Sunday Assembly Chicago held its first event on Friday, November 8 as part of the 40 Dates roadshow. The first event was by and large a great success, due in great part to Sanderson and Pippa both participating so energetically, as well as having Hemant “The Friendly Atheist” Mehta speak so engagingly on young people who are just figuring out what they believe about the world and its origins. We learned so much. Most significant, perhaps, is that we need to figure out how to say plainly what Sunday Assembly does and what needs we aim to meet, because I got feedback from some that the whole thing was too atheist, and from others that it wasn’t atheist enough. I hope that within a few events we are more able to deliver something more accurately representing SA, or at least something evoking less disparate reactions. There were also many practical lessons, like: “Don’t schedule events so that your guests of honor will have to leave before the end to get to the airport,” “Make sure the cookies are visible,” “Nikki can relax about tickets,” and “Programs were a good idea.”
Nikki Steeves, @mrsnicolesteeve, steevesnicole@gmail.com
Follow SA Chicago…
@SAinChicago
