Past events

From Hollywood heroes to social media influencers, our culture today is full of mixed messages about what it means to be a man. These myths of toughness, dominance and emotional silence have shaped generations and left many men disconnected from themselves and others.

By unpicking these stories, we can live more thoughtfully and supportively.

Our guest speaker: Kris Genijn

Kris Genijn leads De-Masking Masculinity workshops at transformational festivals like Medicine, Nowhere and Burning Nest. He blends humour, vulnerability and cultural critique to ask: what have we lost in trying to “man up”?

Kris invited us to consider how tenderness, play and presence can be reclaimed as strengths, helping us move beyond stereotypes.

He also led us through a series of energy alchemy exercises: using breathing and movement to help us shed our inhibitions and release our energy.

Our singalongs

As usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band and reflecting today’s theme of masculine identity.

• Piano Man – Billy Joel
• The One and Only – Chesney Hawkes
• Father and Son – Cat Stevens (Yusuf)
• All These Things that I’ve Done – The Killers

As always, the lyrics were projected on screen and everyone was welcome to sing (and dance) along.

Thank you to our band for adding versality to virtuosity, with multiple lead vocalists and instrumentals.

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: The Sound of Movement, 7th December
← Our previous assembly: Keep Calm and Carry On: Connection Through Our Shared Humanity, 2nd November

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Have you got your Yule Rock ticket yet?

Sing Christmas pop loud and proud, with a live band and a room big enough for 200 very festive people.

It’s happening on Friday 12th December at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.

Based on Yule Rock 2024 sales, we’re expecting 2025 to be a sell-out. Find out more about the Yule Rock magic and get tickets at https://bit.ly/yulerock25

Stress touches every one of us – shaping our health, our relationships, and the way we experience daily life.

Our guest speaker: Neil Shah

Ahead of National Stress Awareness Day on 5th November, we welcomed Neil Shah, founder of the Stress Management Society and a leading voice on resilience and wellbeing.

Neil is the driving force behind Stress Awareness Month, a national campaign raising awareness of the impact of stress and how we can manage it together. His mission: to empower people to live happier, healthier lives.

Neil explained how his own mental health experiences have motivated his work, and how suicide rates and stress have increased in recent years as community cohesion has decreased. He also gave the first public performance of a poem on these themes, expressing how what we may see as breakages are ways to let the light in.

We were also treated to a performance by the newly formed Sunday Assembly London choir. Following their rehearsal on 22 October, they performed Focus Is Power by Self Esteem.

Our songs

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

• Three Little Birds – Bob Marley and The Wailers
• Hand In My Pocket – Alanis Morrissette
• I’ll Stand By You – Pretenders
• Don’t Stop – Fleetwood Mac

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: De-Masking Masculinity, 16th November
← Our previous assembly: Colours of Our Mind: The Science of Synaesthesia, 19th October

And coming up on 21st December: Yule Never Believe It: The Rational Benefits of Shrines, Ceremonies and Divination

For even more community joy… join us at Yule Rock ’25!

Sing Christmas pop loud and proud, with a live band and a room big enough for 200 very festive people.

It’s happening on Friday 12th December at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.

Based on Yule Rock 2024 sales, we’re expecting 2025 to be a sell-out. Find out more about the Yule Rock magic and get tickets at https://bit.ly/yulerock25

Did you know some people can taste words or see music? Welcome to the fascinating world of synaesthesia: a unique way of experiencing the world where the senses blend together.

Our guest speaker: Mary Spiller

Mary Spiller, Senior Lecturer at the University of East London, offered us a glimpse into this wondrous phenomenon.

Mary’s research explores how our senses can cross-wire in surprising and creative ways, opening up fresh ways of seeing the world. 

Our guest poet: Lydia Daisy

We’re thrilled to welcome Lydia back. Artful in her words and her performance, she expressed her defiance of a system that treats creativity as a threat.

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 the title of today’s talk.

• Karma Chameleon – Culture Club
• Red Red Wine – UB40 version
• True Colours – Cyndi Lauper
• Gold – Spandau Ballet

Halloween Bake Off

Thanks to everyone who took the time to bake delicious treats for our bake off, with flavours ranging from pumpkin to banoffee. They were both eerie and cherry. Some of the treats went so fast it was almost like they were never there…

Our next Autumn Awesomeness activity will be our one-shot choir, performing on 2nd November.

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: Keep Calm and Carry On: Connection Through Our Shared Humanity, 2nd November
← Our previous assembly: Hope Sings: The Choir with No Name, 5th October

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

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

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