Sunday Assembly London has a new home! This was the inaugural Assembly at our new HQ of the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green: a legendary venue on the London events scene having played host to some of the best acts in the country!
To sillybrate this joyous marriage of our two institutions, we explored the relationship between science and comedy with two of the funniest nerds in the business!
Our guest speaker: Dr Steve Cross
Dr Steve Cross is a stand-up comedian, presenter and founder of Clever Make Funny, which trains academics, museums professionals, software engineers, architects and lawyers to make comedy part of their lives.
Dr Steve talked to us about how finding the funny side of science helps to unpack its biases and helps us drive social and political change by embracing the concept of absurdity.
Our guest poet: Merry Martyn
We were tickled by the presence of Merry Martyn, award-winning comedian with a PhD in Statistics. Often seen performing with a Rubik’s Cube, Merry was the winner of Queerovision in August ‘22, semi-finalist for Comedy Virgins #INGTE ’22 and West End New Act of the Year ’23.
We’re looking for volunteers to help run the sound and stage tech at Sunday Assembly. This is a great chance to gain more familiarity with live stage tech, work closely with brilliant musicians, and be involved in Sunday Assembly behind the scenes! If you don’t have experience but are keen to learn, we can provide support and training.
You will lead the Fundraising Hub to devise and deliver the fundraising strategy with a view to sustaining and developing Sunday Assembly London and in turn helping the community and the wider public achieve the aims of living better, helping often and wondering more. You’ll advocate for excellent supporter experience and as part of the co-ordination crew, play an important role in shaping what we are able to offer to our community.
What you will be doing
Devise Sunday Assembly’s fundraising strategy, which is likely to incorporate grant funding, one off fundraising events, and donations from community members (either as regular givers or as one off donors at assemblies)
Identify and apply for relevant funding opportunities
Deliver grant evaluation reports, where required by funders
Come up with creative ways to increase donations and promote donor retention
Recruit, co-ordinate and support volunteer fundraisers (for example, to run one off fundraising events)
Be the point of contact for fundraising practice across the charity
Stay updated with best practice in fundraising and data protection, ensuring compliance with GDPR and PECR
How much time will it normally take?
We anticipate that this role will take up around 8 hours a month. This time is likely to reduce once you have recruited a team of volunteers to support you.
You will also be expected to attend co-ordination crew meetings, which are currently held fortnightly on Zoom. These usually last about an hour.
What support will be available?
You will meet fortnightly with other members of the co-ordination crew, where you will be able to share any concerns and be supported to carry out your role. You will also have access to a WhatsApp group.
In addition, you will work closely with the board of trustees to ensure that our fundraising strategy is in line with our charitable objectives and strategic plans.
You will receive a volunteer handbook designed to help everyone access information easily and dip into to check things out.
What should I be able to do?
These are the skills and experiences that will be useful for you as a fundraising lead:
Strategic thinker with a resolution focused attitude.
Experience in diversifying income streams.
Experience of successful grant writing and authoring evaluation reports.
Community and events fundraising experience.
Proven ability to improve acquisition and retention of supporters.
Advocate for the supporter experience and improving community engagement.
Knowledge of fundraising regulations, best practice, GDPR and PECR.
Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a range of activities.
What will I learn?
You will have the chance to gain the following skills:
Leadership and volunteer management, including supporting and mentoring peer volunteers.
A good understanding of how small volunteer-led charities run.
Experience of applying for grants and developing a charity grant portfolio.
Experience of working as part of a team to organise fundraising events
What do I do if I want to apply for this role?
The first step is to have a chat with the co-ordination crew lead, Gwawr. Drop an email to gwawr@sundayassembly.com or find me at an assembly, and we’ll arrange a chat.
This was our last Sunday Assembly at Conway Hall before our move to the Backyard Comedy Club from June. So what provoked our thoughts and stirred our emotions?
Our guest speaker: Alexander Beiner
Many feel that contemporary Western culture is in the grips of a meaning crisis. Are we unsure of our direction, as we grapple with climate change, runaway AI, geopolitical instability and increasing challenges around mental health?
In this talk, Alexander Beiner examined this moment in history, with a particular focus on AI, social media and psychedelics, to argue that materialist metaphysics play a major role in our cultural dislocation today. Drawing on the research for his book The Bigger Picture, he argued that New Atheism is giving way to New Animism and what implications this has for the future of humanity.
Alexander is a writer, commentator and co-founder of Rebel Wisdom, a media and events organization focussing on making sense of culture and complexity.
Our guest poet: Max Ingmar
We were also thrilled to have poetry from Max Ingmar. Max is a queer, non-binary writer, musician and artist. They make art that acts as a series of small exorcisms; the good, the bad and the hopeful.
In a wonderful reflection of Sunday Assembly’s inclusive ethos, this was the first time that Max had used they/them pronouns in a public performance.
Our songs
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) by Billy Joel
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
Proud Mary in the style of Tina Turner’s version
Photo credit: Gwawr Thomas
Farewell Conway Hall
After 11 years at Conway Hall, it was time to say goodbye. A vote among Sunday Assembly attendees and volunteers had decided to take us to a new venue that better suited our community’s needs in 2024 and beyond.
Steph Pollard wrote:
‘It was a very emotional day today saying goodbye to Conway Hall, my second home for the past decade. We set up the musical instruments, spaced out the chairs the way [co-founder] Sanderson [Jones] would have liked, and put on an amazing assembly.
I teared up singing Good Riddance, for which I created a photo montage of Sunday Assemblers in Conway Hall that played during the instrumental (thanks to Andrew for the treasure trove of Sunday Assembly history).’
Gwawr Thomas wrote:
‘A day filled with nostalgia but also fresh promise for Sunday Assembly London as we said goodbye to Conway Hall for the last time.
We made a lot of happy memories here, but what binds us together is so much more than bricks and mortar and I can’t wait to make a whole heap more at our new home in Bethnal Green!’
Thanks to everyone who made Sunday Assemblies at Conway Hall so welcoming for so many years, especially our volunteers (pictured below). Here’s to Living Better, Helping Often and Wondering More at the Backyard Comedy Club!
If you like the idea of joining a book club, but find yourself too busy to finish the books in time, Article Club is for you! We meet every six weeks or so at the Lyttleton bar at the National Theatre to discuss two articles – usually one relating to politics or current affairs and one relating to history, culture or science. We aim to challenge ourselves to read a diverse range of articles and to think more deeply about the broader themes of the topic.
OUR NEXT MEETUP: Date TBA – 7:30pm to around 9:15pm. We sit on the soft round seats in the Lyttleton Theatre bar on the first floor.
