Past events

Main EventsPast events

11:00 am, October 5 2025

Hope Sings: The Choir with No Name

We believe firmly in the wonder of singing together. Today we welcomed another organisation using the power of collective song to empower, build connection, confidence and joy.

Our guest speaker: Kate Wareham

The Choir With No Name is a unique community choir made up of people who have experienced homelessness or marginalisation. Kate Wareham, their CEO, shared some of the community’s moving stories about how music creates a safe, inclusive space where people find their voices.

Kate has a PhD in music psychology, focusing on music and homelessness. Before Choir with No Name, she worked in community and arts organisations including The Children’s Society, Yorkshire Dance, St John Ambulance and Home-Start.

We were also led through some fun games by our resident Games Master Matt Lockwood.

Our songs

As usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band. They reflected today’s theme.

  • Sing – Travis
  • Make Your Own Kind of Music – Mama Cass Elliot
  • Your Song – Elton John
  • Scare Away the Dark – Passenger

And talking of choirs…

Would you like to join our next community choir: rehearsing on 22nd October and performing a song at our assembly on 2nd November?

Or perhaps you like to make something for the Halloween Bake Off that’ll be taking place at our assembly on 19th October? Find out more about our assembly-adjacent activities here.

About Sunday Assembly London

Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.

Stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.

→ Our next assembly: Colours of Our Mind: The Science of Synaesthesia, 19th October
← Our previous assembly: Weird Science: An Introduction to Anomalistic Psychology, 21st September

Main EventsPast events

11:00 am, September 21 2025

Weird Science: An Introduction to Anomalistic Psychology

We live in a weird world! And according to polls, over half the UK population believes some it may be down to paranormal phenomena.

Every ancient society we know of had some kind of supernatural belief system. Statistics suggest, even today, a steady increase in interest in this realm of enquiry.

But can belief in, and reported experience of, paranormal phenomena, actually be explained in terms of psychological factors?

Our guest speaker: Chris French

We welcomed back Professor Chris French, Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. Chris talked about the remarkable field of anomalistic psychology: the psychology of strange experiences and behaviours.

Chris’s entertaining, insightful talk demonstrated the scientific backing for healthy scepticism.

There’s more in Chris’s book The Science of Weird Sh**: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal, available in Sunday Assembly London’s online bookshop.

Our guest performer: Lydia Daisy

Lydia Daisy’s enthralling performance captured both her despair and hope within a world where the only thing that makes sense is trying your best.

Hear some of Lydia’s poetry on her Instagram.

Our songs

As usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band. They reflected today’s theme and today’s date.

  • Bad Day – Daniel Powter
  • Ghost Riders in the Sky – Johnny Cash
  • Superstition – Stevie Wonder
  • September – Earth, Wind & Fire (it’s about the 21st of September!)

Thank you to the volunteers who stepped up to become our impromptu singers alongside our band. A true Earth, Wind & Choir Day!

Autumn Awesomeness

Talking of choirs, would you like to join our next community choir: rehearsing on 22nd October and performing a song at our assembly on 2nd November? Or perhaps you like to make something for the Halloween Bake Off that’ll be taking place at our assembly on 19th October? Find out more about our assembly-adjacent activities here.

Thank you

What a great blend of attendees we had today too. From regulars who’ve been coming since Sunday Assembly London started in 2013, to first-timers, to visitors from Sunday Assembly Brighton and Sunday Assembly LA!

There’ll be even more intercity assembling at Sunday Assembly’s annual gathering happening next weekend in Glasgow. Details here.

About Sunday Assembly London

Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.

Stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.

→ Our next assembly: Hope Sings: The Choir with No Name, 5th October
← Our previous assembly: Fight the Good Fight: How to Have Conflict, 7th September

Not just Sunday AssembliesPast events

5:00 pm, September 25 2025

Sunday Assembly Glasgow Gathering 2025: our cross-border community!

Sunday Assembly’s annual global conference! This was an opportunity to meet people from all over the world in Glasgow on 25th – 28th September.

As described by our hosts, Sunday Assembly Glasgow:

‘Every year members of different Sunday Assemblies across the UK, Europe and America come together in celebration, through a programme of talks, workshops and activities, that help us live by our motto to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More. This year, we at Sunday Assembly Glasgow are excited to host the gathering and welcome people to our incredible city.

The conference is open to any Sunday Assembly members or supporters, and anyone interested in celebrating life with us. Children are welcome but must have their own ticket and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. We can’t wait to see you all!

Expect wonder-provoking talks, interactive workshops, and carefully curated activities that will help you build connections, live better and make the most of your time in Scotland. There’ll be something for everyone, whether you’re an organiser looking to develop your assembly, an assembly member looking to feel more connected to our network, or if you simply want to come along and celebrate life with like-minded people. And of course, there’ll be plenty of fun, food, singing and live music from a mega band of Sunday Assembly musicians from around the world.

If finding affordable accommodation is an issue then please get in touch. We have some members with spare rooms that may be able to offer a bed for the weekend. Send us a message on Instagram or by email hello@sundayassemblyglasgow.com and we will do our very best to find a place for you.

For those who are considering buying tickets, there is an incentive to buy soon: anyone buying a full priced weekend ticket between now and the end of August will be entered into a draw to win 2 Ceilidh tickets for Sloan’s Ceilidh on the Friday night of the gathering. It’s a great night, lots of fun in a beautiful historical building in the heart of the city.

The Glasgow Gathering is for members from around the world, as well as those who are new to Sunday Assembly and interested in learning, celebrating and making connections with us. So if you have friends who are interested in Sunday Assembly but can’t commit to regular meetings, please do bring them along.

There are also some subsidised tickets available at the very reduced rate of £40, for those who may not otherwise be able to attend.

These tickets may be purchased by those who meet one of the following criteria:

In full time education; Not receiving a waged income; Receiving income support (including pension credit), government assistance or other social security support. 

(Subsidised tickets are very limited and you may only book one per order. If you’re not sure whether you qualify please get in touch to check.).’

Find out more at sundayassemblyglasgowgathering.com

Main EventsPast events

11:00 am, September 7 2025

Fight the Good Fight: How to Have Conflict

Conflict is unavoidable in life: in our relationships with family, friends, colleagues or and strangers. How can we manage it better?

Our guest speaker: Katie Goldfinch

Katie Goldfinch is a broadcaster, mediator and host of the podcast How Not to F*** Up Your Kids.

Katie specialises in conflict resolution for neighbourhood disputes and intergenerational family dynamics. She is also currently working on a global peace building project with the Institute of Global Negotiation to disseminate conflict resolutions tools internationally.

By encouraging us to explore our own and each others’ definitions of conflict, and to practise active listening, Katie helped to us to understand how we can improve the quality and outcome of conflict at the personal level.

Get a ticket for Katie’s free conflict resolution workshop on 25th September

Our guest poet: Yvonne Murray

Yvonne is a Murray poet, inspirational motivator and author who loves to manipulate words into stories, hurts into lessons and to empathise with those who share similar paths.

Yvonne read three of her poems, Peace in Pieces, Punchbag and Fight the Fight Good, moving us with her imagery and empathy. The third poem was specially written for our assembly.

Find out more about the launch of Yvonne’s new poetry collection on 25th October

Our songs

As usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band. They reflected today’s theme of conflict.

  • Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor
  • Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton John
  • We Can Work It Out – The Beatles
  • Shake It Off – Taylor Swift

About Sunday Assembly London

Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.

Stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.

→ Our next assembly: Weird Science: An Introduction to Anomalistic Psychology, 21st September
← Our previous assembly: Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness can Change the World, 20th July

Not just Sunday AssembliesPast events

12:15 pm, August 30 2025

Summer Sync-Up activities: Stay connected throughout August

Did you know that some animals hibernate in summer?* That wouldn’t suit us at Sunday Assembly London. While our assemblies were taking a break in August, we had an array of Sunday events to keep us connected.

Sunday 3rd August: picnic; ice cream crawl

At 12pm, we got together in Lincoln’s Inn Fields (near Holborn Tube station) for a bring-your-own picnic lunch.

Then we walked a route around London to sample a series of ice cream treats. We had a delightful ice cream crawl in September 2024 and couldn’t wait to do it again.

We met at 3pm opposite Kentish Town Station (Tube – Northern line; the National Rail Thameslink station is next door) at 3pm. Anyone who wanted to skip straight to dessert was welcome to come along without being at the picnic first!

Sunday 10th August: Lido swimming

A refreshing swim at the Serpentine Lido.

Sunday 17th August: picnic; art walk

At 12pm, we were back at Lincoln’s Inn Fields for another bring-your-own picnic lunch.

We enjoyed the “world turned upside down” near LSE and the Wellcome Collection’s current inclusive exhibitions are fantastic.

Saturday 30th August: walking adventure in Box Hill, Surrey

Emily ran a very special event for those of us wanting to adventure a little bit further afield than Central London.

Meeting at Box Hill & Westhumble station at 12:15pm, we embarked on a 5 mile walk.

  • Moderate difficulty – see National Trust classification
  • Dogs and Children welcome – we go at a leisurely pace

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/box-hill/box-hill-juniper-top-circular-walk

As we said beforehand: ‘We’d love as many people as possible to join us for some or all of these activities, even if you’ve never been to a Sunday Assembly before. We know it’s not always easy to make and keep connections in London, so we’re waiting to welcome you!’

If you want to find out more about our not-just-assemblies events, email Tanya at community@sundayassembly.com. Or, as with our assemblies, just turn up!

*Aestivation? We don’t know the meaning of the word…

→ Our next assembly: Fight the Good Fight: How to Have Conflict, 7th September
← Our previous assembly: Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness can Change the World, 20th July

Not just Sunday AssembliesPast events

7:30 pm, August 7 2025

Article Club: August 2025

Article Club is where the Sunday Assembly London community read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.

This was our 71st meeting but it’s never too late to join! Just like at our assemblies, we love welcoming new members and their unique opinions.

How Article Club works

1. We meet every six weeks or so in the National Theatre building in Central London by the river. We go for the round seats in the Lyttelton Theatre bar on the first floor.

2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science.

Our 7th August articles:

3. We talk about each one for around half an hour. The beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.

4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.

5. We set the date for the next Article Club and sometimes adjourn to the pub.

Our next Article Club will be on Thursday 18th September at 7:30pm.

And to meet more of the Sunday Assembly London community while learning about a new or familiar topic, you’re always welcome at our Sunday Assemblies too!

Main EventsPast events

11:00 am, July 20 2025

Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness can Change the World

Here at Sunday Assembly London, kindness is one of the qualities that we value the most and try to cultivate within our community and beyond. Today we welcomed expert on kindness to help us continue to spread the love!

Our guest speaker: Bernadette Russell

Bernadette Russell is a storyteller, performer, and expert on kindness and hope. For over a decade she has toured the US and UK speaking about the life-changing experience of practising kindness. This was her fifth time speaking at Sunday Assembly London.

With wit and poignancy, Bernadette told us about how London’s 2011 riots inspired her to spend the following year doing an act of kindness every day, touching others’ lives and her own in unexpected ways. She extended her kindness to us by giving us sunflowers and teacakes!

Our guest poet: Adam Lind

Adam Lind gave us the rare privilege of hearing him perform his poetry. He connected with us through three authentic poems whose themes included perceptions of masculinity and setting an example to future generations.

Thank you to Bernadette and Adam for being so appreciative of our Sunday Assembly London community. Their latest books, Conversations on Kindness and Floating Home, are available via our online bookshop.

Our songs

As usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band. They reflected today’s theme of acts of kindness.

  • With A Little Help From My Friends – The Beatles
  • All The Small Things – Blink 182
  • Lean On Me – Bill Withers
  • Shine – Take That

About Sunday Assembly London

Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.

Stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.

→ Our next assembly: Fight the Good Fight: How to Have Conflict, 7th September (after our August break)
← Our previous assembly: The Outside Project: Creating an LGBTIQ+ Safe Haven, 6th July

Main EventsPast events

11:00 am, July 6 2025

The Outside Project: Creating an LGBTIQ+ Safe Haven

Live Better is a value we hold dear at Sunday Assembly London, but what if your dream turns to crisis? Many LGBTIQ+ people move to London to live as themselves and find connection among a larger population – only to struggle without stable work, housing and social networks. One special organisation has led the way in helping them since 2017.

Our guest speaker: Carla Ecola, The Outside Project

The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. This London Pride weekend, we were honoured to welcome The Outside Project’s co-founder and director Carla Ecola.

Carla is a queer homelessness activist who saw the gap in crisis services for LGBTIQ+ people whilst working as an Outreach Worker in their twenties.

We found out how they support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by Carla and the team’s own personal experiences – and hear about the challenges they’re facing today.

Our guest poet: Annie Hayter

We were also thrilled to have some spoken word from Annie Hayter, who delights in writing about queer transformations and flatulent saints. Their work has been found in The Big Issue, Rialto, MAGMA, Time Out, and on BBC Radio 3.

Annie’s verses took us from grandparents to geese with a blend of lightness, elegance and honesty.

Today’s songs

The Outside Project takes its name from a George Michael song. In celebration of that, our Sunday Assembly London band performed four pop songs from LGBTIQ+ artists for us to sing our hearts out to. It was hard for some of us to resist a dash of dancing too.

  • Love Shack – The B-52’s
  • A Little Respect – Erasure
  • Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan
  • Freedom! ’90 – George Michael

As always, we projected the lyrics for everyone to follow. But if you’re not into singing, there’s no pressure at all to join in.

About Sunday Assembly London

Sunday Assembly London is your regular and reliable stop for a welcoming, accessible and inspiring Sunday community, where you can hear talks and poetry, sing songs and make new friends.

We’re proud to host events where LGBTIQ+ members, volunteers, speakers and poets give each other a sense of belonging within a secular community that welcomes all.

After the assembly

We invite everyone to stay after for tea, biscuits, and chat in the Backyard Comedy Club. Then to join us for a local meal, picnic, or a drink and card games at the pub.

Our lunch venue this time was Love Shack, a wonderfully welcoming vegan restaurant that recently joined the Safe Space London directory of trans-friendly businesses. (We chose the venue, then we chose the song!)

→ Our next assembly: Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness Can Change the World, 20th July

What if one small act of kindness, every single day for a year, could ignite a light in the darkness? Bernadette Russell gives us an insight into her extraordinary 366-day journey of discovery and connection.

What’s happening in August?

August is when we take a break from hosting assemblies, but not from being a community! We have a range of other get-togethers. They include picnics in Lincoln’s Inn Fields on 3rd and 17th August, lido swimming, Article Club and an ice cream crawl. Keep an eye on this page and our social media for details.

We love hearing your ideas too, so please post them on our social media or email us anytime!

→ Our next assembly: The Choir With No Name, 5th October
← Our previous assembly: Fight the Good Fight: How to Have Conflict, 7th September

Not just Sunday AssembliesPast events

1:00 pm, July 6 2025

A little old place where we can eat together: lunch at Love Shack!

Thanks to everyone who joined us after our Dolphins assembly on 15th June for lunch. We did it again after our Pride assembly on 6th July! 

In honour of our speaker Carla Ecola and their topic, the UK’s first LGBTIQ+ shelter, our lunch venue was Love Shack. Right up the road from Sunday Assembly London, Love Shack is a wonderfully welcoming vegan restaurant that recently joined the Safe Space London directory of trans-friendly businesses.

We had one of our biggest Lunch Club turnouts in a while! Thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate our community, the LGBTIQ+ community and the local East London community.

With so many delicious food and drink options, we’re looking forward to our next visit already!

Not just Sunday AssembliesPast events

7:30 pm, June 26 2025

Article Club: June 2025

Article Club is where the Sunday Assembly London community read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.

This was our 70th meeting but it’s never too late to join! Just like at our assemblies, we love welcoming new members and their unique opinions.

How Article Club works

1. We meet every six weeks or so in the National Theatre building in Central London by the river. We go for the round seats in the Lyttelton Theatre bar on the first floor.

2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science. Our chosen articles this time were:

All eyes are on Reform right now – but why are they given so much influence?
Zoe Williams, The Guardian, 21st April 2025
‘A strong progressive vote in local elections will be written off as random or outlying, while rightwing insurgency is considered to indicate some fundamental truth’

The rise and fall of peer review
Adam Mastroianni, Experimental History 13th December 2022
‘Why the greatest scientific experiment in history failed, and why that’s a great thing’

3. We talk about each one for around half an hour. The beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.

4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.

5. We set the date for the next Article Club (if we hadn’t already) and sometimes adjourn to the pub.

Our next two Article Clubs will be:

  • Thursday 7 August at 7:30pm
  • Thursday 18 September at 7:30pm

To meet more of the Sunday Assembly London community while learning about a new or familiar topic, you’re always welcome at our Sunday Assemblies too!

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