In honour of our 13th birthday, join us for a look back at how we’ve marked some of our birthdays gone by.
We’ve included links to our event pages, photos and livestream recordings.
Sunday 6th January 2013 was when it all started. Almost 200 people turned up at The Nave on St. Paul’s Road in Islington for a get-together that promised to ‘solace worries, provoke kindness and inject a bit more whizziness into the everyday.’
Our first speaker, children’s author Andy Stanton, told us how his first book took almost a decade of dropping out and dead end jobs to write.
As you can see from the artwork, we called ourselves The Sunday Assembly back then. Little did our co-founders Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones realise how that ‘The’ would be overtaken, with hundreds of assemblies to follow and dozens of Sunday Assembly communities in the UK & internationally!
2014: One year and counting
Our guest speaker was Alom Shaha: science teacher, writer and film-maker.
2016: There was a cake…
Shown here with our co-founders Pippa and Sanderson.
2018: There were many cakes!
There’s a photo of them at the top of the page.
Our 5th birthday speaker was Rufus Hound. Tying in with our theme of Light in the Darkness, Rufus spoke about the role of hope in our lives, how faith can provide it and how those without faith can still can embrace it.
2020: Change of Heart
Conservationist Margot Raggett helped us explore how we can make changes for the better, both in our personal lives and in the world around us. Comedic singer/songwriter Gecko returned to entertain us.
2021: Improv your Year
Our 8th birthday speaker was none other than Sunday Assembly London co-founder Pippa Evans. Pippa explained how life is one big improvisation and all of our interactions with the world are made of quick decisions based on what’s available to us.
We couldn’t celebrate this birthday in person, but the good news is that because we were using Zoom and YouTube, we recorded it! Watch the recording here
2022: It’s My Party and I’ll Dry if I Want To
A hybrid assembly. Our guest speaker was Laura Willoughby, co-founder of Club Soda. Laura taught us all about ‘mindful drinking’, and how we can empower ourselves to make conscious decisions about our alcohol consumption. Gecko performed for us again too.
Those of us who gathered in Conway Hall had a birthday lunch in Nando’s afterwards.
2024: Send in the Clowns
Embracing the playfulness that none of us should lose as we age, our guests were clown Afa Simpson and poet Paul Matthews.
2026: 13 and we feel lucky!
Fast-forward to our first teenage birthday and we kept up our recipe for success with a speaker from our community (Hanna Finn on everyday creativity), plenty of singing and generous helpings of tea and homemade cake, followed by a local lunch and a trip to the pub.
Thank you to everyone who’s celebrated our birthdays with us and the many assemblies in between. You’ve helped to build an in-person community and that’s no small thing. Here’s to another year of Living Better, Helping Often and Wondering More.
We meet at the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green at 11am on the first & third Sundays of the month (most months). You can arrive any time from 10:30am with no need to book and no pressure to pay (though donations are very welcome).
If you’re looking for learning, laughter and a little less loneliness in London, we can’t wait to welcome you in 2026. We were all Sunday Assembly London first-timers once, and we know how daunting it can be – but once you’ve taken that step through our doors, the rest is a piece of cake!
