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Carl the golden retriever learns about the limitations of the Golden Rule.Story | By Tiffany Sapp | October 10, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Caring, Imagination, Playfulness, Relationships, 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged as: Choice, Community, Compromise, Conflict, Relationships, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Change is part of who we are.Story | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | May 19, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Change, Earth-Centered, Letting Go, Transformation, 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 WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Belief, Diversity, God, Goddess, Imagination
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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 -
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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged 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 -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Communion (Christian), Easter, Tradition, Transformation -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas -
A Free Retelling of the Shevirat haKeilim (from the Kabbalah) At the beginning of time, before anything else at all existed, Love was all there was, and it filled up everything in the whole universe. But Love got bored and lonely. There was no one to be in love with....Story | By Amy Petrie Shaw | August 1, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Choice, Good, Healing, Judaism, Justice, Meaning, Purpose, Transformation -
Sister Goose swam in the pond, happy as could be. Now and then, she ducked her head down to nibble a little bit here, and nibble a little bit there. She took no more than her fill of those succulent underwater plants, for she knew that the pond belonged to everyone....Story | By Faye Mogensen | June 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Division, Identity, Justice, Race/Ethnicity -
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 -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: Anger, Community, Compromise, Forgiveness, God, Good, Judaism, Transformation, Yom Kippur
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There are different versions of this Middle Eastern folktale; this version is just one way to tell it. You can find storytelling tips on WorshipWeb, but this story is also followed by suggestions about integrating this story into worship....Story | By Anonymous | August 10, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Honesty, Integrity, International, Mindfulness, Playfulness, Power, Relationships, Vision -
To prepare for this activity, place umbrellas in the pews. Instruct people to open the umbrellas when the man in the story receives the umbrella. Today we have a very special item in our very special Mystery Box. This item is going to teach us more about sanctuaries....Story | By Tim Atkins | June 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Character, Children, Empathy, Generosity, Interdependence -
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 WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Abundance, Generosity, God, Home, Hospitality, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism -
Once upon a time there were two rivers flowing side by side. Both rivers liked to argue about who was the best. “The water in my river is better than the water in your river!” said one. “No, the water in my river is better than the water in your river!” said the other. The two rivers would...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Individualism, Nature, Purpose, Strength, Unity
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There once was a man named Daniel who was as gentle as a lamb. The King loved Daniel so much that he gave him power over the entire kingdom. But this made many men jealous of Daniel. One day, when the men happened to see him praying to God, they thought of a way to hurt Daniel....Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, History, Judaism, Peace, Power
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There once was a little girl who was walking beside a creek when she happened to see a frog that looked very sad. “I wonder why that frog is so sad?” she asked herself. Then she remembered a story once told by her mother about how a girl had kissed a frog and how the frog had magically turned...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Friendship, Happiness, Love, Transformation
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Once upon a time there was a young girl named Maggie, who found out she had a very terrible disease and probably would never be well again. She was very, very sad, and although she had many friends, all of them were afraid to visit her because they feared they might catch the disease....Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Body, Caring, Friendship, Healing, Health, Love, Presence
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Once upon a time, a mother and her daughter were carrying bags of food to a neighboring village where people were hungry and had no food of their own. The two had to travel a great distance, which made them very tired, so they stopped to rest. As they sat down they heard a voice call out to them.Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Character, Discernment, Integrity, Kindness
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Once upon a time in a little village, there appeared a sign that said: Beauty Contest to be held this Saturday at the fair grounds. There will be a surprise guest judge. All the young girls in the village were very excited about being in a beauty contest, and they began to prepare for the big day.Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Character, Discernment, Integrity
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One day a merchant was traveling on a road when he was attacked by bandits. The bandits were so cruel that they beat the merchant, stole everything he had, and left him for dead lying on the side of the road. The merchant was so badly hurt he couldn’t move or speak at all, and he could barely see...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Activism, Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Love
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Once, two frogs were hopping through the forest when they accidently hopped into a big churn of cream. The sides of the churn were so slick and slippery that there was no place to hold on to, so the frogs had to swim in circles to stay afloat. After a long time one frog said, “There is no hope.Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Hope, Strength, Stress
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Once there was a little girl who was queen of an island. One day an advisor said to her, “Your majesty, the people on this island are good, but we must beware of the people on the next island for they are our enemies.” “Our enemies?” responded the queen, “How terrible!” “Yes, it is...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Conflict, Division, Friendship, Peace
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Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Olympia who had a dream. She dreamed that one day she would grow up to be a minister. But during the 1800s, only men were ministers, so it didn’t seem likely that Olympia’s dream would come true. Olympia, however, continued to dream. Time passed,...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, History, Judaism, Purpose, Universalism, Women
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Noah was an old man who loved to dance and sing and to make things with his hands. He especially loved to make mud pies. Noah loved to do these things because he felt closest to the Creator when he was being creative himself. All the people in Noah’s village thought he was a fool. “Why do you...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Joy, Purpose, Service, Unitarian Universalism
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Once upon a time there was a very greedy king who had lots and lots of gold. But he wanted even more gold, so he decided he would order his army to attack the neighboring kingdom and steal all their gold. The king called all his soldiers into his courtyard and told them his plan....Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Power, Truth
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Once there was a little girl who worried about a very big problem—world hunger. She read in the newspaper about children all over the world who did not have enough to eat. She wanted to do something about it, but she was only a little girl and this was a giant problem. What could she possibly do...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Generosity, Power, Service, Stewardship, Strength
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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 WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Conflict, Direct Experience, Diversity, Division, God, Relationships, Truth
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Once upon a time there was a little girl named Rosa, who loved to read her Bible. One of her favorite stories was the story of Moses, and how he helped the Hebrew slaves gain freedom. Moses was a young man who lived in Egypt. He knew it wasn’t right for the Hebrew people to be the slaves of the...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
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There once was a beautiful and powerful tiger. One day she was captured by a mean and cruel man who put her into a cage. The man kept the cage in the jungle not far from his house. Everyday he would bring out a bowl of water and some food for the lonely tiger....Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Freedom, Friendship, Power, Strength
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Once upon a time there was a drop of water named Higgins. Higgins was no ordinary drop of water. He was a drop with a dream. Higgins lived in a valley where it had not rained in a very long time, so all the lovely green grass was turning brown, all the beautiful flowers were wilting, and all the...Story | By Christopher Buice | April 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Community, Earth, Power, Purpose, Service, Strength, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
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How many of you like to go hiking? I have a number of walks nearby that I like. Hunger Mountain, Snake Mountain and others. Or if we don’t want to drive, my wife and I just go down to our local park where in just a few steps you can forget you’re in the city. Sometimes we bring our dog Smokey...Story | By Gary Kowalski | February 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Challenge, Direct Experience, Environment, Growth, Mindfulness, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Searching, Unitarian Universalism
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This story was created collaboratively by several religious educators. As you prepare to share it, read the 1966 Ware Lecture "Don't Sleep Through the Revolution," by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly in Hollywood, Florida, May 18, 1966.Story | By Gail Forsyth-Vail | January 29, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Humanism, Juneteenth, Justice, Justice Sunday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility
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There once was a child who got lost in the woods. As night began to descend, the child became more and more frightened. I’m sure any of us would be frightened too, in that situation, but what made this child even more frightened, was that he had always been afraid of the dark. He was more afraid...Story | By Sheri Phillabaum | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Beauty, Courage, Fear, Halloween, Samhain, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder
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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 WorshipWebTagged 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
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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 WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Playfulness, Multiculturalism
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Once, there was a little girl named Amanda who loved to help other people. She helped her Papa David and Papi Caesar to clean the house, she raked up the leaves in her neighbor Jim’s yard when he was in pain and couldn’t do it himself, and she tutored her friend Sara in Math. So, when it came...Story | By Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Humility, Listening, Relationships, Service, Teamwork
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By Jan Gartner, adapted from the story, A Unitarian King, in A Lamp in Every Corner: A Unitarian Universalist Storybook, by Janeen K Grohsmeyer. Written as a no-rehearsal skit for middle-elementary worship or classroom use. NARRATOR Our story takes place in the mid-1500's, in the country of Hungary.Story | By Jan Gartner | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: History, Unitarianism
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There was a young man who grew up in China. Everyone said that he was so calm and peaceful, he should become a monk. Not wanting to displease his family and friends by telling the truth, the young man let them think he was indeed peaceful and calm. Inside, however, the young man was filled with...Story | By Denise Tracy | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Body, History, Multiculturalism, Peace, Self-Care, Taoism, Multiculturalism
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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 WorshipWebTagged as: Earth Day, God, Mystery, Playfulness
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There once was a person named John Murray. He lived in England, and worked as a minister there. The congregation to which he belonged took religion very seriously. They believed in life after death, but they thought that almost everyone was going to have a terrible, horrible time after they died.Story | By Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: History, Universalism
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I want to tell you about a T-ball game, a story credited to storyteller Bill Harley. If, like me, you grew up before T-ball, you'll need to know that it’s a game like softball, but with gentle rules for 5 to 8-year olds, kids just starting out in life. Now, the particular T-ball team Bill...Story | By John Parker Manwell | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Choice, Love, Presence