Thanks to everyone who joined us after our Dolphins assembly on 15th June for lunch. We’re doing it again after our Pride assembly on 6th July!
In honour of our speaker Carla Ecola and their topic, the UK’s first LGBTIQ+ shelter, our lunch venue will be Love Shack. Right up the road from Sunday Assembly London, Love Shack is a wonderfully welcoming vegan restaurant that recently joined the Safe Space London directory of trans-friendly businesses.
We’ve booked for 10 people and would love to fill every seat. Please join us if you can to celebrate our community, the LGBTIQ+ community and the local East London community!
Article Club is where the Sunday Assembly London community read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.
This was our 70th meeting but it’s never too late to join! Just like at our assemblies, we love welcoming new members and their unique opinions.
How Article Club works
1. We meet every six weeks or so in the National Theatre building in Central London by the river. We go for the round seats in the Lyttelton Theatre bar on the first floor.
2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science. Our chosen articles this time were:
The rise and fall of peer review Adam Mastroianni, Experimental History 13th December 2022 ‘Why the greatest scientific experiment in history failed, and why that’s a great thing’
3. We talk about each one for around half an hour. The beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.
4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.
5. We set the date for the next Article Club (if we hadn’t already) and sometimes adjourn to the pub.
Our next two Article Clubs will be:
Thursday 7 August at 7:30pm
Thursday 18 September at 7:30pm
To meet more of the Sunday Assembly London community while learning about a new or familiar topic, you’re always welcome at our Sunday Assemblies too!
Join us for lunch after our assembly on 20th July!
If the weather is good we’ll be outside, so bring blankets and food to share. Otherwise, we’ll head for a local restaurant, café or pub that serves food. (We’ll tell you which during the assembly.)
Keep an eye on the weather and event listing in case we need to change venue. And if you have any portable games, bring them too. Newcomers are very welcome.
Live Better is a value we hold dear at Sunday Assembly London, but what if your dream turns to crisis? Many LGBTIQ+ people move to London to live as themselves and find connection among a larger population – only to struggle without stable work, housing and social networks. One special organisation has led the way in helping them since 2017.
Our guest speaker: Carla Ecola, The Outside Project
The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. This London Pride weekend, we’re honoured to welcome The Outside Project’s co-founder and director Carla Ecola. Carla is a queer homelessness activist who saw the gap in crisis services for LGBTIQ+ people whilst working as an Outreach Worker in their twenties.
Find out how they support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by Carla and the team’s own personal experiences – and hear about the challenges they’re facing today.
[Photo credit: Carla Ecola]
Our guest poet: Annie Hayter
We are also thrilled to have some spoken word from Annie Hayter, who delights in writing about queer transformations and flatulent saints. Their work has been found in The Big Issue, Rialto, MAGMA, Time Out, and on BBC Radio 3.
Today’s songs
The Outside Project takes its name from a George Michael song. In celebration of that, our Sunday Assembly London band will be performing four pop songs from LGBTIQ+ artists for us to sing our hearts out to.
As always, we project the lyrics for everyone to follow. But if you’re not into singing, there’s no pressure at all to join in.
About Sunday Assembly London
Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.
We’re proud to host events where LGBTIQ+ members, volunteers, speakers and poets give each other a sense of belonging within a secular community that welcomes all.
After the assembly
Stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.
Our lunch venue this time will be Love Shack, a wonderfully welcoming vegan restaurant that recently joined the Safe Space London directory of trans-friendly businesses. We’ve booked for 10 people so please join us if you can!
[Photo credit: Love Shack]
→ Our next assembly:Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness Can Change the World, 20th July
What if one small act of kindness, every single day for a year, could ignite a light in the darkness? Bernadette Russell gives us an insight into her extraordinary 366-day journey of discovery and connection.
Exploring our value Wonder More inspires us not only to look around at our own world but also to look into other realms, such as outer space and, today, beneath the waves.
Guest speaker: Pavan Kaur Virdee
In honour of World Ocean Day on 8th June, we were joined by London based marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee, who shared her life-long passion and knowledge about the world of dolphins. Pavan’s presentation introduced us to cetaceans found in UK waters, from playful bottlenose dolphins to mysterious minke whales.
We also heard how the ocean is under threat from noise pollution and plastic pollution, and how we can help. Even two minutes spent picking up plastic litter can help keep it out of rivers, away from the ocean and ultimately out of a food chain that leads to humans ingesting a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week.
Guest poet: Kay Scorah
We were delighted that Sunday Assembly London’s own Kay Scorah stepped in at short notice with specially written dolphin-themed verses.
We sang along to four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band, all with connections to the ocean waves:
Wellerman – Nathan Evans
Surfin’ USA – Beach Boys
Octopus’ Garden – The Beatles
Heroes – David Bowie (the lyrics mention dolphins!)
The return of our bubble machine added to the fun!
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally (taking advantage of the picnic-friendly weather), and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.
Thanks to our host Shane; co-host Matt; all our wonderful volunteers from tech to tea, and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
If you enjoyed yourself, please spread the word by sharing our social media posts or tagging us in your posts.
The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. Hear from co-founder and director Carla Ecola about how their team have been working since 2017 to support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by their own personal experiences.
[Photo credit: Carla Ecola]
Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness Can Change the World, 20th July
What if one small act of kindness, every single day for a year, could ignite a light in the darkness? Bernadette Russell gives us an insight into her extraordinary 366-day journey of discovery and connection.
Community was the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week this year. As it came to a close on 18th May, we asked our attendees and volunteers to tell us how the Sunday Assembly London community has impacted them and their wellbeing.
To do this, we invited everyone to ‘leaf us a message’ by writing anonymously on a leaf and add it to our tree.
It was lovely to look through the leaves and see Sunday Assembly London’s deep, continuing impact. Here’s a selection:
The leaves transcribed:
‘SA is amazing for making friends and having fun’
‘SA enables me to be brave and venture away from the familiar shallows, knowing that if the waves are too big or the waves become too strong, there’s a lighthouse there to guide me home’
‘Singing together makes me feel part of something bigger than myself and puts life’s problems in perspective’
‘Making really wonderful friends’
‘First time attendee of Sunday Assembly and I loved the singing. It has been some time since I sung in a group so that was undoubtedly good for my mental health’
‘As a parent, it’s helpful to be able to talk to adults about something other than children but without needing a babysitter’
‘Met lots of wonderful humans over the years’
‘SAL has given me a place to go in Sundays so I don’t spend the day doing nothing’
‘A constant in my life through many twists and turns’
‘Purpose and friendship’
‘People at Sunday Assembly are open to vulnerable conversations and welcome deep discussion as well as much needed laughter. A very positive impact on my mental health’
These messages made us even prouder of our community members, and of those whose contributions have enabled us to sustain Sunday Assembly London since our first assembly in 2013.
Reflecting on our community and volunteers
Learning. Singing. Listening. Chatting. Laughing. Reflecting. Tea-drinking. Lunching. Donating. Volunteering. These are the things that have been making Sunday Assembly London a community for over 12 years.
To everyone who’s been part of our goals to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More together: thank you.
And in honour of Volunteers’ Week 2025 (2nd-8th June), a word about our volunteers:
Sunday Assembly London is a volunteer-led charity. No single post could do justice to the amount of time, energy and love that our volunteer teams pool to make every assembly happen. Without volunteering, Sunday Assembly London wouldn’t be the thriving, welcoming community we are today. Without volunteering, Sunday Assembly London wouldn’t be. Thank you to all of you (all of us)!
To anyone who hasn’t discovered us yet, we’re waiting to welcome you to our secular get-togethers in East London! Explore our website to see when your next opportunity is and who our guest speaker will be. (Our song choices remain a closely guarded secret until the assembly itself, but guesses based on the theme of the talk are welcome!)
No need to book, no pressure to pay: just turn up and make a donation if you have a good time.
We all have issues we’re passionate about. But what if shouting in protest isn’t your style? Could the answer be not to get cross, but to get cross-stitching?
That was the topic we explored at today’s assembly, with singing, sketching and superb news thrown in. Read on to find out more…
Our guest speaker: Sarah P Corbett
The global Craftivist Collective has helped change laws, policies, hearts and minds around the world as well as expand the view of what activism can be.
We were thrilled to be joined by its founder Sarah P Corbett: an award-winning activist whose ‘Gentle Protest’ methodology of strategic, compassionate, scientifically-backed and visually intriguing activism has helped craft a more beautiful, kinder and fairer society.
We learned about the unique appeal of craftivism: for skilled crafters, burnt-out activists, introverts, highly sensitive people or those struggling with anxiety. We heard how it replaces aggressive enemies with critical friends. And we discovered how embroidered hankies really can change how major companies operate.
Thank you to Sarah for her inspiring stories of Craftivist Collective’s meaningful, measurable impact: a tribute to the perseverance of a determined voice.
If you missed it, look online for Sarah’s TED talks (or should that be thread talks?). To get deeper into craftivism, Sarah’s latest book is available at a discount through Sunday Assembly London’s online bookshop.
Today’s songs
In the spirit of using our voices together, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band:
Paint it Black – Rolling Stones
Pencil Full of Lead – Paolo Nutini
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – The Beatles
Perfect Day – Lou Reed
Portraits
We love drawing people in to our twice-monthly assemblies. This time we took it literally when Matt encouraged us to pair up and sketch each other.
We had fun admiring each other’s results and trust that the National Portrait Gallery is making space as we speak.
A big announcement at today’s assembly
Sunday Assembly London have been awarded a National Lottery grant!
This goes a huge way towards covering our running costs for 2025. More than that, it helps our small volunteer-led charity to continue doing what we’ve proudly been doing for over a decade: hosting events and sustaining a secular community that helps people to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More.
A massive thank you to Tanya for her work on the grant application!
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally (taking advantage of the picnic-friendly weather), and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.
Thanks to our host Hanna; co-host Andrew; all our wonderful volunteers (especially as it’s Volunteers’ Week from 2nd-8th June) and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
If you enjoyed yourself, please spread the word by sharing our social media posts or tagging us in your posts.
Following World Ocean Day on 8th June, marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee from Incredible Oceans will be our guide to dolphins and the enchantment under the sea.
The Outside Project: Creating an LGBTIQ+ Safe Haven, 6th July
The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. Hear from co-founder and director Carla Ecola about how their team have been working since 2017 to support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by the team’s own personal experiences.
[Photo credit: Carla Ecola]
Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness Can Change the World, 20th July
What if one small act of kindness, every single day for a year, could ignite a light in the darkness? Bernadette Russell gives us an insight into her extraordinary 366-day journey of discovery and connection.
Article Club is where the Sunday Assembly London community read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.
This will be our 71st meeting but it’s never too late to join! Just like at our assemblies, we love welcoming new members and their unique opinions.
How Article Club works
1. We meet every six weeks or so in the National Theatre building in Central London by the river. We go for the round seats in the Lyttelton Theatre bar on the first floor.
2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science.
3. We talk about each one for around half an hour. The beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.
4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.
5. We set the date for the next Article Club and sometimes adjourn to the pub.
Our next Article Club will be on Thursday 18 September at 7:30pm.
And to meet more of the Sunday Assembly London community while learning about a new or familiar topic, you’re always welcome at our Sunday Assemblies too!
Article Club is where the Sunday Assembly London community read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.
This will be our 72nd meeting but it’s never too late to join! Just like at our assemblies, we love welcoming new members and their unique opinions.
How Article Club works
1. We meet every six weeks or so in the National Theatre building in Central London by the river. We go for the round seats in the Lyttelton Theatre bar on the first floor.
2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science.
3. We talk about each one for around half an hour. The beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.
4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.
5. We set the date for the next Article Club and sometimes adjourn to the pub.
Look out for details of our next Article Club. And to meet more of the Sunday Assembly London community while learning about a new or familiar topic, you’re always welcome at our Sunday Assemblies too!
Could a look into history give the modern buzzword ‘synergy’ real meaning, while bringing us closer to our Sunday Assembly goals to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More? Today we tackled this question, while also reflecting on Mental Health Awareness Week and giving a nod to yesterday’s Eurovision Song Contest.
How did we cram all of that into 90 minutes? Read on to find out…
Our guest speaker: John Graves
Throughout history, societies and economies have been governed by a succession of elites who have amassed enormous wealth while the bulk of their fellow citizens live in relative poverty.
They are often presented as exceptional, entrepreneurial, gifted individuals, when in fact they’re driven by insecurity and attempts to overcome their sense of inferiority.
Some pre-industrial societies managed to avoid this schismatic structure, finding a way to harness these energies for social benefit. What can we learn today from these synergistic societies?
We were delighted to welcome back John Graves: psychotherapeutic studies teacher, life coach and lifelong philosophy student. John explored the ingrained disparity between society’s wealthiest and poorest, explaining how our own society could achieve greater synergy: individuals’ assets and actions supporting the common good.
Our guest poet: Rowan Kiffin-Murray
We also heard from East London poet Rowan. Rowan’s poetry expressed his ideas about loneliness and life’s journeys, including the virtues of a metaphorical unicycle.
Today’s songs
Our Sunday Assembly London Band performed four songs: three on the theme of togetherness, one in reference to Eurovision:
Come Together – The Beatles
Together in Electric Dreams – Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
Happy Together – The Turtles
Waterloo – ABBA
Notices
Today’s updates included:
Our book swap table: a flexibly defined feature of all our assemblies where books can be donated and/or taken (but ideally taken as we have a lot at the moment)
A thank you from Ann to Aaron and David, the volunteers who joined her to help steward the Mile End junior parkrun before today’s assembly
Marking the last day of Mental Health Awareness Week and its official theme of Community, our new Community Engagement Lead Tanya invited us to ‘leaf a message’ about our experiences of Sunday Assembly London’s community after the assembly. Thank you to everyone for their contributions, which you can read here
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally, and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.
As a bonus, we also had a guided walk. At 2pm, Sunday Assembly London volunteer and local resident Diane hosted a tour of the spaces that put the green into Bethnal Green, sharing her wealth of local knowledge.
Thanks to our host Alan, co-host Hanna, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
Sarah Corbett will be sharing the story of co-founding the Craftivist Collective: a strategic and compassionate take on activism that makes a real impact.
https://youtu.be/nSbeL9B3xRc
→→ And the one after that:Deep Dive: Wonders of the Ocean Depths, 15th June
Following World Ocean Day on 8th June, marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee from Incredible Oceans will be our guide to the enchantment under the sea.
