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Displaying 1 - 50 of 156

  • Remembering the proposed Unitarian Universalist Association's Article 2 values is as easy as counting on your fingers!
    Time for All Ages | By Emily C. Jones | April 19, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #Article2, Equity, Generosity, Interdependence, Justice, Love, Pluralism, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
  • Some geologists believe that gases from the earth caused the Delphic oracle’s fits of passion and her prophecies. But the scientific answer does not mean the Greeks were foolish to believe they had a relationship with Apollo; it does not erase the relationship they had with their gods.
    Time for All Ages | By Julie Rigano | April 12, 2024 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Belief, Faith, Mystery, Nature, Reason, Science, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Carl the golden retriever learns about the limitations of the Golden Rule.
    Story | By Tiffany Sapp | October 10, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Caring, Imagination, Playfulness, Relationships, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Our church calls us to "bring all that you are." This includes all our talents—known, and yet to be discovered.
    Script | By First Parish UU Church, Kennebunk, ME | May 15, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Playfulness, Stewardship, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • There's an older rhythm calling us to rest.
    Time for All Ages | By Jamila Batchelder | January 27, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Balance, Body, Contemplation, Healing, Peace, Presence, Stress, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Change, Faith, Identity, Living Our Faith, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • One of the Goddess’s best friends was a cardinal—a bright red bird who loved to play with the Goddess and the Sun.
    Story | By Christina Leone Tracy | December 16, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, Change, Earth, Earth-Centered, Ending, Faith, Friendship, Goddess, Imagination, Letting Go, Nature, Paganism, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • 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
  • Preparation: acquire a wooden block tower building game (similar to Jenga ©). If possible, consider getting a jumbo version of game because its size lends itself to more visibility for the congregation and more space for more kids to participate. Other supplies: signs or name tags that state...
    Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | October 17, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, Compromise, Conflict, Covenant, Relationships, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Change is part of who we are.
    Story | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | May 19, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Change, Earth-Centered, Letting Go, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • We can plant the seeds of love and justice in the world.
    Time for All Ages | By mandi huizenga | March 29, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, America, Anti-Oppression, History, Humanism, Justice, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Masks let us be someone or something totally different from who we usually are.
    Time for All Ages | By Mary Gear | January 21, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Imagination, Playfulness, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Maybe if we add an 8th Principle, we will get closer to the BeLOVEd Community we dream about.
    Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | June 5, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackLivesMatter, Seven Principles, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Start by telling the story of your mistake. Keep practicing! This is a tool you can use in many different situations.
    Time for All Ages | By Maria Bavier | April 19, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Forgiveness, Friendship, Healing, Humanism, Relationships, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Can you imagine what it was like to be inside of that house, afraid that it might fall all apart from the destructive force of the wind and the rain, from the whole storm?
    Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | January 7, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Interdependence, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Relationships, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Tip if you are video recording this story: you can have a clip of an adult stretching out their arm in one direction, then another clip of a different adult stretching out their arm in the other direction, so that when you edit it, it looks like they are stretching towards each other. It would be...
    Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | October 13, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Caring, Earth, Earth-Centered, Environment, Humanism, Nature, Responsibility, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • 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
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Community, Faith, Humanism, Living Our Faith, Love, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • 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
  • 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
  • The tree stood in the middle of the village. Its trunk was so large that it took six people holding hands to reach around it. The roots were strong and wide, and its branches spread out over the village square, offering shelter from the rain, or shade from the summer sun....
    Story | By Lynn Gardner | March 4, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Canvass/Pledge, Caring, Commitment, Earth-Centered, Generosity, Humanism, Interdependence, Nature, Stewardship
  • an original retelling Daedalus was a brilliant inventor, and he had made a career, even a legend of himself for being able to create the seemingly impossible. So when he decided to escape from his tower prison by flying over the ocean like a bird, his son, Icarus, had no doubt he would do it. It...
    Story | By Erica Shadowsong | March 4, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Conscience, Courage, Creativity, Freedom, Humility, Individualism, Parents, Searching
  • This story is great to be acted out by four women (of applicable ages for each direction) around a large bowl/vessel....
    Story | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | January 7, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Generations, Imagination, Listening, Nature, Sacred, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, Women
  • This pageant was written by Rev. Tim Kutzmark and shaped over eighteen years by DREs, staff, and congregants at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Glen Allen, VA; The Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, MA; and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno, CA....
    Script | By Tim Kutzmark | November 23, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas
  • The dictionary defines soil as: “the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, or a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.” But I like to think of soil as a community. There are three main mineral components of soil: clay,...
    Time for All Ages | By Ariel Aaronson-Eves | November 13, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Stewardship, Climate Justice
  • Rain falls upon the surface of the earth, and pulled by gravity each drop begins to flow downhill. Drop merges with drop, flowing together, into a trickle, a streamlet, a creek, a mighty river, flowing onward. Some of the water seeps down into the earth itself, as groundwater, or deep aquifers,...
    Time for All Ages | By Molly Housh Gordon, Jamila Batchelder | September 4, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Body, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Imagination, Nature, Playfulness, Science, Secular, Water Communion, Climate Justice
  • Think of where you feel safe and at peace. What’s the signal that tells you it’s okay to be at peace? (Ask for answers.) For people in the United States military, there’s a special signal that says “you’re okay, and you’re at peace.” It's a melody called "Taps," and it's only 24 notes...
    Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt, Paul S Sawyer | May 21, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Death, History, Memorial Day, Military, Secular
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Caring, Commitment, Discernment, Environment, Identity, Living Our Faith, Meaning, Purpose, Responsibility
  • 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
  • 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
  • I want to tell you about my bicycle. The frame is a sparkly kind of blue and it has pink handlebar tape. And guess what color the wheels are? Lime green! I love my bicycle. Now suppose this was your bicycle. And suppose one day you biked to school and totally forgot to lock your bike when you got...
    Story | By Isabel Call | November 9, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Indigenous American, Race/Ethnicity, Thanksgiving
  • Note: The Minister or Director of Education narrates this pageant with help from two youth leaders and three “guest stars.” The entire congregation participates as prompted. Congregants remain in their seats but there are three opportunities for children to join the leaders on the chancel. No...
    Script | By Norman Allen | October 6, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism
  • Did you notice that in the story of Christmas there are lots of journeys? Mary and Joseph have to go on a journey. The shepherds have to go on a journey. And those angels must have gone on a journey to find the shepherds....
    Script | By Kathy Schmitz | October 5, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Generations, Imagination, Journey, Relationships
  • All the great religions have their stories, and usually a special day that celebrates that story. Today is Easter. Easter and Christmas are the most special days for Christians: on Christmas we tell the story of Jesus being born in the manager; on Easter we tell a story about the end of Jesus’...
    Time for All Ages | By Sue Andrews | March 29, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Easter
  • The Celebration begins with making “Brigid Butter,” which will be used on the bread that will be offered during Cakes and Ale. Ritual: Making "Brigid Butter" materials: Small, clean baby food jars Heavy whipping cream Cheesecloth Salt (various flavors) Small knives • Fill jars with heavy cream...
    Complete Service | By Martha Kirby Capo | March 15, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Nature, Winter
  • Once upon a time, a baby was born. Even before that baby was born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby. The people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby didn’t know exactly what that baby would be like. And so, they wondered: Would the baby have a smile...
    Time for All Ages | By Gwen Matthews | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Awe, Child Dedication, Children, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Family, Fathers, Generations, Humanism, Mothers, Parents, Secular, Tradition
  • This service was written by Rev. Clyde Grubbs and Mary Jane Holden, and adapted by Erika Hewitt. It uses readers—as many as ten, plus the Worship Leader—to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement as it unfolded over the course of a decade. This story was designed to be read while photos were...
    Script | By Clyde Grubbs, Mary Jane Holden, Erika Hewitt | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • The Golden Chain: an Ife Creation Story Notes: There are many versions of this creation myth, most with the same elements. These adaptations by Erica Shadowsong include most of these common elements, additional ones found in the version cited in the story below. This story also uses a neo-pagan...
    Time for All Ages | By Erica Shadowsong | October 24, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, International, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity
  • At sundown on Saturday, the Sabbath finally over, Mary Magdalene and the other women who loved Jesus began to prepare spices to pour over his body to honor him and say a final farewell. They were up all night, cooking and talking, and remembering his life....
    Story | By Mandie McGlynn | October 23, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian), Easter, Tradition, Transformation
  • Good morning! Do you notice anything different about me today? That’s right, I’m wearing glasses. Have you seen glasses like these before? Any idea where I might have gotten them? They came from a 3-D movie theatre and a movie where, if you put on these special glasses, some of things you see...
    Time for All Ages | By Shari Woodbury | September 12, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Justice, Limitations, Listening, Multiculturalism, Searching, Truth
  • Prelude Chalice Lighting by Laura Horton Ludwig [For this service, the chalice was a large pillar candle in a clear glass bowl of water.] Call to Worship Welcome to this Earth Day worship service! Like so many days, this day holds wonder and sorrow....
    Complete Service | By Diana Smith | July 4, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Beauty, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Nature, Responsibility, Secular, Climate Justice
  • Before beginning, dramatically turn your back on the congregation and children, and place a smudge on cheek. It is important that this be a smudge that is large enough for the congregation to see, but does not cover the whole face. One cheek is good. Turn around....
    Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | April 4, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Direct Experience
  • 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
  • The author suggests supplementing this Time for All Ages with a PowerPoint/slide show of interesting doors and asking the kids to imagine what is on the other side of each of them... Who here knows the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? Can one of the kids in the room tell me how Lucy...
    Time for All Ages | By Molly Housh Gordon | March 18, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beginnings, Bridging, Change, Direct Experience, Discernment, Ending, Hospitality, Journey, Secular, Self-Care, Transformation
  • To prepare, you'll need a few inflated balloons -- and to gird yourself for the improvisation required! Let’s play a game! Everyone knows how to play this game. All you have to do is get this balloon to the back of the room as fast as you can! Go!...
    Time for All Ages | By Laura Bogle | March 8, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Atheism, Community, Compromise, Covenant, Direct Experience, Freedom, Humanism, Interdependence, Limitations, Playfulness, Respect, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • Prop needed: An oversized pendulum. If this is hard to imagine, wrap yarn around a kickball sized ball and attach it to a long rod. Any weight suspended on a string from a stationary object can be a pendulum. Today, I want to talk to you about SCIENCE! Who here loves science?...
    Time for All Ages | By Tim Atkins | February 26, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Atheism, Balance, Humanism, Science, Secular, Self-Care
  • It was getting dark and the weary travelers needed a place to sleep. It’s almost 70 miles between Nazareth and Bethlehem, and Joseph and Mary were making the long journey that was required of them in order to pay taxes to the Roman Empire. It was a long journey for everyone, but Mary was feeling...
    Story | By Lynn Gardner | January 1, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas
  • In his autobiography, Theodore Parker relates that as a child, four or five years old, living on a farm in Roxbury, he was walking through the fields one day absent-mindedly swinging a stick through the tall grass. This was many years ago, in the days before the Civil War. It was summertime. He...
    Time for All Ages | By Gary Kowalski | September 8, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Children, Compassion, Conscience, History, Parents, Unitarianism
  • [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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Belief, Credo, Faith, Freedom, Identity, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Reason, Unitarian Universalism

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Conceived in 1999, WorshipWeb was implemented in late 2000 and 2001 through funding from the Unitarian Universalist Association's successful 1997 "Handing on the Future" capital fund campaign.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and its members in the development of WorshipWeb.