Sunday Assembly

What it is

A community-based organization that runs a global network of over 90 chapters. Members gather regularly (often monthly) for events featuring curated speakers, live music, opportunities to volunteer, and time to actually meet each other. The three core values are *Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More*. The form is borrowed from religious services. The content is secular and life-oriented.

The model started in London in 2013 and spread internationally. It is volunteer-run, free to attend, and locally autonomous within a shared framework.

Why it works

Secular life lacks rhythmic gathering. Many people who don't identify with a religious tradition still want what religion provides: a regular reason to be in a room with other people, a curated experience, a sense of shared values, a place where they're known. Sunday Assembly is one of the more developed answers to that hunger.

The weekly or monthly cadence matters. A one-off event creates a one-off relationship. A recurring assembly builds friendships across months. Regulars know each other. New attendees can become regulars within a few visits.

What you need

• Time: Weekly to monthly gatherings, 1 to 2 hours per meeting.
• People: 10 to 20 core organizers. 50 to 300+ attendees per chapter.
• Space: A public venue with seating capacity. Community centers, theaters, halls, sometimes churches that rent.
• Materials: Speaker invitations, music playlists or live performers, signage, refreshments.
• Skills: Event facilitation, volunteer management, public speaking, community outreach.
• Energy level: Medium to high for organizers. Low for attendees.

How to host it

1. Engage with Sunday Assembly. They support startup chapters with model agendas, recommended speakers, music guidance, volunteer structure, and a network of other chapters to learn from.
2. Build a small organizing team. 5 to 10 people initially. Distribute work: programming, venue, communications, hospitality, volunteer coordination.
3. Find a venue. Community centers, theaters, libraries with auditoriums, schools, sometimes generously priced rentals from faith communities. Affordable and accessible.
4. Design the gathering. A typical hour-and-a-half:

• Welcome and opening song (often communal singing).
• Reading or short story.
• Featured speaker on a life theme (15 to 30 minutes).
• More music, sometimes performed by a local artist.
• Community-building moment (small group discussion, sharing, volunteer opportunity).
• Closing song.
• Refreshments and conversation afterward.

1. Curate speakers thoughtfully. Local thinkers, doers, artists. Themes that matter: belonging, work, change, grief, joy, ethics, civic life. Avoid speakers selling something.
2. Build music into the experience. A house band, a local musician, or thoughtful playlists. Live music outperforms recorded for energy.
3. Promote. Local cultural networks, neighborhood lists, secular and humanist circles. Word of mouth carries the most weight after the first few gatherings.
4. Sustain it. The first year is the hardest. Once a chapter is established and has a core of regulars, the rhythm carries itself.

Variations

Smaller version. 20 to 40 attendees in a living room or small cafe. Lower stakes, deeper conversations.

Themed assembly. Around current events, seasonal transitions, or specific life moments (graduation season, election week, holiday season).

Civic-leaning variant. See [Civic Saturday](../05-bridging-difference/civic-saturday.md), which is similar in form but more explicitly oriented around civic life.

Spiritual-but-not-religious variant. Some chapters have woven in more contemplative practice (silence, meditation, ritual) without becoming religious.

Stories from neighborhoods

Sunday Assembly launched in London in 2013, founded by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. Within a few years, chapters had launched in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Sunday Assembly London regularly hosts 200+ attendees. Chapters in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and many other cities have built durable communities. Members describe the experience as providing meaningful connection and purpose, often filling a gap they didn't know they had until they encountered it.

The organization has navigated the challenges of any growing volunteer-led network: some chapters thrive, some pause, some adapt the model significantly. The open structure has helped the model survive in many forms.

Where to learn more

• The home: Sunday Assembly
• Starting a chapter: sundayassembly.org/start-your-own
• Adjacent recipes: [Civic Saturday](../05-bridging-difference/civic-saturday.md), [Microgrant Gathering](./microgrant-gathering.md), [Story-Sharing Potluck](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/story-sharing-potluck.md)

Details

• steps: **Engage with [Sunday Assembly](https://www.sundayassembly.org/).** They support startup chapters with model agendas, recommended speakers, music guidance, volunteer structure, and a network of other chapters to learn from., **Build a small organizing team.** 5 to 10 people initially. Distribute work: programming, venue, communications, hospitality, volunteer coordination., **Find a venue.** Community centers, theaters, libraries with auditoriums, schools, sometimes generously priced rentals from faith communities. Affordable and accessible., **Design the gathering.** A typical hour-and-a-half: - Welcome and opening song (often communal singing). - Reading or short story. - Featured speaker on a life theme (15 to 30 minutes). - More music, sometimes performed by a local artist. - Community-building moment (small group discussion, sharing, volunteer opportunity). - Closing song. - Refreshments and conversation afterward., **Curate speakers thoughtfully.** Local thinkers, doers, artists. Themes that matter: belonging, work, change, grief, joy, ethics, civic life. Avoid speakers selling something., **Build music into the experience.** A house band, a local musician, or thoughtful playlists. Live music outperforms recorded for energy., **Promote.** Local cultural networks, neighborhood lists, secular and humanist circles. Word of mouth carries the most weight after the first few gatherings., **Sustain it.** The first year is the hardest. Once a chapter is established and has a core of regulars, the rhythm carries itself.
• file path: recipes/11-civic-rhythms/sunday-assembly.md
• variations: **Smaller version.** 20 to 40 attendees in a living room or small cafe. Lower stakes, deeper conversations. **Themed assembly.** Around current events, seasonal transitions, or specific life moments (graduation season, election week, holiday season). **Civic-leaning variant.** See [Civic Saturday](../05-bridging-difference/civic-saturday.md), which is similar in form but more explicitly oriented around civic life. **Spiritual-but-not-religious variant.** Some chapters have woven in more contemplative practice (silence, meditation, ritual) without becoming religious.
• ingredients: {"time":"Weekly to monthly gatherings, 1 to 2 hours per meeting.","space":"A public venue with seating capacity. Community centers, theaters, halls, sometimes churches that rent.","people":"10 to 20 core organizers. 50 to 300+ attendees per chapter.","skills":"Event facilitation, volunteer management, public speaking, community outreach.","materials":"Speaker invitations, music playlists or live performers, signage, refreshments.","energy_level":"Medium to high for organizers. Low for attendees."}
• where to learn more: - The home: [Sunday Assembly](https://www.sundayassembly.org/) - Starting a chapter: [sundayassembly.org/start-your-own](https://www.sundayassembly.org/start-your-own) - Adjacent recipes: [Civic Saturday](../05-bridging-difference/civic-saturday.md), [Microgrant Gathering](./microgrant-gathering.md), [Story-Sharing Potluck](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/story-sharing-potluck.md)
• stories from neighborhoods: **Sunday Assembly** launched in London in 2013, founded by **Sanderson Jones** and **Pippa Evans**. Within a few years, chapters had launched in North America, Europe, and Australia. **Sunday Assembly London** regularly hosts 200+ attendees. Chapters in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and many other cities have built durable communities. Members describe the experience as providing meaningful connection and purpose, often filling a gap they didn't know they had until they encountered it. The organization has navigated the challenges of any growing volunteer-led network: some chapters thrive, some pause, some adapt the model significantly. The open structure has helped the model survive in many forms.