Kristin Maier, author of A Good Telling: Bringing Worship to Life with Story (Skinner House Books, 2013) shares the first in a series of tips for good storytelling. Purchase A Good Telling at the UUA Bookstore.

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

Storytelling in Worship

✳ Pssst! Have you visited our Storytelling page? It’s filled with tips, how-to’s, and lots of resources!

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  • This children's worship activity relies on the use of objects that you'll have to assemble. Its author used Quarto! game pieces (shown in the accompanying picture)....
    Complete Service | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Diversity, Division, Inclusion, Interdependence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unity, Worship Tips
  • Who here knows from experience that life is not fair? [Show of hands.] We know this, don’t we? Life is just not fair. And I really don’t think it ever has been. But what can we do? We generally just shrug and accept it: it’s not fair. But there was once a man who refused to just shrug off the...
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Compassion, Easter, Equity, Justice, Justice Sunday, Service, Seven Principles
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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
  • Imagine with me that you’re going along a trail in the woods in Vermont and you come across a steep gorge with a river rushing at the bottom. There is only one way to get across. You see a bridge and it’s made of… this: [show basket of grass… long overgrown grass, and pass it around so kids...
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Solidarity, Teamwork, Unity
  • Today, the congregation will be singing hymns from our hymnals which are particularly precious to us as Unitarian Universalists. But today, being the last Sunday in February, is also part of Black History Month....
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Freedom, Juneteenth, Justice Sunday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Six Sources
  • This reflection was created for Choir Sunday, an annual tradition at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont. You can adapt the language as suitable for you....
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, History, International, Music Sunday, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism
  • Based on a folktale from Africa and China. Printed in Doorway to the Soul, ed. Elisa Davy Pearmain (Pilgrim Press, 1998). Themes: cooperation, gratitude, sharing, generosity Roles: 5* for rehearsal; 9 more characters can be briefed by phone or email Preparation: moderate This humorous folk tale...
    Complete Service | By Erika Hewitt | April 16, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Connections, Generosity, International, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Responsibility, Stewardship, Water Communion
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Abundance, Generosity, God, Home, Hospitality, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism
  • “[God] has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” —Martin Luther Words of Welcome & Opening Words Good morning! [General words of welcome.] The Unitarian Universalist minister Max Coots once wrote: “We need a celebration that speaks the...
    Complete Service | By Erik Walker Wikstrom | April 15, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Easter, Hope, Spring, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Individualism, Nature, Purpose, Strength, Unity
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animals, History, Judaism, Peace, Power
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Friendship, Happiness, Love, Transformation
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Caring, Friendship, Healing, Health, Love, Presence
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Character, Discernment, Integrity, Kindness
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beauty, Character, Discernment, Integrity
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Activism, Caring, Christianity, Compassion, Love
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Courage, Hope, Strength, Stress
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Conflict, Division, Friendship, Peace
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Commitment, History, Judaism, Purpose, Universalism, Women
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Joy, Purpose, Service, Unitarian Universalism