1:00 pm, July 7 2024
Our post-Assembly picnics are an opportunity to carry on the good times together and enjoy lunch in the great outdoors!
We recommend that people:
We usually get others jump in last minute at the Assembly so there will be more people than are showing on the event registration pages.
3:00 pm, July 7 2024
Board Games Club follows Sunday Assembly at 3pm.
If the weather is warm and dry we picnic and play board games and card games. If not we’re indoors.
Newcomers are very welcome. We generally play short, easy to learn fun games.
11:00 am, June 16 2024
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!
Our guest speaker: Dr Steve Cross
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.
Our guest poet: Merry Martyn
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.
→ Our next assembly: Space Oddity, 7 July
← Our previous assembly: Metaphysics Eats Culture for Breakfast, 19 May
11:00 am, May 19 2024
This was our last Sunday Assembly at Conway Hall before our move to the Backyard Comedy Club from June. So what provoked our thoughts and stirred our emotions?
Our guest speaker: Alexander Beiner
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.
Our guest poet: Max Ingmar
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
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
11:00 am, May 5 2024
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.
Watch the recording
11:00 am, April 21 2024
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.
If you like the idea of joining a book club, but find yourself too busy to finish the books in time, Article Club is for you! We meet every six weeks or so at the Lyttleton bar at the National Theatre to discuss two articles – usually one relating to politics or current affairs and one relating to history, culture or science. We aim to challenge ourselves to read a diverse range of articles and to think more deeply about the broader themes of the topic.
OUR NEXT MEETUP:
Date TBA – 7:30pm to around 9:15pm. We sit on the soft round seats in the Lyttleton Theatre bar on the first floor.
2:30 pm, April 3 2024
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!
11:00 am, April 7 2024
“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.
11:00 am, March 17 2024
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.
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