Past events

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

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 our website and social media for details.

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

← Our previous assembly: Dolphins: Their World and Ours, 15th June

Exploring our value Wonder More inspires us not only to look around at our own world but also to look into other realms, such as outer space and, today, beneath the waves.

Guest speaker: Pavan Kaur Virdee

In honour of World Ocean Day on 8th June, we were joined by London based marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee, who shared her life-long passion and knowledge about the world of dolphins. Pavan’s presentation introduced us to cetaceans found in UK waters, from playful bottlenose dolphins to mysterious minke whales.

We also heard how the ocean is under threat from noise pollution and plastic pollution, and how we can help. Even two minutes spent picking up plastic litter can help keep it out of rivers, away from the ocean and ultimately out of a food chain that leads to humans ingesting a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week.

Guest poet: Kay Scorah

We were delighted that Sunday Assembly London’s own Kay Scorah stepped in at short notice with specially written dolphin-themed verses.

Read Kay’s dolphin day poems in her blog

Today’s songs

We sang along to four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band, all with connections to the ocean waves:

• Wellerman – Nathan Evans 
• Surfin’ USA – Beach Boys
• Octopus’ Garden – The Beatles
• Heroes – David Bowie (the lyrics mention dolphins!)

The return of our bubble machine added to the fun!

As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally (taking advantage of the picnic-friendly weather), and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.

Thanks to our host Shane; co-host Matt; all our wonderful volunteers from tech to tea, and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!

If you enjoyed yourself, please spread the word by sharing our social media posts or tagging us in your posts.

Coming up at Sunday Assembly London 

The Outside Project: Creating an LGBTIQ+ Safe Haven, 6th July

The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. Hear from co-founder and director Carla Ecola about how their team have been working since 2017 to support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by their own personal experiences.

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.

← Our previous assembly: Craftivism: The Art of Gentle Protest, 1st June

We all have issues we’re passionate about. But what if shouting in protest isn’t your style? Could the answer be not to get cross, but to get cross-stitching?

That was the topic we explored at today’s assembly, with singing, sketching and superb news thrown in. Read on to find out more…

Our guest speaker: Sarah P Corbett

The global Craftivist Collective has helped change laws, policies, hearts and minds around the world as well as expand the view of what activism can be.

We were thrilled to be joined by its founder Sarah P Corbett: an award-winning activist whose ‘Gentle Protest’ methodology of strategic, compassionate, scientifically-backed and visually intriguing activism has helped craft a more beautiful, kinder and fairer society.

We learned about the unique appeal of craftivism: for skilled crafters, burnt-out activists, introverts, highly sensitive people or those struggling with anxiety. We heard how it replaces aggressive enemies with critical friends. And we discovered how embroidered hankies really can change how major companies operate. 

Thank you to Sarah for her inspiring stories of Craftivist Collective’s meaningful, measurable impact: a tribute to the perseverance of a determined voice.

If you missed it, look online for Sarah’s TED talks (or should that be thread talks?). To get deeper into craftivism, Sarah’s latest book is available at a discount through Sunday Assembly London’s online bookshop.

Today’s songs

In the spirit of using our voices together, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band:

• Paint it Black – Rolling Stones
• Pencil Full of Lead – Paolo Nutini
• Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – The Beatles
• Perfect Day – Lou Reed 

Portraits

We love drawing people in to our twice-monthly assemblies. This time we took it literally when Matt encouraged us to pair up and sketch each other.

We had fun admiring each other’s results and trust that the National Portrait Gallery is making space as we speak.

A big announcement at today’s assembly

Sunday Assembly London have been awarded a National Lottery grant!

This goes a huge way towards covering our running costs for 2025. More than that, it helps our small volunteer-led charity to continue doing what we’ve proudly been doing for over a decade: hosting events and sustaining a secular community that helps people to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More.

A massive thank you to Tanya for her work on the grant application!

As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally (taking advantage of the picnic-friendly weather), and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.

Thanks to our host Hanna; co-host Andrew; all our wonderful volunteers (especially as it’s Volunteers’ Week from 2nd-8th June) and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!

If you enjoyed yourself, please spread the word by sharing our social media posts or tagging us in your posts.

Coming up at Sunday Assembly London

Dolphins: Their World and Ours, 15th June

Following World Ocean Day on 8th June, marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee from Incredible Oceans will be our guide to dolphins and the enchantment under the sea.

The Outside Project: Creating an LGBTIQ+ Safe Haven, 6th July

The Outside Project was founded as the UK’s first shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for the LGBTIQ+ community. Hear from co-founder and director Carla Ecola about how their team have been working since 2017 to support LGBTIQ+ people in London without a home or a place to feel safe – driven by the team’s own personal experiences.

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.

← Our previous assembly: Come Together: Towards a Synergistic Society, 18th May

Could a look into history give the modern buzzword ‘synergy’ real meaning, while bringing us closer to our Sunday Assembly goals to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More? Today we tackled this question, while also reflecting on Mental Health Awareness Week and giving a nod to yesterday’s Eurovision Song Contest.

How did we cram all of that into 90 minutes? Read on to find out…

Our guest speaker: John Graves

Throughout history, societies and economies have been governed by a succession of elites who have amassed enormous wealth while the bulk of their fellow citizens live in relative poverty. 

They are often presented as exceptional, entrepreneurial, gifted individuals, when in fact they’re driven by insecurity and attempts to overcome their sense of inferiority.

Some pre-industrial societies managed to avoid this schismatic structure, finding a way to harness these energies for social benefit. What can we learn today from these synergistic societies?

We were delighted to welcome back John Graves: psychotherapeutic studies teacher, life coach and lifelong philosophy student. John explored the ingrained disparity between society’s wealthiest and poorest, explaining how our own society could achieve greater synergy: individuals’ assets and actions supporting the common good.

Our guest poet: Rowan Kiffin-Murray

We also heard from East London poet Rowan. Rowan’s poetry expressed his ideas about loneliness and life’s journeys, including the virtues of a metaphorical unicycle. 

Today’s songs

Our Sunday Assembly London Band performed four songs: three on the theme of togetherness, one in reference to Eurovision:

• Come Together – The Beatles
• Together in Electric Dreams – Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
• Happy Together – The Turtles
• Waterloo – ABBA

Notices

Today’s updates included:

• Our book swap table: a flexibly defined feature of all our assemblies where books can be donated and/or taken (but ideally taken as we have a lot at the moment)
• A thank you from Ann to Aaron and David, the volunteers who joined her to help steward the Mile End junior parkrun before today’s assembly

• A reminder about the Sunday Assembly Global Gathering in Glasgow in September
• Marking the last day of Mental Health Awareness Week and its official theme of Community, our new Community Engagement Lead Tanya invited us to ‘leaf a message’ about our experiences of Sunday Assembly London’s community after the assembly. Thank you to everyone for their contributions, which you can read here

As always, we followed the assembly with tea, biscuits and chat at the Backyard Comedy Club, lunch locally, and drinks & games at The Three Colts pub.

As a bonus, we also had a guided walk. At 2pm, Sunday Assembly London volunteer and local resident Diane hosted a tour of the spaces that put the green into Bethnal Green, sharing her wealth of local knowledge.

Thanks to our host Alan, co-host Hanna, all our wonderful volunteers and everyone who filled the room with singing, good energy and appreciation – especially our first-timers!

→ Our next assembly: Craftivism: The Art of Gentle Protest, 1 June

Sarah Corbett will be sharing the story of co-founding the Craftivist Collective: a strategic and compassionate take on activism that makes a real impact.

→→ And the one after that: Deep Dive: Wonders of the Ocean Depths, 15th June

Following World Ocean Day on 8th June, marine biologist Pavan Kaur Virdee from Incredible Oceans will be our guide to the enchantment under the sea.

← Our previous assembly: Bubble Club: Inclusive Nightlife Under Threat, 4 May

We love Sunday mornings, but there’s nothing quite like a good night out. Having a drink and a dance. Staying out late. Catching up with old friends and making new ones. But what if going out-out comes with obstacles?

For someone with a learning disability, a night out can be life-changing. Fortunately there’s a special organisation that’s been making that happen for 20 years – and it began in a place that Sunday Assembly London know well.

Our guest speaker: Twinks Burnett, Bubble Club

On 4th May we were joined by Twinks Burnett, Marketing and Communications Manager for Bubble Club: an award-winning East London non-profit that co-creates high-quality, inclusive club nights for adults with learning disabilities as well as running development programmes for learning-disabled artists and DJs in the community. 

Founded in 2005 – at the Backyard Comedy Club where Sunday Assembly London now resides – Bubble Club offers rare opportunities for fully accessible and carefully curated club nights for people who have felt excluded from mainstream venues, from live music and DJs to open mic nights and sensory spaces.

Twinks took us through the history of this groundbreaking organisation as well as its current challenges in the face of club & pub closures and council funding cuts.

Our guest poet: Rufaro, Bubble Club

Bubble Club community member Rufaro, aka DJ Awesome, read heartfelt poems he’d written about relationships, friendship and loneliness.

Watch videos of Rufaro sharing his poetry with us

Today’s songs

To the accompaniment of a bubble machine, we sang along as our Sunday Assembly London band performed four pop songs connected to today’s theme:

• Murder on the Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
• Shut Up and Dance – Kill the Moon
• Wake Me Up – Avicii
• I Want it That Way – Backstreet Boys 

Notices

Today’s updates included:

• Our book swap table: a flexibly defined feature of all our assemblies where books can be donated and/or taken
• A call for volunteers for the Mile End Parkrun at 9am on 18th May. Contact Ann via our Facebook page for more details
• Diane’s plans to lead a guided walk, Putting the Green into Bethnal Green, meeting at The Three Colts pub at 2pm on 18th May
• A reminder about the Sunday Assembly Global Gathering in Glasgow in September

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, poetry, share your stories 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.

About the date…

If you marked today as Star Wars Day (“May the Fourth be with you”), then unlike Darth Vader we don’t find a lack of faith disturbing. All faiths and no faiths are welcome at Sunday Assembly London for our secular celebration of life. So come and say hello: you won’t be Solo!

→ Our next assembly: Towards a Synergistic Society, 18th May

← Our previous assembly: Living Well in a Climate Crisis, 20th April