News

This Much I Know: David Goldstein

At Sunday Assembly on 2 March (Everyday Jews), we reintroduced This Much I Know: a segment where we hear from a member of the Sunday Assembly community on a topic close to their heart.

David Goldstein explained why he started coming to Sunday Assembly and shared some good news involving a grant application.

Here’s an abridged version of David’s speech.

“I heard about Sunday Assembly in 2013, its first year. I immediately liked the idea. Then I started coming along… 10 years later.

So what spurred me into coming?

2023 was the year I really started thinking that I needed something more in the structure of my life, other than family and work. There was a musical that came out that year called Subspace Rhapsody, and I was particularly struck by the song How Would That Feel, which includes the line, “It might be time to change my paradigm.”

And then came the events of the 7th of October, which left a lot of us feeling vulnerable in a way we hadn’t before.

Sunday Assembly popped back into my mind, and I thought, “Here’s a community where I can hear voices other than my own – singing voice included – and I’ve got more to gain by walking through those doors than I have to lose.”

The fact that I’ve kept coming to Sunday Assembly is a testament to how welcoming everyone’s been, and I reached the point where I wanted to give something back, so I’ve done two things.

One was to offer some ideas about Sunday Assembly’s marketing, and I’ve ended up joining the crew of marketing volunteers.

As for the other thing… Marketing’s also my day job. I’m the copywriter at an accountancy firm called BKL, which has a charitable foundation called The BKL Foundation, which allocates a percentage of BKL’s profits to good causes. The trustees are BKL employees but it operates independently of BKL. I decided to request a grant for Sunday Assembly. So I wrote an email to the Foundation explaining why Sunday Assembly was a worthy cause that fitted their criteria.

And at their February meeting, The BKL Foundation trustees decided to award Sunday Assembly a grant… of £,5000!

Thank you to The BKL Foundation, and to all of you as Sunday Assemblers for being part of something that’s worth every penny of that grant.

The thing to do now is to keep going. Make sure that if BKL check back in six months, a year, to see how it’s going, we can show them how we’ve built on that grant. You’re all part of Sunday Assembly’s marketing. So please, forward the Sunday Assembly newsletters, share the social media posts, do your own posts tagging Sunday Assembly, and keep telling people about us. Just tell them not to wait 10 years before they give it a try.

I thought about signing off today with ‘Kind regards’, but no one has ever said “Kind regards” in an actual conversation, except for the King. It’s documented: 9th of March 2021. So Instead I’ll end with the sign-off that the future Queen Mother used in 1941:

‘Tinkety-tonk, old fruit, and down with the Nazis.’”

From everyone at Sunday Assembly, thank you to The BKL Foundation for their amazing generosity!

Here’s David’s photo of Karen, our treasurer, meeting The BKL Foundation chair and some of the trustees at BKL’s North London office.

Left-right: Tyler, Karen, Roze, Ellie, Ian

News Not-just-Sunday Activities

7:30 pm, April 10 2025

Laugh to Keep the Lights on! Comedy Fundraiser headlined by Mark Thomas

The Sunday Assembly London team is a little bit nervous. We’ve decided to do something exceptionally fun and we want you to be part of it, but it’s really quite radical. Brace yourselves…

Sunday Assembly is planning a get-together that’s not on a Sunday… and isn’t an Assembly.

We know. What’s got into us? Are we doing this for a laugh?

That’s exactly why we’re doing it. Though there is a serious reason too. Allow us to explain.

Ever since Sunday Assembly was founded – by two comedians – our three tenets have included Live Better and Wonder More. (We’ll get to the other tenet later.) Comedy nights are great for both: the uplift of shared laughter and the marvel of well-crafted comedy.

And what’s better than two comedians?

Four comedians! Ready to entertain you on 10th April.

Our host is James Ross, whose Quantum Leopard comedy nights have won awards for showcasing stand-up that doesn’t punch down. He’s put together a fabulous line-up for us:

Mark Thomas: Mark’s been performing comedy on stage and screen for over 35 years. He mixes theatre, journalism and the odd bout of performance art
Ben Pope: From Cambridge Footlights to Edinburgh Fringe to London clubs, Ben’s been called ‘one of the best storytellers in comedy’
Jamie Mykaela: A comedy-cabaret artist who’s been described as ‘bawdy, brassy, vulnerable and intense’, with performances fuelled by 12 years of opera training
Alex Franklin: Acclaimed in 2024 for being ‘winningly weird’, Alex’s performances have blended musical comedy, science and the joy of being trans

How much will it cost you to take in all that incredible talent? Just £15, or £10 if you’re on a low income or precariously employed. We must be having a laugh. (Did we already say that?)

Here are the details for this non-Sunday spectacular:

Thursday 10th April from 7:30pm to 10pm (doors open at 7:30pm; show starts at 8pm)
COLAB Theatre, 22 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HB

You may be wondering what happens to your ticket fee. None of it goes to our host, thanks to his amazing generosity; the performers don’t want a cut either. Every penny will go to Sunday Assembly London, at a time when we really need it to ensure we have a future. So while you’re laughing to keep our lights on, you’ll be upholding our other tenet: Help Often. And we’ll be so grateful to you.

All line ups subject to change.
Tickets are non refundable.
Limited number of concessionary tickets available

Volunteer with Us

Fundraising Trustee

We are seeking a Trustee Board member with fundraising expertise, drive, and enthusiasm to assist in the delivery of its charitable aims.

You can find more information about the role and how to apply on Reach Volunteering.

Volunteer with Us

Stage Tech

Stage and Sound Tech Volunteers needed!

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.

If you’re interested, please get in touch with our Music Lead, Rob, at music@sundayassembly.com

Take a look at the full role description here!

Volunteer with Us

Fundraising Hub Lead

About the role

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.

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