In 1637, the settlers in what was to become the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, wanted to start a church. The problem was, the roughly 30 families didn't know each other, and, therefore, didn't know what sort of church to begin....

One time...before there were any people walking around this valley there were bear people. They had an agreement with the salmon....The salmon would come upriver every fall and the bears would acknowledge this and take what they needed. This is the way it was with everything. Everyone lived by...

This story is based on references to Miriam in Hebrew scripture. Read or tell the story. It is said that for many years, the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. A slave works hard for no pay. A slave is not allowed to say or do what they want. A slave is a person, owned by someone else....

Toribio S. Quimada was a man who knew the meaning and effects of intolerance. Born in 1917 on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, Toribio was one of thirteen children. As a child, Toribio often heard his parents discuss religion and criticize the lax principles of the Protestant church....

By the Rev. Dr. Kendyl Gibbons; used with permission. Narrator: We have a very important guest with us today. She has come all the way from Transylvania of the mid-sixteenth century to tell us of a new innovation in her day known as Unitarianism. Please make her welcome, Princess Isabella of Poland.

Adapted from "A Step Toward Racial Reconciliation", UU World, May/June 2002, permission pending. ...

Ain't gonna let nobody Turn me 'round Turn me 'round Turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody Turn me 'round Gonna keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin' Walking up to freedom land. — African American spiritual The protesters sang and chanted on the 50-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The...

The story, "Two Brothers," in this session is based on a story widely thought to come from the Jewish Talmud that may have older roots in Muslim and Hindu culture. Contemporary versions of the story include "Brotherly Love," in Angels, Prophets, Rabbis and Kings, fromThe Stories of the Jewish...

Originally published in Harvest the Power: Developing Lay Leadership, a Tapestry of Faith program by Matt Tittle, Gail Tittle, and Gail Forsyth-Vail (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2008). For a short time, religious toleration was the rule of the land in sixteenth century Transylvania.

An Islamic folk tale. To engage participants in the storytelling, ask for three volunteers to pantomime the actions of Mullah Nasruddin, his neighbor, and the donkey. One day, a neighbor whom Mullah Nasruddin didn't like came to see him. The neighbor asked Nasruddin, "May I borrow your donkey?"...

You may like to introduce the story with these words: This story is about a time when a group of Unitarian Universalists had to make a difficult decision together and needed to listen to each other. Unitarian Universalism is a living faith. We think that people should be free to believe what they...

From Stories in Faith: Exploring Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales, a Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Book (Boston: Skinner House, 2007). Once there was a little girl named Cecilia who fell in love with the universe. She felt her heart leap with joy every time she...

A useful visual aid for this story is a map of the United States to show Reverend Wilkes extensive travel all over the country. Other visual aids might include pictures of Universalist circuit riders and pictures of frontier life and transportation modes of the mid-nineteenth century....

Adapted from the Tapestry of Faith story "James Luther Adams," by Jessica York. Present the story Introduction and Part I, reading aloud up to the point marked "STOP." Then, lead a role play and discussion as instructed in Alternate Activity 3, Description of Activity....

From Stories in Faith: Exploring Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales (Boston: UUA, 2007). Arius, a Libyan priest, lived in the 4th century, a time when the leaders of the Christian church, freed from persecution by the Edict of Milan in 312, were engaging in...

This story is based on the first of two versions of the creation story found in Hebrew scripture in the Book of Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2. It comes from Stories in Faith: Exploring Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales by Gail Forsyth-Vail (Boston: Unitarian...

For a more interactive storytelling, assign a few participants to give voice to the words of Theodore Parker and Millard Fillmore, both of whose writings are quoted in the story....

Adapted from "A Step Toward Racial Reconciliation", UU World, May/June 2002, used with permission. Reverend W.H.G. Carter was a big man with a big personality. Light-skinned, six-feet-two, a man of charm, energy, imagination, and learning, he towered over his wife, Beulah, who was only five feet...

Read or tell the story. A farm wagon bumped along through the Kansas prairie, under a blazing August sun. Next to the wagon’s driver sat a young woman in a long black dress. She had been up since four a.m. and, after a hasty breakfast, had taken her leave. Now, as her eyes took in the great sweep...

Many people who feel passionately about injustice in the world speak up about it. Speaking up can take many forms because different people have different ways of expressing themselves.