Sunday Assembly

“… Pippa said, “You really have to do that! Make sure you do that!” That kicked my ass into gear! We started fleshing it out: coming up with the order of service; the language to describe what we were doing… people have come… saying that they want to start a Sunday Assembly. They started organizing. We have to come up with a way that people can do their own Assemblies!

What can a person expect if they go to a Sunday Assembly? What’s it like?  The one we have in London… we pick a theme. We’ve had a theme of “Lend a Hand,” we’ve had a theme of “Wonder,” had a theme “Beginning.” The next one coming up is called “Easter for Atheists,” because that is a British story. It’s originally a Spring Festival, so we’re well on the way to chuck away anything! For that one, we’re coming up with songs which are about new life, rebirth, and a bit of magic. So, looking at “Look on the Bright Side of Life.”

Then we’re going to have a couple of talks, along how Italian peasants in the Renaissance would have experienced that time of the year. Then focus on how we can use mixed stories and metaphors as a way to understand the world. And so, people come along. Then for each song, as it starts off with a song, there’s a reading, then there’s a talk, there’s another song, a bit from the congregation, a moment of silent meditation, then the collection to pay for the rent of the room, then an address and another song.

It’s all done up in an hour and a bit, and afterwards everyone has tea and cake. And the wonderful thing is, people are bringing cake! It’s free to get in, and the tea is free at the end. We’re just starting now to go from here to work out how to apply it to other people and how we can deepen the sense of community. Do community activities – all sorts of stuff which is happening way quicker than we imagined, but it’s really exciting. It’s fantastic!...

I’ve been thinking about this for years, and Pippa has too. She went to church a lot as a teenager, a really fun church, which she really enjoyed. I’ve not been inspired by that, but anything which is a way of showing that we can do this but be an Atheist? Not believing in God is one thing, but the more interesting question is: how can we use humans, who are designed for meaning in their lives, and for self‑improvement – to really help each other, and then to help other people?...

There’s a lot of people who might be that way inclined, who used to have those experiences. In fact, people who are religious are far more understanding of a group of people getting together and concentrating on what they want, how they want to live their lives and having that community. There’s been a lot of Atheists, who have been against us. We’ve just try to say: look at our actions and labels and keep to the important stuff…

Most people are hugely supportive. It’s amazing – after just describing it, people really want to start a Sunday Assembly. Admittedly not everyone, but lots of people who really think and who really connect with the idea? There’s been some Atheists who’ve been against it; we’ve had one Christian minister say, “The Devil is working through them. They are trying to replace the Church of Christ with the Church of the Devil!” Mostly people understand it as being really interesting.

What’s been interesting is… that there’s this interesting Asian, Ex‑Muslim Atheism community. Someone from the London Black Atheists got in touch, and they said what was great was to see other Asians and black people, because if you’re Atheists in that community, then it can be really isolating. They said the reverse [of what you might think about demographics] – but, again, I think it’s one of the ideas was slightly formulated on a BBC program with a Vicar who said that he can’t see this getting out of a “right metropolitan elite”. I think that’s incredibly condescending.

All we do is we get together, we sing songs, we concentrate on thinking about living life better, and helping other people. I would think that that would appeal to people. I think that it’s going to be certain followings, maybe it’d be a challenge to see all manner of different forms of the Assembly. There’s one person who’s even saying they’d like to see an Atheist Mosque. That’s a very interesting concept!

We’re really clear about what we’re a godless congregation that celebrates life with people who want to live better, to help often and want more. Our aim is to help people find and fulfill their own potential. We meet together, because we think we’re stronger together than on our own. It’s actually a possible thing. I think that is what appeals to people.

There’s so many people that want to start them, but word of warning – it’s quite a lot of work! The point isn’t just starting them, it’s making sure they can be sustainable. Once they’re up and running, once a month, then next year… then we can plan the next step which is to try to go and find people who can come in and host it. That’s the word we use, full time. We’re just really excited to see where it goes!..”

~ “The Sunday Assembly was started by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, two comedians who were on the way to a gig in Bath when they discovered they both wanted to do something that was like church but totally secular and inclusive of all—no matter what they believed. The first ever Sunday Assembly meeting took place on January 6th 2013 at The Nave in Islington. Almost 200 people turned up at the first meeting, 300 at the second and soon people all over the world asked to start one.

Now there are over 70 Sunday Assembly chapters in 8 different countries where people sing songs, hear inspiring talks, and create community together.

"Why do we exist? Life is short, it is brilliant, it is sometimes tough, we build communities that help everyone live life as fully as possible.”

The gathering is mostly for non-religious people who want a similar communal experience to a religious church, though religious people are also welcome."