The Road Map
Are you up for the challenge of starting a new, inclusive and vibrant community that celebrates life? Fantastic! Even with the support we can give you, it’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun…
Here’s the path to creating and sustaining a Sunday Assembly chapter and how to go from Warm-Up to Start-up, and finally a fully-fledged Accredited Sunday Assembly.
1. Research!
Read up on the Sunday Assembly Charter. Look around at the coverage of Sunday Assembly. Is there already Sunday Assembly activity in your area? Check out our map to find out, or you could search for your location in our groups. If so, go and join them.
2. Local Connections
If nothing exists, could you be the person to kick things off? Is this something you want to make happen in your town or city? Ask around your friends and the local area, see if you have some initial support. If you’re up for it, start a group on the Sunday Assembly website.
Once you have the group, this offers a place where:
- An online discussion can take place on our website, to help you engage with others in your area.
- You’ll get a marker on our interactive map. This will help others to find you.
- More information to help you reach out and engage with others in your area.
3. Meet Up
Start reaching out to connect with others, as well as responding positively to those who contact you. Gather support. Next up, you need to get enough people to start having regular public meetings – these are not Sunday Assembly services, but gatherings of interested folk to both talk about living better, helping often and wondering more, but also to lay the groundwork for being the organising team for a Sunday Assembly chapter.
4. Warming Up!
When you are meeting regularly (at least monthly), you can become a Warm-Up group (this form is just so we can add you to the resources!). This will mean that your status on our map will change, and we will help to publicise your meetings, again so that others can find you. To become a warm-up, you should have a regular meeting place, and at least five organisers from different families/groups- it really helps to diversity in order to succeed. Being a Warm-Up group means you will get:
- A Warm-Up listing on our map, with contact details for your regular public meetings.
- Some starter graphics and logos to help you set up Twitter and Facebook pages.
- More information and access to our ‘Big Book’ of know-how.
- Access to a Sunday Assembly guide who can give you advice and encouragement.
- Access to our Warm-Up google group, where you can ask questions and learn about more about starting up from other Warm-Up folk and experienced organisers.
5. On the road to Launch
You’re now on the road to launching your Sunday Assembly chapter, hooray! You’ll be looking for a venue, finding speakers and musicians, reaching out to other groups in your area, building relationships with your local media, waiting for the right moment to launch. January and September are great times to launch, but you might choose to have some pre-launch events to try things out and reach out even more. It’s much easier to interest people in something that’s actually happening. You will need to complete our application form and have your application accepted before you launch – which needs at least ten organisers from different families or groups. From our experience over the past 18 months, it’s really important to have a strong team to start up- we don’t want you to burn out! To get the application form, just email our Community Creator, Jacqueline at sundayassembly@gmail.com.
6. Launch time!
This is where you’re nearly ready to go…. You launch monthly services in your town, and begin to engage the congregation in SMOUPS, social activities, community action and other events. When you’ve launched, you become a Sunday Assembly Start-up congregation.
You will get:
- A Start-Up congregation listing on our map and listing in our materials
- Your own domain on our website: yourtown.sundayassembly.com
- Full access to our graphics packages and graphics ‘factory’.
- Access to our SAE Hosts Network organisers google group and resources
- To be a part of an awesome global community helping the world Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More!
7. Down the road….
Starting by running monthly services and other events, you will gain experience of the vitalizing and joyous impact of Sunday Assembly on everyone involved – the organisers, the congregation members, the people helped by your community action and outreach activities. After a minimum of six months you will be able to apply for accreditation, where two experienced organisers will assess and accredit your activities and help you build and improve.
Good luck! We’re looking forward to hearing how it goes…
