Pathfinders: Unitarian Universalist Stories from the Midwest, West, and South, 1830-1930
By Gail Forsyth-Vail and Polly Peterson
Twenty tell-able tales of Unitarians and Universalists who carried their faith throughout the Midwest, to the West Coast, and across the Southern United States invite listeners to find wisdom for our own time in the insights and oversights, successes and challenges of these religious forebears. Each story includes introductory material to provide context and quotations that amplify the subject's life and work, along with discussion questions suitable for small groups, activities for congregations and families, and suggestions to apply lessons from these lives to our lives in today’s world.

Nurturing Children and Youth: A Developmental Guidebook
By Dr. Tracey L. Hurd
Grounded in current research and theory, this book describes typical progressions in physical, cognitive, social, emotional, moral and spiritual growth for each phase of development, from infants to young adults. Each of the age-chronological chapters presents key characteristics and ways to support young people in the context of Unitarian Universalism. Written for parents, ministers, religious educators, and teachers, this book helps meet the needs of children and youth in our faith communities.

Stirring the Nations's Heart: Eighteen Stories of Prophetic Unitatians and Universalists of the 19th Century
By Polly Peterson
Eighteen compelling stories from the lives of 19th-century Transcendentalists and reformers who played key roles in Unitarian Universalist history. Each story includes introductory material to provide context and quotations that expand the picture of the subject's life and work. Supplementary materials such as discussion questions allow you to shape a complete program for adult learning or small group ministry.

Stories in Faith: Exploring Our UU Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales
By Gail Forsyth-Vail
This distinctly Unitarian Universalist collection of wisdom tales, 19 in all, culls from many cultures and traditions and is presented using the seven Principles and six Sources as a framework for reflection and further exploration. Forsyth-Vail offers thoughtful advice for respectfully approaching materials from a culture other than one's own and encourages engagement with wisdom tales as an opportunity for lifelong inspiration and spiritual growth.

When Youth Lead: A Guide to Intergenerational Social Justice Ministry
By Jill M. Schwendeman
Based on a view of youth as equal participants in congregational life, this resource offers adults who work with youth guidance to construct and maintain a healthy, spiritually vital youth ministry. Teens are an enormous generative force for our faith communities, and adults have much to learn from youth about passion, friendship, discrimination, equality, faith and more. Social justice work is an effective tool for bringing generations together, and the suggestions in this excellent resource have the potential to build rich partnerships among children, youth, adults and elders. Includes practical tips for 101 social action projects.

Stories in Faith Exploring Our UU Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales

By Gail Forsyth-Vail

From inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop

This book belongs to the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Series provided by the UUA Faith Development Office. Toolkit Books provide background knowledge, inspiration, and practical guidance to program and lead UU faith development and to help us explore and live our faith in our congregations,...

Buy This Book

Books from the UUA Faith Development Office, including the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit series, on display at General Assembly 2013.

Explore curricula and other resources for religious education, small group ministry, book and film discussion, UU families at home, and more, from the UUA Faith Development Office.

Nurturing Children and Youth

This book belongs to the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Series provided by the UUA Faith Development Office. Toolkit Books provide background knowledge, inspiration, and practical guidance to program and lead UU faith development and to help us explore and live our faith in our congregations,...

Nurturing Children and Youth

Missionaries, Builders, and Pathfinders

By Gail Forsyth-Vail, Polly Peterson

From inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop

This book belongs to the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Series provided by the UUA Faith Development Office. Toolkit Books provide background knowledge, inspiration, and practical guidance to program and lead UU faith development and to help us explore and live our faith in our congregations,...

Buy This Book

Creating Justice Together

By Susan Dana Lawrence

From inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop

This book belongs to the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Series provided by the UUA Faith Development Office. Toolkit Books provide background knowledge, inspiration, and practical guidance to program and lead UU faith development and to help us explore and live our faith in our congregations,...

Buy This Book