In 1999, in a rural area of Australia, a woman noticed that many of the retired, local miners and veterans were suffering from a sense of isolation and purposelessness; missing working with their fellow men. Coinciding with a developing awareness of a crisis within men’s mental health, a pilot workshop was put together, inviting men to come and restore furniture and fix appliances, allowing them to connect with the people around them, and learn new skills.
‘Men’s Sheds’, as they came to be known, are now a global phenomenon, with nearly 3,000 sheds operating in 12 countries, including Ireland, UK, New Zealand, Canada, US, Kenya, and South Africa.
In 2014, Professor Barry Golding coined the term “”shedagogy”” to describe “a distinctive, new way of acknowledging, describing and addressing the way some men prefer to learn informally in shed-like spaces mainly with other men”
We are joined by Founder and Life President of the UK’s branch of MSA, Mike Jenn, who has worked in practical social innovations for 50 years across community education and relieving deprivation. He shared with us how the charities’ “shedagogy” continues to grow and change lives; fostering community, creativity and tackling life-shortening isolation for many.
We were also treated to some ‘Shedding your inhibitions!’ games by our resident Games Master, Matt!
January is Mental Wellness Month, a time to promote awareness and understanding of our challenges around mental health, as the numbers of people needing support continues to rise in the UK. For any of us who have spent time in hospitals know, they are often the least uplifting of places. Harshly lit, clinical, noisy and sparsely decorated, many hospital spaces seem at odds with a sense of care or healing, beneficial to both patients and staff.
It was a recognition of this grim state of affairs that led to the foundation of Hospital Rooms, the UK arts and mental health charity, which aims to bring creativity, colour, and kindness to mental health hospitals and transform them into places of hope, dignity, and recovery for all.
Co-founder Tim Shaw was with us to talk about the charity’s collaborations with artists, service users, and the NHS, to craft innovative artwork and creative programmes while dispelling stigmas and advocating for culture and creativity in mental health as a universal human right. Hospital Rooms has worked with artists such as Richard Wentworth, Anish Kapoor and Sonia Boyce and were awarded Quality Improvement Project of the Year 2018 by NAPICU.
Hospital Rooms
Our guest poet: Rachel Lewis
We also welcomed Rachel Lewis, a poet and creative facilitator interested in hidden pain, everyday joy and love beyond romance. Her first pamphlet on eating disorder recovery, Three Degrees of Separation, was published by Wordsmith HQ.
Happy 12th birthday Sunday Assembly! And Happy New Yeeaaarr!
Along with the requisite fireworks, bubbles and the dash for snogs at midnight, the idea of New Year also brings forth the pressure of New Year’s Resolutions.
Whether it’s to lose that last ten pounds, quit smoking or finally take up the Cha Cha, more and more people are realising that the conventional idea of New Year’s Resolutions, are all based on external measures, and can actually be harmful to our wellbeing. Even when they are about health and fitness, the underlying purpose tends to be for something outside of ourselves, putting us under pressure to be ‘better’.
Following a 16 year career in social work, Tamu Thomas is now a leading somatic specialist, leadership coach, author and workshop facilitator with a specialism in combating ‘toxic productivity’. In this talk she invited us all to consider resolutions that make us feel vibrant and alive rather than as a covert means to fix ourselves.
Living more sumptuously is about feeling full, satiated, satisfied, and Tamu believes that when we each do this individual work, we collectively benefit from a more positive, productive, and purposeful culture.
Right now, something strange is going on in the cosmos… Scientists are uncovering a catalogue of weird phenomena that simply can’t be explained by our long-established theories of the universe.
After decades of fruitless searching, could we finally be catching glimpses of a profound new view of our physical world? Or are we being fooled by cruel tricks of the data?
To celebrate the launch of his recent book, experimental physicist at CERN and acclaimed science presenter Dr Harry Cliff took us through some of this groundbreaking new research.
Ever been moved by Nietzsche’s philosophical musings, but been desperate to hear them sung in the style of Bob Dylan? We were joined by the inimitable Paul Lodge, musician and Professor of Philosophy at Oxford University, who does just that!
This was a titillating blend of music, philosophy and literature as Paul offered his unique musical interpretations of the work of Nietzsche as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walter Benjamin and Margaret Cavendish.
Paul’s songs have been featured on BBC Radio Oxford Introducing and BBC Radio Cumbria. In 2022 he launched his album Preludes to Wordsworth in the poet’s home, Rydal Mount, at the invitation of Wordsworth’s descendants.
Cantat Ergo Sumus is Latin for It sings, therefore we are.
We were also joined by comedian and poet Sam Rix who brought us a joyous medley of hilarious spoken word exploring creativity, social media and everything in between.
There were four fantastic songs performed by our very own Sunday Assembly Band, followed by tea, biscuits and chats with members of our community.
This was our last Sunday Assembly before we took our customary break over August. But before that we had our equally customary post-Assembly picnic and Boardgames Club.
I Scream, You Scream! To mark the closing of our summer season, we paid homage to that oh so sweet, delectable and enduring symbol of Summertime to both young and old – the mighty ice cream cone!
Sunday Assembly’s own Tom Boulton has worked as an ice cream scientist for Unilever and Little Moons for 10 years. Today he enlightened us with a talk on the history and culture of this most iconic sweet treat; the technology and processes in how it is made and what goes into concocting the best flavours.
We also welcomed back Morwenna James, spoken word artist and published poet who uses radical honesty and self-deprecation to explore universal themes with a playful, humorous slant.
Home to the famous Softy & Swirly. We sampled grown-up flavours such as loganberry and sheep’s ricotta as well as salted black sesame, honey with lemon and cardamom, and malted vanilla.
They also had La Grotta ices, a selection of seasonal frozen treats with an emphasis on fresh-tasting fruity combos – think pomegranate and leafy orange, pear and myrtle, wild fig and watermelon, or quince and bramley apple pie.
There were four basic flavours (vanilla, matcha, charcoal and coconut), but the thrill was in the photogenic toppings, which are arranged in Petri dishes on the counter ready for sprinkling.
Luxury ice cream inspired by natural botanicals and the magical flavours of the Middle East, including black tahini halva chunk, honey rum, date molasses & raisin, and Turkish coffee.
Gwawr Thomas wrote:
‘Such a lovely day today celebrating all things ice cream with Sunday Assembly – sorry, Sundae Assembly – pals, beginning with a fascinating talk about the science of ice cream making by the man whose job we all covet, Tom Boulton; progressing through a sampling of some delicious new Little Moons flavours, and culminating in a fabulous ice cream crawl around East London led by Ice Cream Queen Magdalena Hunter.’
Hanna Finn wrote:
‘Another great Sunday Assembly, with free ice cream, followed by the most money I’ve spent on ice cream in one day Thank you to Tom for the great ice cream science talk, and Mags for the tour of three different ice cream places in East London!
I had a cherry ice lolly, Oreo cheesecake ice cream in a cone, and a cup of rhubarb, pomegranate and rose gelato
Great to see everyone, and I’m glad we convinced two first timers, Naomi and Fiona, to join us for a few hours of walking and ice cream eating.’
You may have heard of the Baby Boomers, the Millennials and Gen Z. But have you heard of the Young Olds, the Mid Olds or the Old Olds? As human life expectancy has increased, there have been significant step changes in the way we perceive our life stages and their significance, and new research is proffering ever more nuanced categorisations of our experiences as a distinct ‘Generation’.
Vivien Louizos is a Counsellor and Life Coach for young people and adults, with a special interest in developmental psychology. Her research centres on the emergence of new categories in the life cycle, and the influence of our chronological age on the choices and decisions that we make.
As we continue to live later and longer, how do the determinants of our life experience change? To what extent are we influenced in our life choices by our age, and the unique circumstances of our stage of life? How real is the phenomenon of ‘My Generation’ – and is it biology, psychology, or the idiosyncrasies of the times in which we are born?
We also had a multigenerational poetry slot, with Gale Burns and Nadira ClareWallace each offering some spoken word across the generation gap.
Gale Burns wrote:
‘Great fun to read poetry at the Sunday Assembly (a secular celebration on a Sunday in Bethnal Green) with Nadira Clare Wallace on the theme of different generations. Drop by one week, and you get free cake!’
Wouldn’t we all love to do things just ‘because’, without the pressure to have a good reason?
Steve Chapman is an artist, writer, speaker, consultant and coach, who encourages people to do just that! Interested in creativity and the human condition, he works with individuals and organisations to find creative and counter-intuitive ways to help free themselves from ever-tightening loops of stuckness, shame and imperfection, nurturing, instead, the freedom of spontaneous self-expression, creativity and innovation.
Hanna Finn wrote:
‘Sunday Assembly featured a talk by artist Steve Chapman, who told us about his hilarious art projects which often include the general public in weird and wonderful ways.
We took several creative challenges from his book WTFebruary and smooshed them into one:
Use discarded materials (an orange window blind someone was throwing out)
Draw birds, badly. Add made up bird sounds and names.
Start your own art gallery
Alan and I workshopped the name of the gallery by asking the audience to give us adjectives and bird names, and then randomly choosing two words. Then everyone was encouraged to draw birds (badly) before I strung them onto black string.’
We also had poetry from Kay Scorah, a multi-skilled creative who brings 70 years of experiment, risk, rage and learning to her writing.
According to the Slavery Footprint survey, the average family in the UK unknowingly employs 90 slaves, often hidden in plain sight.
Sunday Assembly’s own Dr Astrid Leuba has been working against modern slavery and human trafficking for many years. Formerly Head of Corporate Responsibility at British Airways, she is now developing anti-slavery strategy and policy for Cancer Research UK and was recently nominated as Star of the Year for her work by Unseen, a UK charity running the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline and providing safehouses for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Astrid guided us through how we can learn to identify signs of potential modern slavery, knowing how to report them, and better understand this troubled system of which we are all a part.
We were also joined by spoken word artist Amy Anam Cara, whose work reflects on the impacts of colonialism and imperialism on mental health and the ways in which the comfort of the global North demands the continued oppression of the global South.
Multicolour Maths
3rd November 2024, 11:00am
Speaker & performer: Brook Tate
The world of maths is one of the most abstract realms of human understanding. Whilst some of us find it logical, satisfying and beautiful, many of us struggle with the challenges of its concepts, find numbers difficult to comprehend, or may have been discouraged by traditional methods of teaching.
We were joined by artist, musician and numberphobe-turned-numberphile Brook Tate. As someone who severely struggled with mainstream methods of education, he designed a new a unique method to help people of all ages learn, understand and quite possibly, fall in love with maths.
Multicolour Maths is a new method designed to help children and adults learn the foundations of mathematics using only colours and shapes, opening up the world of mathematics into endlessly beautiful patterns and helping students of all ages understand and appreciate the language of the universe.
Since first inventing the method in India in January 2024, Brook has presented it to the Head of Maths Education at Bristol University, the British Society of Research into Learning Mathematics, The British Library’s Inventors Club and the Alan Turing Institute. The BBC is also currently developing a short feature on the project.
Brook also performed a song from his recent musical theatre piece.
This assembly was accompanied by our Winter Market:
‘Calling all makers, creators, artists, and artisans among us. We are a creative community, so let’s show off! Please come and display (and sell if you want) your creations at our Winter market, after the Assembly on Sunday 3 November.
If you aren’t planning to run a stall, you have the opportunity to admire our community members’ unique and fantastic creations and get a head start on your holiday season shopping! Come and have a look and talk with the makers from 12 pm on Sunday 3 November. Be ready to be amazed, intrigued, and dazzled!’
Thank you to Astrid for organising our Winter Market, and to everyone who bought something from the wonderful range of items on offer!
Keep Taking The Tablets – The Story of Antibiotics
Sniff sniff, dribble dribble, cough cough. As we creep ever more into the cold and darkness of winter, we may all be feeling more under the weather than usual, with an increase in ill health rising significantly over the winter months, when the body is less effective in fighting off infections.
Antibiotics have been a central part of our society’s approach to managing infectious diseases for nearly a century. But how were they discovered, and when and by whom? And does it really involve a 3,500 year old mouldy sandwich from Ancient Egypt?
Dr. Peter Altman is a biochemist, medical researcher and publisher and a veteran magician, having been a member of the Magic Circle since 1984. He shared some of his latest research from his third book, currently in production, Amazing Discoveries in Science.
We were also thrilled to have some poetry from former biochemist herself, Kay Scorah, who brought 70 years’ worth of experiment and creativity to her writing.
In our post-capitalist society it is easy to wonder why so many of us are still struggling with a feeling of meaninglessness.
More than 2000 years ago, Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics were pondering the same things and providing potential solutions to this dilemma.
John Graves is a teacher of Psychotherapeutic Studies, Life Coach, and life-long philosophy student sparked by the early teachings of his Greek mother.
He introduced us to some of the wisdom from our Ancient Agony Uncles – showing us how relevant these ideas still are and how closely they matched Sunday Assembly’s own three-part philosophy of living better, helping often and wondering more.
We were also thrilled to have spoken word poetry by Anna Herber – a poet, songwriter & speaker – who has helped so many people find an inner sense of purpose.
‘Hark! Come all ye mirthful to Sunday Assembly London’s annual seasonal singalong, Yule Rock!’
Whilst we had been settling nicely into our new home at the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, for one night only we returned to the famous Conway Hall for the most festive night of the year!
We sang along to all your favourite Christmas classics once again, from Wham! to Wizzard, with our inimitable live band. We also hosted a silent auction and raffle, with a delectable array of prizes on offer to get you even more in the festive mood.
We had a cashless bar serving alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages as well as the requisite mince pies.
We were absolutely thrilled to have as our host this year comedienne, songwriter, science presenter and ‘Voice of an Angle’ Helen Arney. Helen features regularly on TV, radio and in theatres across the world with her unique mix of stand-up, songs and science, with credits including QI, Blue Peter and the science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd.
Thanks to everyone who came dressed in their Yuletide best! Sparkles, baubles, tinsel and of course, questionable Christmas jumpers were actively encouraged.
Special thanks to our brilliant Sunday Assembly crew for another Yule Rock to remember!
Photo credit: Gwawr Thomas
This all-ages party was full of joy for family and friends. Doors opened at 7pm for drinks, with the singing and dancing kicking off at 7:30pm.
About Yule Rock and Sunday Assembly:
Yule Rock is brought to you every year by Sunday Assembly London, a secular community that celebrates life under the motto of “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More”. It is a heart-warming and inclusive gathering, embodying the essence of Sunday Assembly’s core values of community, joy, and wonder. It is the perfect occasion for individuals of all backgrounds to come together, sing their hearts out, and revel in the holiday cheer without any religious affiliations.
Our songs
Walking In The Air – from The Snowman
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Jackson 5
Winter Wonderland – Darlene Love
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
It’s Christmas Time – Status Quo
What Feliz Navidad Means To Me – Stevie Wonder
Last Christmas – Wham!
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – Wizzard
Then after the interval…
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Merry Christmas Everyone – Shakin’ Stevens
Step Into Christmas – Elton John
Underneath The Tree – Kelly Clarkson
Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) – The Darkness
Let It Go – from Frozen
Fairytale Of New York – The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
Stay Another Day – East 17
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade
Nature Needs Us: How to Be a Guardian of the Natural World
In August 2024, environmentalist and barrister, Paul Powlesland made history, by becoming the first member of a UK jury to swear an oath on a river: his beloved River Roding, where he both lives and spends time restoring. A co-founder of the River Roding Trust, Paul has also worked with locals to plant hundreds of trees, remove over a thousand bags of rubbish and hoist precisely 75 shopping trolleys from the Roding’s clay-thick riverbed.
We were thrilled to welcome Paul to Sunday Assembly today to share his journey and his wisdom on the things that we can all do to be better stewards to the natural world. Paul is also co-founder of Lawyers for Nature, an advocacy group calling for the UK to grant rivers a legal right of protection.
We were also excited to have some spoken word from Esme Fay Finch, a poet, children’s author and forest school teacher, whose project Ways of the Wild inspires and educates children about environmental matters through storytelling, art workshops and dance.
Happy 11th Birthday to Sunday Assembly! To help us sillybrate our special day, we welcomed multi-talented Clown Afa Simpson to speak to us about the power of the ridiculous in our lives.
Through exploration of play and the absurd, Afa shared how the Art of Clown can act as a catalyst to unblock, alchemise, and move us into states of regeneration and transformation.
A clown, musician, storyteller and art therapist in training, Afa has harvested a bundle of creative skills which she weaves together with a deep love for nature to create experiences which open us up to our imaginations, the world around us and each other.
We also welcomed Paul Matthews: teacher, gymnast and resident poet at Emerson College in Sussex. Also working at the intersection of clowning and creative writing, he will share some poems and exercises to explore both the playful and the profound.
‘Losing’, ‘failing’, ‘being dumped’- these are all experiences of rejection that can hit us hard and make us feel dejected, de-motivated and at worst, cripple our self esteem.
Rejection, however, can also be a fundamental element for growth, and even something to get excited by!
Neil Morbey is a Mindfulness Coach and Counsellor at Positively-Mindful – helping people to find inner peace through learning skills of meditation, mindfulness and compassionate self enquiry. He believes that the unavoidable human experience of rejection can be reframed to help us, across dating, relationships, work and business.
When we hear a ‘no’ we can learn to respond with gratitude, curiosity and challenge – a process reflecting a growing awareness of ‘Rejection Therapy’. Learning to embrace hearing someone’s honest answer, even if it is not what we thought we wanted to hear, promises to help desensitize us from pain, learn to negotiate under pressure, open up new life opportunities and gain a positive attitude toward ourselves and humanity – plus, apparently, it’s tons of fun!
The Science of Weird Sh*t: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal
Around a third of the UK population claim to have had some kind of paranormal experience, with around 40% having directly experienced a ghost or haunting. Chris French, Professor of anomalistic psychology at Goldsmith’s University, has a specialism in non- paranormal explanations for ostensibly paranormal experiences as well as the psychology of belief in conspiracy theories. He joins us today to explain what might be going on when we become spooked, from a rational, science-based perspective.
Drawing from his forthcoming new book, The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Brains Conjure the Paranormal – covering everything from alien abduction to ghosts, psychic powers to visions of the Virgin Mary appearing in a cheese sandwich – Chris explores how far psychology can go to explain these kinds of beliefs and what underlies them.
We are also thrilled to be joined by spoken-word artist Rick Dove, who uses his background in psychology to unite the perspectives of artists and scientists through the medium of poetry.
Eros & Mythos
February 18th 2024, 11:00am
Speakers/poets: Lonan Jenkins and Jodie Powell
Love is in the Air for our Sunday Assembly Valentine’s Special! To help us celebrate this most passionate of occasions, we welcome real-life husband and wife duo, Lonan Jenkins and Jodie Powell to delight us with tales of love steeped in ancient mythology.
A far cry from the ‘Disney-fied’ ‘Happily ever after’ narrative, mythological tales of love and eroticism are often steeped in grief and tragedy. In most of Greek mythology, love is the driving force behind a character’s action, and is there to teach us about trust, devotion and forgiveness, and how to navigate the grand themes of life and loss.
Lonan is a professional story-teller and independent celebrant, specialising in weddings, whilst Jodie is a multi-talented artist, poet, singer and performer. Together they run Rooted Revelry, a pop -up event, offering intimate storytelling, performance poetry, live art, live music and workshops that honour the changing seasons.
But Is It Art Club
Wes Anderson: The Exhibition at 81-85 Old Brompton Road
Because you’re out of the house and it’s a Sunday afternoon – why not visit an art gallery?
On Sunday 18 February we’re visiting Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Exhibition at 81-85 Old Brompton Road. Nearest tube is South Kensington.
Meet at Holborn around 2.30pm, leaving time to have lunch after the Assembly or to begin travelling to the gallery if you’d rather meet there. Aim for arrival at the gallery by 3.30pm.
Where exhibitions require tickets, it is up to you if you prefer to book ahead or want to try your luck for a walk-in! Either way, you’ll be responsible for securing your own ticket and we can’t guarantee availability.
About But Is It Art Club:
We will try to go to a variety of things but the nature of one-off/ travelling exhibitions is that they are usually ticketed. It’s up to you if you’d like to share any discounts you might have access to. We will try to avoid things that are super busy because they are really popular, recently opened, or about to close.
We all take things at different paces and have different needs. We will always try to accommodate the best way for you to get to the gallery/exhibition, and want you to feel comfortable taking things at your own pace.
Please do suggest other exhibitions you’d like to see, so we get a nice variety of things to go to! Once we get a few regulars, neither of us need to lead – anyone can go together!
Scarhach, Cerridwen, Gwendoline, Coventina…our islands’ folklore is full of powerful women who brought the world enchantment and inspiration, warriorship and healing. And yet, we don’t know them.
Kim Willis is a writer and storyteller out to changed that. Her talk took us through her research into the ancient warrior women of the British Isles, and how they can provide us with a powerful new story for womanhood.
We also had some poetry from performance artist, Victoria Melody. Inspired by ethnography, she immerses herself in different communities and ‘becomes an active participant in their rituals as research for her work.’
The Insecurity Guards
17th March 2024, 11:00am
Speaker: Officer Enema
Poet: Cheryl Roberts
Insecurities, worries, fears.. we all have them and – across the globe – seem to be at a loss as to the best way to manage them.
Officer Enema [Danni Emery], co -founder of the Insecurity Guards was here to help – with a deep dive into the world of insecurities and an exploration of how different cultures have often found similar ways of eradicating them.
We also had the troupe of Guards on hand to help! Alongside resident Insecurity Guard poet, Cheryl Roberts who graced us with some spoken word.
The ‘Insecurity Guards’ are a global troupe of feel-good performers who travel festivals to rid people of their worldly woes, using immersive theatre and character play to tackle serious topics, such as mental health, in a light-hearted, fun and engaging way.
But Is It Art Club
2:30 pm, April 3 2024
Holbein at the Tudor Court, at the Queen’s Gallery
Because you’re out of the house and it’s a Sunday afternoon – why not visit an art gallery?
On Sunday 7 April we’re visiting Holbein at the Tudor Court, at the Queen’s Gallery.
Meet at Holborn around 2.30pm, leaving time to have lunch after the Assembly or to begin travelling to the gallery if you’d rather meet there (nearest tube stops are Green Park and St James’ Park). Aim for arrival at the gallery by 3.30pm. Where exhibitions require tickets, it is up to you if you prefer to book ahead or want to try your luck for a walk-in! Either way, you’ll be responsible for securing your own ticket and we can’t guarantee availability.
We will try to go to a variety of things but the nature of one-off/ travelling exhibitions is that they are usually ticketed. It’s up to you if you’d like to share any discounts you might have access to. We will try to avoid things that are super busy because they are really popular, recently opened, or about to close.
We all take things at different paces and have different needs. We will always try to accommodate the best way for you to get to the gallery/exhibition, and want you to feel comfortable taking things at your own pace.
Please do suggest other exhibitions you’d like to see, so we get a nice variety of things to go to! Once we get a few regulars, neither of us need to lead – anyone can go together!
“The more aware you are that you are going to die, the better you live.”
Chris Bullzini is the UK’s most esteemed funambulist [tightrope walker], who has travelled the world performing in circuses and festivals, and famously taught Peter Crouch how to walk the rope in under 24 hours.
Chris’ training requires him to develop heightened awareness, self-control, and focus which are not only fundamental to his profession, but also to his journey toward accepting the ultimate truth, namely our own inevitable mortality.
In this talk, Chris reflected on his practice to explore the universal themes of the human experience within the extraordinary context of walking the high wire, such as courage, fear, connection, separation, and balance.
To Chris, each wire walk is a meditation that takes him to a profound, transcendental state; one that impacts the audience on a deep level; touched by the miracle of life in the simple yet profound image of a man walking through the sky.
We also had poetry from Louise Stewart Daisy, or ‘Pure LSD’, dedicated to delivering messages of hope, inspiration, motivation, elevation and wild imagination.
On this Earth Day, we welcomed Carmen Sheridan, Cultural Gardener at Wakehurst, to talk to us about how building relationships with the wildflowers around us can support us into new ways of being.
Carmen is passionate about creating gardens that are supportive for biodiversity and people, and creating spaces where people can learn about and connect with plants. She shared her personal experiences of connecting with and learning about wildflowers and reflections on belonging and our environment – with space for reflection on your own relationships with flowers and the world around us.
Carmen is also editor of FLORXL zine, a collaborative publication celebrating the joy and diversity of plants and gardens. All profits from sales go to the Lemon Tree Trust to support their work creating gardens in refugee camps:
/@_carmengardens /@florxl_zine
We also welcomed the UK’s ‘Green Poet’, Martin Kiszko, a hugely multi-talented poet, composer and screenwriter who has been performing his one-man show based on his publication, GREEN POEMS FOR A BLUE PLANET and VERSE FOR THE EARTH, since 2010, at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Edinburgh Fringe.
Joseph Haydn was named the ‘Father of the Quartet’ and his legacy still lives on. But how did he also get dragged into an incredibly tangled affair including scheming, pseudo-science, lawsuit wars and one of the most elaborate funeral plans in the history of classical music? To say any more would require a spoiler alert.
Our speaker Ripley took us through this mysterious tale. Ripley is a former concert pianist – now turned baker, singer, crafter, avid reader, lifelong aficionado of useless trivia and a happy resident in the Venn Diagram intersection of Sunday Assembly, Nerd Nite and the London Humanist Choir.
We also had poetry from Morwenna James, a TV Producer, soon-to-be mum of two and spoken word artist and published poet who uses radical honesty and self-deprecation to explore universal themes with a playful, humorous slant.
This was our last Sunday Assembly at Conway Hall before our move to the Backyard Comedy Club from June. What provoked our thoughts and stirred our emotions?
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.
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!’
Photo credit: Steph Pollard
Making Light of Chemistry: The Funny Side of Science
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!
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.
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.
As part of the tech team, you will liaise with the Music Lead and other team members to make sure each event is as spectacular as possible! Volunteers are responsible for running the sound and stage tech at Sunday Assembly events, via a sound mixing desk and lighting controller provided on site at Backyard Comedy Club. We usually have a speaker and a live band, and sometimes other forms of performance .
For this role, volunteers:
Set up equipment and run sound checks before the event.
Keep an eye on everything and troubleshoot during as needed.
Ensure equipment is safely packed up and stored afterwards.
This is a great chance to gain more familiarity with live stage tech, work closely with brilliant musicians, and be involved in Sunday Assembly London behind the scenes.
What you will be doing?
Getting to know the specific set up of Backyard Comedy Club and our event set up.
When on the rota to volunteer, attending the Assembly to set up, run, and pack away the sound and lighting equipment.
Helping to ensure that all the equipment our band, singers and technicians need is stored safely and kept in working order.
Reporting to the Music Lead to update them on any broken or missing equipment
Telling them any other brilliant thoughts you have to make our events better!
What support is available?
This role is supported by the Music Lead, who will ensure you receive training and support as needed. You will be introduced to the set up of Backyard Comedy Club’s mixing desk and lighting by the team lead and current members of the team. There are written set up guides, as our time in the venue itself is limited to our booked Assembly slots. More hands-on training can also be arranged. All equipment is provided, though you may wish to bring your own laptop or tablet. Band members and other volunteers will also be there and happy to help you out on the day!
If you would like to make suggestions or raise concerns, please also talk to the Music Lead. We also have a lovely Volunteer Handbook – please take a look!
How much time will it normally take?
To get started we’ll arrange an ‘onboarding’ meeting to talk through the role and set up, which can be remote or in person. The commitment is roughly 3½ hours for each Assembly you volunteer at: arrive at Backyard Comedy Club with the band to begin set up at roughly 9.30am, and help to pack down equipment in order to leave the hall by 1pm at the latest. If you’d like additional training or support, we can plan that too!
What should I be able to do?
Ideally, you already have at least basic experience of sound mixing and lighting at live events, and how to operate and store the equipment.
We are happy to support you if you’re keen to learn!
What will I learn?
You will gain experience of running the sound and lighting at a regular, live music and speaking event, with a variety of different instruments, plus get to know a lovely group of other volunteers.
It’s time for us to gather outdoors! This year we’re going to have four picnics on 2 July, 16 July, 6 August, and 20 August. Bring picnic blankets, food, board games, and acoustic musical instruments. We’ll sing a few songs and have a few laughs.
All four picnics are planned to be held at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. If the weather looks less than ideal, we’ll meet under the bandstand.
Grief Without God
11:00 am, September 3 2023
Speaker: Rachel Rose Reid
Coping with the subjects of death and grief remain some of life’s greatest challenges. For those who are not part of a religious framework or community – and do not wish to be – what can be offered as a substitute for the emotional comfort that religious faith offers those in facing their own death or the death of their loved ones? How can we find ways to adapt ritual technology to support ourselves and our communities on the long and challenging path of loss and bereavement?
Rachel is a spoken word artist, writer & storyteller grappling directly with these questions. Raised on a hotchpotch of immigrant heritage, English folk and concrete jungle, Rachel plays with storytelling through the creation and adaptation of folk rituals and practices for meeting real and pressing needs in contemporary life.
Rachel aims to show that the art of reclaiming, renewing, and restoring ritual practice in everyday life is for everyone, and is most often made by people making do with what they have available to them, which can be enough.
Seeds of Change
11:00 am, September 17 2023
Speaker: Helene Schultz
Performer: Louise Goodfield
Ever heard of the Pink Plum tomato? The Mayan Jaguar lettuce, Lablab Bean or maybe the French Marigold?
To enlighten us on such things we are delighted to welcome Helene Schultz who is part of the collective behind the London Freedom Seed Bank, a grassroots urban seed network, stewarding over 170 London-grown vegetable, herb and flower varieties and helping to keep them alive and flourishing for future generations. She is also doing a PhD exploring the urban seed commons. She is interested in the ways seed savers, particularly of migrant heritage, subvert a long colonial and xenophobic regime which has dominated (and profited from) the international movement of plant material.
Helene is the editor of The Preserve Journal and part of the Garden of Earthly Delights, a guerrilla gardening collective. She is interested in mutual aid, particularly from feminist, anticolonial, antiracist and indigenous perspectives, and how working with seeds can help us build more just and care-full futures.
Nelson Mandela said that “no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails”, but few of us ever get to see for ourselves what life is like inside a UK prison.
Sunday Assembly London’s own Rob Foreman has spent 10 years as an independent monitor observing conditions in London’s prisons. Monitors are volunteers who are granted access to prisons and other places of detention, in order to judge whether the people held there are being treated fairly and humanely, as well as providing an independent voice to those who are marginalised or unable to speak up for themselves.
Rob provided insights into how the reality of prisons matches the public perception, and the difference that volunteering has made to his own life.
Chris Syrus shared some of his poems from his new book of Poetry, LoveLife6968 Memoirs from The Pen, written whilst he was incarcerated. After turning his life around post release, Chris is now a Personal Development Speaker & Coach, using the creative arts to help young people at risk of offending.
Happy Together
11:00 am, October 15 2023
Speaker: Sarah Vero
Poet: Soni Quintero
Prioritising happiness and kindness influences how we approach everything – including our personal lives, families, communities, schools and workplaces. It also shapes our views on public policy and helps us to consider the wellbeing of future generations too.
Sarah Vero, Head of Communications at Action for Happiness has a specialism in the intersection of joy, creativity, politics, mental health and wellbeing. She joins us today to talk about how we can help each other learn evidence-based skills for happier living, feel a sense of belonging and commit to personal action to create more happiness, for ourselves and others.
We are also thrilled to have poetry from Soni Quintero, poet and founder of Newham Poetry Group, Queer Newham, and Borderless; initiatives that facilitate access to creative writing for people new to the English language, and create safe and supportive spaces for POC LGBTQ+ refugees and forced migrants.
Pub Quiz
7:00 pm, October 25 2023
The White Hart, Drury Lane
Do you have a mind full of useless information? Are you an explosion of esoteric effulgence?
Come and prove it and win the respect of all your friends (and some prizes) while raising some funds for Sunday Assembly London.
Join us at The White Hart on Drury Lane, at 7pm on Wednesday, October 25th for fun, food and fabulous fripperies.
Entry £5 per person.
Aliens: What are the Chances?
11:00 am, November 5 2023
Speaker: Dr. Peter Altman
Poet: Flora Ogilvy
The topic of alien life is no longer just in the realms of Science Fiction – it is now mainstream science with courses in Astrobiology being run by most Universities. Even NASA has a Centre for Astrobiology, and one of the tasks of the new James Webb Space Telescope is to look for signs of alien life.
In this talk, Dr. Peter Altman will speak about our place in the Universe, putting its size into context and looking at the historical origins of the concept of UFOs as well as current evidence and validity. He will help us to learn how to look out for the signs, and to think for ourselves, ‘what are the chances?!’
Dr. Peter Altman is a biochemist, medical researcher and publisher as well as a magician, having been a Member of the Magic Circle since 1984. He is also the author of Mysteries of the Universe and Astounding Facts about the Universe. A third book, Amazing Discoveries in Science, is in preparation.
We will also be graced with some poetry from Flora Ogilvy.
Sunday Assembly Late: Smutty Letters
7:00 pm, November 17 2023
Speaker: Revolting Rosy Pendlebaby
As we were unable to hold our second assembly of the month on 19th November as intended, this Friday event took its place.
Join the raunchy revolution: say no to the fast and flaccid romance of the digital age, as we revive the lost art of the smutty letter!
We are led by facilitator, art historian, performer, and activist, Revolting Rosy Pendlebaby, founder of Revolting Arts Club, which is a creative lab of rebellious arts for growth, empowerment, and pleasure. They run workshops, talks, and events that celebrate the innate creativity within all of us and explore its therapeutic potential, for all those wishing to play, express, and make a mess.
Enjoy a selection of salacious readings of choice smut from yesteryear, and be guided through some fun and flirtatious exercises to get you penning some letters of your own… Brush away the dust of shame, judgement, and unexpressed desire and explore what it means to unleash your love, lust, and longing in epistolary form!
Come on your own, with a lover, or a friend! This event is for all 18+
We are also joined by Naomi Wood @iamnaomiwood @naomiwoodwrites – a multi-disciplinary performance artist merging the circus with storytelling and poetry and creating pieces that incite riotous acts of joyful disobedience. She facilitates creative writing workshops in Sussex and online. You can see Naomi’s solo poetry show ‘Gobbess’ in London in spring 2024 as part of her debut theatre show tour.’
Tickets are £15 and include a drink.
Dream Yourself Awake
11:00 am, December 3 2023
Speaker: Sarah Janes
As we all settle down to begin our hibernation for the winter, we will likely spend more time sleeping and dreaming than usual. The workings of these inner realms have beguiled and bewitched us since ancient times, with dreams being variously interpreted as prophetic messaging, psychological processing, a way to commune with ancestors and for some cultures, indistinguishable from reality itself.
Sarah Janes is a lucid dreaming researcher, presenter and workshop host exploring the anthropology of sleep, ancient dream cultures and philosophy. Sharing her more than a decade of research on Sleep Temples, Sarah explores the evolution of imagination, memory, and consciousness throughout the ages and proposes that dreams have been fundamental in the creation and development of culture.
Her forthcoming book about Mnemosyne, Greek goddess of Memory, explores the ancient history and philosophy of dream therapy and sleep medicine, beginning in deepest antiquity through to ancient Mesopotamia, and offers insight into our contemporary enquiries into psychedelics, altered states, synchronicity, parapsychology, and time perception.
Yule Rock 2023
7:00 pm, December 15 2023
Come one, come all to Sunday Assembly London’s annual seasonal singalong, Yule Rock!
We’re decking the halls and jingling our bells as we return to Conway Hall for the most festive night of the year. All your favourite Christmas classics will be included, from Elton to Wizzard, plus a few surprises, as always. Hosted by the inimitable Jessie-lu Flynn, this event will feature live music by our community band, and a cashless bar serving alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages (please bring your card or smartphone).
Dress your silliest, sparkliest best – Christmas jumpers, baubles, fairy lights, antlers, and other wintry delights are welcome! This all-ages party will be full of joy for family and friends. Doors open at 7pm for drinks, with the singing and dancing kicking off at 7:30pm.
Yule Rock is brought to you by Sunday Assembly London, a secular community that celebrates life under the motto of “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More”. It is a heart-warming and inclusive gathering, embodying the essence of Sunday Assembly’s core values of community, joy, and wonder. It is the perfect occasion for individuals of all backgrounds to come together, sing their hearts out, and revel in the holiday cheer without any religious affiliations.
Solidarity & Community: Making The Museum of Homelessness
11:00 am, December 17 2023
Speakers: Matt and Jess Turtle
This time of year can be one full of joy and festive plans, but alongside the good cheer of the season is a rising concern for the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness or housing precarity.
The multi-award winning Museum of Homelessness – created and run by people with direct experience of homelessness – has been doing incredible work for the past 13 years: building the first national collection for homelessness, taking practical action, fighting injustice with research and campaigning, and educating on homelessness through groundbreaking art exhibitions and events.
Having been a ‘homeless’ museum since their establishment in 2010, they have recently been given their own museum space in Finsbury Park. Co-Founders Matt and Jess Turtle join us today at Sunday Assembly to share some of their incredible journey and plans for the museum’s public programme in 2024.
As usual, our magnificent in-house band will be leading us in song and there will be tea, biscuits and a good old natter afterwards. This time, we’ll also be showcasing our community’s crafting talents at a very special winter market – so do bring some cash!
Sunday Assembly London has grown from a tiny egg of an idea from comedians Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones into a totally rad double-digits ten-year-old. And like all the cool kids, we had a birthday party to celebrate!
Like all the best parties, there was cake, games, candles to blow out and a magician. Yes, we partied and have a good time with a real-life maker of magic.
We also sang along to some much-loved classic pop tunes, as voted for by members of the community.
In a hectic, money-driven society it can sometimes seem impossible to live creatively, reconnect with our imaginations and ponder the everyday wonders of our world.
In 2016, our speaker Sam Furness of Channel Twelve set himself a challenge. He would immerse himself in a different form of creativity each month, in his spare time, for a year. And so Sam began an awfully big adventure which eventually led him to launch his own company and help others live creatively and expand the way they see the world, through monthly Creative Quests.
As well as finding out how you too can live your Quest life, we’ll be singing along with the Sunday Assembly band to some rockin’ tunes, listening to poetry from the wondrous Kay Scorah and lots more.
And of course there will be singing, mini talks to listen to and tea, coffee and cake at the end.
Blowing Hot and Cold
5th February 2023, 11:00am
Speaker: Phil Wiles
There’s more to a fridge than meets the eye.
Sunday assembler Phil Wiles loves talking to people about how the world works and what makes us human. He also likes drinking large quantities of coffee. Phil will be combining these super likes to tell us how fridges changed what we eat, what diseases we get and the climate we live in. And he’ll spill the beans on how fridges work and the surprising role they could play in future energy crises.
And of course there will be singing, mini talks to listen to and tea, coffee and cake at the end.
The Science of Poetry
19th February 2023, 11:00am
Speaker: Dr Robin Lamboll
Poetry explores the limits of language – but how good is it at actually communicating? Do poetic constraints change what poems say? We explore how to think about communicating information scientifically, how different languages communicate ideas and what that means for trying to spread scientific concepts through poetry.
Dr Robin Lamboll researches climate change at Imperial College London, and writes poetry inspired by the intersection between the human and natural world. Robin has won the UK, Vogon and Madrid International poetry slam finals, and came second in the World Cup of Slam in 2019. They have given a TEDx talk on poetry and science communication and performed everywhere from the Royal Albert Hall and music festivals to universities and COP26
Your host for the assembly is Matt Lockwood. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
As we get ready to celebrate International Women’s Day it raises questions as to how we promote inclusivity and recognition of each other’s unique experiences within our daily lives
To lead us in this exploration we are delighted to be joined by Miranda Grell. Miranda is a barrister at Staple Inn Chambers, she was awarded the Law Works Pro Bono Award in 2017, she is also an equality advocate and is advisor to the civil rights organisation Black Equity.
Miranda will share her experiences both as a professional and a campaigner to look at what embracing equality means in an intersectional context particularly with regards to women’s rights and racial justice, including black transwomen. Miranda will explore how these overlap and how allies such as ourselves can play our part in making the world a better place.
Your host for the assembly is Emily Rowan.
Common Threads
19th March 2023, 11:00am
Speaker: Leonora Nicholson
Leonora Nicholson is the founder of Unheard Poetry, an organisation with a mission to make poetry more accessible. Unheard Poetry strives to put poetry in unexpected places and this time that unexpected place will be a coat! They have worked with poets across the UK to collect 38 poems which have been turned into an actual walking piece of poetry.
Come along to hear about the creative process, change your perspective on poetry and get a exclusive look at the poetry coat.
Your assembly host will be Andrew Hoerlein.
Once You Were A Dinosaur Snack
2nd April 2023, 11:00am
Speaker: Richard Robinson
Scientists have spent years puzzling over the history of humanity. Other scientists are curious about our mysterious oddities: why we yawn, what are goosebumps and hiccups, or what’s the point of sunbathing. Lo! We find the answer to one is the answer to the other. You see once upon a time you were a fish, then a mouse, then a monkey… and your body keeps memories of those times. Your 14 billion year story is full of adventures.
Richard Robinson (founder of the Brighton Science Festival) will uncover, with those oddities as clues, along with demonstrations, videos, chat, games and tricks (you will learn how to waggle your ears!)
People and Places
16th April 2023, 11:00am
Speaker: Olivia Evershed
Relationships are formed via a connection with place – or more specifically, land and earth. What’s even more fascinating is the far-reaching impacts of climate change and the way in which these changes in the planet influence how people live and interact with one another.
We’re delighted to have Olivia Evershed talk about how such change has helped to forge and strengthen relationships between communities, and also how people without a deep connection to the land and the place they are living can learn to invest in the environment through group programmes as well as individual acts. She has experienced such things first hand in her valuable work with various communities.
Your assembly host will be the wonderful Matt Lockwood.
Losing your pet hurts. For some people, it hurts more than losing a human relative. And we can’t just “get another one” as some people around us might suggest. The loss of pets is still a very unacknowledged kind of grief and we feel awkward if our heart feels broken for longer than the allowed few days society permits it.
Sieske Valk will be talking about why we should become more comfortable around talking about our pets getting older and eventually passing away and why now is the right time to start.
She is the founder of Autumn Animals, London’s first holistic mobile veterinary clinic that specialises in improving the quality of life for injured, ill and elderly pets – and their families. With twenty years of experience in veterinary care and working as an End of life Doula for pets, Sieske has been on both sides of pet loss and is not afraid to start the difficult conversation.”
Dance occupies a funny place in the English psyche; can you think of an activity we engage with so enthusiastically and regularly, but also so badly. Why was it banned by Oliver Cromwell and the priest in Footloose? Why was the government so threatened by “music wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”? When society wants us to be cerebral observers of culture, dance allows us to be visceral participants.
We’re delighted to have our very own Alan Gregan deliver a talk on how we in England live, how we dance and how we can use dance to explore and practise different ways of living. Alan is a dancer, a teacher and a Sunday Assembly community member. He has been learning styles under the swing umbrella for 12 years and teaching since 2015.
We will also have Emma Fisher deliver a movement workshop that explores what it might be like to tune into the language of our bodies, developing internal connectivity to allow for greater outer expressivity, and beginning to re-choreograph narratives about self, other and community. Emma is a professional dancer and registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist. Her performance career has taken her across 5 continents, collaborating with artists and choreographers.
Sometimes life is a coin toss. Sometimes it’s a foregone conclusion. The problem is telling the difference, but this is a skill you can improve. Whether you want to know how your next date will go or who will win the US election, you can learn when to be confident and when to be uncertain. Nathan Young, a forecaster at the Swift Centre, has a few tips for adding predictions into your toolkit. You’ll enjoy it. Probably.
Nathan predicts events in geopolitics, AI and pandemics, and builds forecasting tools online. He also founded the Coronavirus Tech Handbook. Beyond that, he likes singing and hosting community dinners. If you have an idea for a forecasting question, he’d love to hear it at @nathanpmyoung on twitter.
We’re also very much looking forward to Hannah Deasy in our poetry slot! Hannah offers hard -hitting, vulnerable and often hilarious spoken word. Unpredictable, raw, warm and not afraid to dish the dirt on the state of her mental health, she holds crowds gripped with her personal true stories, skilfully intertwined with supremely well observed jokes.
Chris Fitchew is part jester, part comedian, full joy alchemist and space holder who has travelled the world to hone his crafts, including working with plant medicines in Peru, vortex energy healing and working with many great teachers and Wisdom Sharers. He believes that one of the greatest access points in finding our purpose and self-healing is through laughter, joy, and play; for ourselves and our communities.
Chris brings his life story to this Sunday Assembly London Pride special, as he shares how he managed to pivot and transmute a childhood of shame to a life of pride, and fears a plenty into Joy in abundance.
Tom Ana will be the guest poet for this Assembly. They are a nonbinary writer and facilitator from the North of England, and run the Queer Poetry Circle, a space that aims to create a new oral tradition through exploring poetry; Queer Spiritual Explorers, a group for interfaith exploration for LGBTQ+ people, and are a co-facilitator at the Queer Death Café.
Fast-changing technology might bring all kinds of benefits. Or plunge us into dystopia. At least, that’s what Hollywood and Netflix suggest. How can we assess which future scenarios are truly credible? And how can we go beyond “future shock” at some of these ideas, to figure out which scenarios are truly desirable – and which others are to be feared? David Wood, Chair of London Futurists, will join us to help us explore how life could become significantly better in just a few short decades. He’ll share his views about the future of health, the future of work, the future of communities, and the future of sustainability. Prepare to wonder!
One of the most positive developments of the 21st century has been the acceptance and understanding of neurodiversity. First coined in 1998, ‘neurodiversity’ is the idea that certain developmental disorders and learning difficulties are normal variations in the brain, and are essential strands in the fabric of humanity. Our main speaker, Matt Boyd, will talk to us about the organisation he founded, Exceptional Individuals, which helps neurodivergent people find work that suits their unique set of traits as well as assisting employers in supporting their neurodivergent staff.
Hosted by renowned slam poet Robin Lamboll, this assembly will include summer-y sing-alongs with the Sunday Assembly Band, a guest performer, and a talk from a member of our community who is Trying Their Best. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Just as the famous Cheers theme tune goes, “you want to be where everybody knows your name”. We all want to feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves and that we belong. What does a group of people need to do to feel connected? What kinds of shared values need to be established in order to build a community that has strong foundations capable of withstanding growth and change over time? And what possible dangers or pitfalls can such a collective encounter? At our next assembly, author Matthew McNaught will share his own spiritual journey as described in his essay “Immanuel” and explore the ways in which communities that start with the best intentions are often plagued by tyranny and corruption.
Hosted by co-founder of Sunday Assembly Sanderson Jones, this gathering will bring us together with moving sing-alongs led by the Sunday Assembly Band, poetry by guest performer Variety D, and a talk from Joshua Becker, a member of our community who is an expert on collective consciousness. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
One day, while acclaimed TV chef and cookbook author Sue Kreitzman added the final touches to her 27th cookbook, she had an epiphany: she made a doodle of a mermaid, and fell in love with it. Until that moment, she thought she was incapable of making art herself, only admiring the art of others. Soon she began drawing and painting on anything in reach using whatever materials appealed to her. There was no plan or purpose, just a passion for creating with colour. She joined London’s Outsider Art movement in the early 2000s and has never looked back. Her riotously joyful colour palette is as visible in the way she dresses as in her art – indeed, she is a walking work of art.
At this assembly, Sue will talk about her love of self-expression through clothing and her involvement with the Colour Walk community: a group of people who meet up monthly to wear colourful clothing together. So we’re inviting all of you to dress up in your most vibrant threads. Get creative and make some accessories too, by turning objects into wearable art!
Hosted by poet and author Anj Cairns, this assembly will include colourful sing-alongs with the Sunday Assembly Band and a talk from Lizetta Lyster, a member of our community who has lived a very colourful life! Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Something inside so strong
2nd October 2022, 11:00am
Speaker: Andrew Hoerlein
Poet: Alex Williams
Booker T Washington wrote that “…success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” At this assembly, community member Andrew Hoerlein will share the story of his own life-changing obstacle when he fell from a mountain and was rescued by paramedics. Forced to put his trust in others for his own survival, he became fascinated by the work they do, leading him on a path to become one of them. Andrew will talk about what it means to hold someone else’s life in your hands and the importance of making plans for our own eventual ends.
We will also honour Black History Month with sing-along songs by black artists and a poetry reading on this theme by Alex Williams. Our event will be hosted by Matt Lockwood and feature a special performance by the Sunday Assembly London Choir. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Quitting used to have negative connotations- a quitter was once considered weak or lacking in conviction. In recent years the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction as people take pride in announcing their ‘dealbreakers’. Sarah Weiler is a Quitting Coach: an expert in guiding people through periods in their lives when they need to make difficult decisions. At this assembly, Sarah will teach us about the methods she uses to help people decide whether the time is right to move on or they should stay the course.
This assembly will be hosted by Mags Houston, the Head of Projects and Communications at Drug Science. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Let’s go on a DigVenture! Move over, Indiana Jones, and catch ya later, Lara Croft; make room for Maiya! Maiya Pina-Dacier is an archaeologist and Head of Community at DigVentures, an organisation that helps ordinary people experience the excitement of going on an archaeological dig. She’ll tell us all about how this incredible organisation got started and what you can do to support their work.
We’ll also hear original poetry by Cheryl Cohen and a talk by Gwawr Thomas, a member of our community who has been on several DigVentures. This event will be hosted by Sunday Assembly’s Adventurer in Chief, Matt Lockwood. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
The First Rule of Mental Fight Club…
20th November 2022, 11:00am
Speakers: Ian McCartney and Neil Coles
Poet: Norman Welch
Peer support groups exist to help people work through their personal struggles while simultaneously helping others. But they’re not the best fit for everyone. It can feel uncomfortable to sit in a group and talk about each person’s problems. What if there was a better way? Mental Fight Club is an open, welcoming group which puts on exciting, well-organised and inspirational creative events and projects. Its aim is to narrow the divide between the ‘ill’ and the ‘well’ through social engagement. Ian McCartney, Development Director at Mental Fight Club, and Neil Coles, the Senior Project Manager will talk about this amazing charitable organisation that has benefited countless people since its inception in 2003.
This assembly will be hosted by street art blogger Stuart Holdsworth and will feature poetry by Norman Welch. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
When we chase happiness, it runs away like a cat when you’re trying to give it a bath, but the world of pop psychology is filled with competing advice that either claims it can help you catch it or warns you not to seek it out at all.
Comedian Ariane Sherine was determined to find the true path to happiness, so she enrolled public health expert David Conrad to help out (and write a book in the process). She’ll be talking about what the studies say you should do to find happiness in your relationships, your friendships, your finances, your sex life and your career.
This assembly will be hosted by resident human guinea pig Matt Lockwood and will feature poetry by Christopher Kraken. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Yule Rock 2022
Friday 9th December 2022, 7:00pm
Come one, come all to Sunday Assembly London’s annual seasonal sing-along, Yule Rock! We’re decking the halls and jingling our bells as we return to Conway Hall for the most festive night of the year. All your favourite Christmas classics will be included, from Elton to Wizzard, plus a few surprises, as always. Hosted by Master of the Master of Ceremonies and permanent member of the Naughty List Sanderson Jones, this event will feature music by our community band and choir, a cashless bar serving alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages (please bring your card or smartphone), and complimentary mince pies.
Dress your silliest, sparkliest best- Christmas jumpers, baubles, fairy lights, antlers, and any wintry delights are welcome! This all-ages party will be full of joy for family and friends.
Yule Rock is brought to you by Sunday Assembly London, a secular community that celebrates life under the motto “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More”. We are part of a global movement for good, and we welcome all who welcome all. Our congregation meets twice a month at Conway Hall in Holborn to hear inspiring talks, sing together, and get to know each other over tea and cake.
Snow Globe
18th December 2022, 11:00am
Ho, ho, snow!
It’s that time again when we round up the end of the year with a festive celebration. Join us for seasonal songs and tales of wonder from around the (snow) globe, all performed by members of the Sunday Assembly London community.
Don’t tell anyone, but we heard a rumour that a special someone in a red and white suit may make an appearance – Hail Santa!
Join us at Conway Hall for all the singing, tea and biscuits and some jolly old XMAS JOY!
Happy New Year, and happy 9th birthday to Sunday Assembly! We’ve got a lot to celebrate, but we want to make sure we’re celebrating in a way that is completely by choice, not hindered by social pressure or habit. That’s why we’ve invited Laura Willoughby, co-founder of Club Soda, to be our main speaker at this assembly. She will teach us all about ‘mindful drinking’, and how we can empower ourselves to make conscious decisions about our alcohol consumption.
This assembly will be hosted by street art blogger at Inspiring City, Stu Holdsworth. We’ll get this party started with some rockin’ tunes performed by the Sunday Assembly band as well as our returning guest performer, Gecko! And a community member will give a talk about their own mindful drinking journey.
Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community. And later in the afternoon we’ll take a group trip to Club Soda’s pop-up storefront to taste some delicious alcohol-free beverages.
The more we study biology across the animal kingdom, the more we learn what a special evolutionary gift human sexual pleasure is. The fact that it has been deliberately maligned, misunderstood, and stigmatised throughout history should make us feel even more grateful that we live in a time when we can be free to express our true selves.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Zoe Cormier, science communicator and author of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll: The Science of Hedonism and the Hedonism of Science’ will share some amusing anecdotes which reveal deeper truths about human desire.
This assembly will be hosted by poet and author Anj Cairns. As always, the Sunday Assembly Band will help you get your groove on, and we’ll hear some poetry and words from members of our community. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations.
No one chooses where they come from. Some of us are born with more advantages than others. But in the long run, it’s the choices we make in our lives that determine our success or failure. Sasha Gay Smith, founder and director of the London-based company I AM IN ME, will talk to us about what motivates her to guide young people on their journeys to improve their lives and become their absolute best selves.
In addition to the main talk we invite you to sing along to some epic tunes with the Sunday Assembly band. We’ll also have a special performance by our choir as well as a talk by a Sunday Assembler who is “Trying Their Best”. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Eleanor Roosevelt once famously said, “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.” At the start of the pandemic George Halfin, project manager at a national charity, Innate Health coach, and mum of two found herself in ‘hot water’. Furloughed from her job, struggling with home-schooling and with her husband’s work also in flux she began thinking seriously about her situation and the state of the world. At risk of drowning in the negative chatter of her personal thinking, she reached out for a lifeline: she was lucky enough to know other women who had learned a way through their own struggles.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, George will speak to us about what she learned from these women, and how they motivated her to bring their inspiring stories together in her book, “A Life Less Serious.”
Our singalongs:
Man! I Feel Like a Woman – Shania Twain
I’m Every Woman – Chaka Khan
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
From violence against women and girls, to shocking mental health outcomes for men – how do we heal masculinity to create a better world for all people? Bringing men into the feminist fold is essential, but can be tough. There’s a lot of toxicity out there blocking the way to self-work, men’s work, the work of allyship – and men can feel called out and shamed in the face of righteous anger. But the work is happening, so: join us for a positive experience of masculinity and being called-in. Together, we can all live better.
Hosted by poet and educator Dan Simpson, this assembly will feature the psychotherapist, filmmaker, and leader of men’s groups for over 20 years, Jerry Hyde, as our main speaker. We are also thrilled to welcome Keith Jarrett as our poet. As always, we invite you to sing your hearts out along with the Sunday Assembly band and stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with others.
In our modern world, we have become accustomed to the idea that people speak different languages in different places, and that all we need to do is tap a ‘translate’ button to decipher the code. But languages are more nuanced than that, and it can be difficult to make direct translations. Take, for instance, the warning label found within everyone’s favourite ‘toy-within-a-chocolate-egg’. Because these ovoid confections are sold globally, the enclosed miniature Rosetta Scroll needs to be understood in no less than 34 languages! Each language has its own cultural history and flavour.
Keith Kahn-Harris, author of “The Babel Message: A Love Letter to Language” believes that the messy diversity of language shouldn’t be a source of conflict, but of collective wonder.
In addition to Keith’s talk, the Sunday Assembly Band will use the language of music to bring us together, and we’ll hear wild and wordy poetry from Andrew Rea [sic]. The icing on our lexical cake will be a talk from community member Hanna Finn in a segment we call This Much I Know. Stick around after for tea and meaningful chat with others.
Sunday Assembly’s Got Talent
Friday 8th April 2022, 8:00pm
Do you like to tell jokes? Juggle? Play an instrument? Now’s your time to shine in Sunday Assembly London’s first-ever talent show! This all-ages event will be made by you and for you. We’re looking for a wide range of acts, from poets and storytellers to magicians and musicians. So polish up your circus acts and your dancing shoes and sign up to take part. And don’t worry if you’ve never performed before. The audience will be filled with family and friends who want to support you and cheer you on.
Emcee’d by the Host with the Most, Sanderson Jones, we’re amping up the fun with a bingo game and a raffle! Sunday Assembly’s Got Talent is a fundraising event for Sunday Assembly London, a secular community that celebrates life under the motto “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More.” All money raised from this event will go towards sustaining our programming for this talented community.
During the medieval times of Western Christianity, abstinence from eating flesh meat, which included eggs, was part of the Lenten fast, a 40-day period of penitential preparation that starts after Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day). Nowadays, Easter is celebrated with the decadence of chocolate goods.
But long before the packaged consumption of sugar, artists embraced the idea of hiding secret images in their work, hoping that others would see and appreciate them. Rina Atienza, our main speaker, is a lecturer at Kingston School of Art who will show us some of these hidden ‘easter eggs’ and irreverently guide us to explore what we might be missing about this ritual.
Our singalongs:
I’m So Excited (‘Eggcited’) – Pointer Sisters
Lay All Your Love on Me (L’Oeuf) – ABBA
Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs – Brian & Michael
In 1998, actor and playwright William Talen became so angered by the mass consumerism that had taken over city life in New York that he began protesting in Times Square. But it wasn’t a normal protest; it was more like a performance. He developed an over-the-top Billy Graham-esque character, and accompanied by a choir filled with people who believed as he did – that shopping culture was destroying communities as well as the planet – his irreverent act grew from a street act into a movement.
In 2021, as Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir made plans to tour the UK to spread their message of earth-consciousness leading up to COP26 in Glasgow, they invited some of their British followers to join them. Now Stop Shopping UK is embarking on their own journey, and they’ll share their story and their message with us through speech and song.
Our singalongs:
Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next – Manic Street Preachers
Chella Quint, science communicator, educator, and comedian, coined the term ‘period positive’ for the 2006 tour of her “Adventures in Menstruating” comedy show and workshops. During the tour, she realised that more and more people were looking for a way to teach a positive approach to menstruation education. Her goal is to counter all of the negative portrayals of periods in the media, which lead young people to feel shame and disgust about their bodies.
In addition to the main talk and performance, we will hear from a member of our community who is Trying Their Best to deal with a period of change. And as always, we will enjoy some positively excellent sing-along songs with the Sunday Assembly Band. Stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with others.
Thanks to some pesky particles, we had to cancel our final assembly of 2021. But the good news is that we were able to reschedule our speaker from that assembly, particle physicist Harry Cliff, for our 5th of June Jubilations! While exploring the history of time (very briefly) starting from a fraction of a second after our universe began, Harry’s talk will include personal stories of his own life in the modern world of physics.
In addition to Harry’s talk, we’ll enjoy some out-of-this-world rock and pop sing-alongs led by our community band and hear poetry by David Lee Morgan. Please stay after for tea, apple pies, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
Our main speaker, Dan Vo, is an award-winning LGBTQ+ tour coordinator and museum consultant. As the marketing manager for the new Queer Britain Museum, the UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum, he will talk to us about why it’s so important to have a place where people can go to learn about the history of queer culture.
In addition to Dan’s talk, we’ll hear poetry by Sanah Ahsan, a clinical psychologist and 2019 Outspoken Prize winner for Performance Poetry. And as always, we’ll sing our hearts out to pop and rock songs performed by our community band and hear the voices of our choir sing loud and proud. Please stay after for tea, biscuits, and engaging conversations with members of our community.
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Thank you to Tom for the great ice cream science talk, and Mags for the tour of three different ice cream places in East London!
