Thanks to everyone who came to our comedy fundraiser with Quantum Leopard!
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! They entertained us on 10th April.
Our host was James Ross, whose Quantum Leopard comedy nights have won awards for showcasing stand-up that doesn’t punch down. He 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
The details for this not-on-a-Sunday spectacular were:
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
What happened to the ticket fees? None of it went to our host, thanks to his amazing generosity; the performers didn’t want a cut either. Every penny went to Sunday Assembly London, at a time when we really need it to ensure we have a future.
So while the audience were laughing to keep our lights on, they were upholding our other tenet: Help Often. And we’re so grateful to them.
What did you think of the comedy night? Let us know on our social media!
The smartphone and social media age has made taking photos a part of our lives like never before. But is there a more fulfilling way to approach photography?
On Sunday 6 April, we heard from guest speaker Pierre Bureau, Founder of Mindful Photo Lab and the East London Photography Festival: an exciting initiative that blends mindfulness, creativity, and community engagement through photography.
Pierre told us how he was inspired to start a community that used photography to improve mental health, and the festival’s mission to celebrate East London’s rich cultural diversity and its focus on fostering wellbeing and connection through visual storytelling.
Our songs
Our Sunday Assembly band had us singing along to four photo-themed pop songs:
Picture of You – Boyzone
Photograph – Ed Sheeran
Wishing (If I had a Photograph of You) – A Flock of Seagulls
Paparazzi – Lady Gaga
Thanks to our host Alan, co-host Andrew, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, laughter and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
Sunday Assembly’s International Women’s Day 2025 Special was an inspirational, emotional hour. Read on to find out how…
Our guest speaker: Anna Herber
Previously a guest poet at Sunday Assembly, we were delighted to welcome back writer, poet and entrepreneur Anna Herber as our speaker.
[Photo credit: Anna Herber, LinkedIn]
Anna helps people move through resistance and fear so they can share powerful messages that question the status quo and grow their impact.
For this special IWD talk, Anna celebrated women who have used their voices to create change, as well as some of the most common ways that women are silenced, and how to overcome them.
Drawing from her own experience, she showed us how to liberate our outspoken inner activist, truth speaker and wisdom keeper – overcoming procrastination and perfectionism, unlocking our courage and amplifying our authentic voice.
An invitation from Ann to help steward the Mile End Parkrun on Sunday 18 May – details here
An invitation from Tanya to come to the Enrich Festival in Watford on the weekend of 26th-27th April. Enrich Festival is an inclusive arts festival showcasing the immense talent of disabled and neurodivergent artists and performers. The Sunday Assembly London band are performing on the Sunday.
A bonus guest poet
Inspired by Anna’s talk, community member Steph read out a poem by her friend, whose experiences in Afghanistan had moved him to urge his fellow men to support women.
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, then lunch, drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.
Thanks to our host Emily, co-host Matt, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, laughter and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
Thanks also to everyone who wore purple in support of International Women’s day.
International Women’s Day 2024 at Sunday Assembly
As part of last year’s Sunday Assembly IWD Special, we wrote personal pledges to Inspire Inclusion, that year’s theme. Here’s a selection of our pledges. Click or tap to enlarge:
The book was inspired by Keith’s growing sense, as a Jew, that the Jewish people are now so public, so significant, so loved and so hated that the everyday stuff of Jewish life risks becoming ‘hollowed out’. In response, he aims to show that Jews can also be boring, mediocre and mundane, and that the ‘secular’ aspects of Jewish religious practice are often ignored but are the beating heart of Jewish religious life.
We learned how synagogues are as much about supper quizzes and social life as they are about communing with the divine, and the value in remembering that Jewish life can have its mundane and mediocre moments too.
Our guest performance: comedy from Rabbi Mendy Korer
We also welcomed jogger, chess player and stand-up comedian Rabbi Mendy Korer to this Assembly!
Founder of Chabad Islington, the only Jewish community centre in Islington, he loves to find ways to connect with people from diverse backgrounds, particularly through the human, spiritual and comedic relatability of Chassidic ultra-orthodox Jews.
Our songs
Our Sunday Assembly band performed three songs written and/or sung by Jewish artists:
The Life of Riley – The Lightning Seeds
Eternal Flame – The Bangles
Valerie – as sung by Amy Winehouse
This Much I Know
Today 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.
This time, David Goldstein explained why he started coming to Sunday Assembly 10 years after hearing about us… and shared some big news about a grant application he’s been involved with. Find out more here
Notices
Topics of our notices included:
Our Book Swap table (where swapping is not compulsory)
Our first ever comedy fundraiser, bringing four fantastic comedians to you on 10th April – details here
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat (and a sip of Palwin Jewish wine from Keith) at the Backyard Comedy Club, Lunch Club (at Hulya’s Cafe) and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.
Thanks to our host Hanna, co-host Shane, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, laughter and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
If you really, really want to know what we did at this Sunday Assembly, read on!
Our guest speaker: Adam Taffler
Desires often get a bad press. From religion to popular culture, they’re painted as dangerous and uncontrollable forces to be suppressed or ignored.
Yet our desires are really messengers of what matters most. A healthy relationship with our needs and wants is vital – it’s the foundation of personal autonomy, authentic relationships, and our own sacred unfolding.
For our Valentine’s Special, we were thrilled to welcome Adam Taffler, a facilitator and authentic communication coach, to help us all understand how to better articulate what we need and want in our relationships. Adam’s mission is making human connection a higher priority in culture. Known for founding the Togetherness movement and creating Shhh Dating (a silent speed dating experience), he designs spaces where genuine connection flourishes.
We also had some spoken word from Michael McKimm, an East London-based poet, originally from Ireland. His most recent book Because We Could Not Dance At The Wedding is about love in a long-term gay relationship and finding joy in an uncertain world.
Courtesy of the Sunday Assembly band, we sang four songs with the theme of wanting:
– You’re The One That I Want – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John – Don’t You Want Me – Human League – We Can Work It Out – The Beatles – Wannabe – Spice Girls (cunningly disguised as Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana)
Notices
Topics of our notices included:
– Our Book Swap table (where swapping is not compulsory) – An invitation to volunteer at the Mile End parkrun on 16 March – Our sister assembly in Reading, The Sunday Alternative – Our next Article Club on 20th February – details here – Our first ever comedy fundraiser, bringing four fantastic comedians to you on 10th April – details here
As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, Lunch Club (at Nando’s) and drinks & games at The Three Colts.
Thanks to our host Stuart, co-host Alan, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, laughter and appreciation – especially our first-timers!
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.
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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!
