Atheist Church

May 4, 2015 by Jennyc 5 Comments

For the past few years I’ve felt something was missing. Years of experience and trying really really hard to be a good Christian girl have forced me to conclude that this is not a God-shaped hole that can be filled by finding the Church that suits me.

I’ve found much comfort and learned so much through exploring humanism, “militant” atheism, secularism and even briefly googled buddhism and the Unitarian Church.

All interesting but I still feel like my young children can’t really engage as fully in the community as I would like without me getting over my aversion to God.

Now I have stumbled across something new – The Sunday Assembly.

The Atheist Church – except it’s not an Atheist Church and that’s the best bit!

The Sunday Assembly is a godless congregation that celebrates life. Our motto: live better, help often, wonder more. Our mission: to help everyone find and fulfill their full potential. Our vision: a godless congregation in every town, city and village that wants one.

We are here for everyone who wants to:

• Live Better. We aim to provide inspiring, thought-provoking and practical ideas that help people to live the lives they want to lead and be the people they want to be

• Help Often. Assemblies are communities of action building lives of purpose, encouraging us all to help anyone who needs it to support each other

• Wonder More. Hearing talks, singing as one, listening to readings and even playing games helps us to connect with each other and the awesome world we live in.

The Sunday Assembly

1. Is 100% celebration of life. We are born from nothing and go to nothing. Let’s enjoy it together.
2. Has no doctrine. We have no set texts so we can make use of wisdom from all sources.
3. Has no deity. We don’t do supernatural but we also won’t tell you you’re wrong if you do.
4. Is radically inclusive. Everyone is welcome, regardless of their beliefs – this is a place of love that is open and accepting.
5. Is free to attend, not-for-profit and volunteer run. We ask for donations to cover our costs and support our community work.
6. Has a community mission. Through our Action Heroes (you!), we will be a force for good.
7. Is independent. We do not accept sponsorship or promote outside businesses, organisations or services
8. Is here to stay. With your involvement, The Sunday Assembly will make the world a better place
9. We won’t tell you how to live, but will try to help you do it as well as you can
10. And remember point 1… The Sunday Assembly is a celebration of the one life we know we have

What should you expect from a Sunday Assembly event?

Just by being with us you should be energised, vitalised, restored, repaired, refreshed and recharged. No matter what the subject of the Assembly, it will solace worries, provoke kindness and inject a touch of transcendence into the everyday.

But life can be tough… It is. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, we have moments of weakness or life just isn’t fair. We want The Sunday Assembly to be a house of love and compassion, where, no matter what your situation, you are welcomed, accepted and loved.

Most of all, have fun, be nice and join in.

Sounds a bit too good to be true. I’m still looking for the catch. We travelled to attend an event and it was honestly fantastic. When I look back objectively it was not the greatest music I ever heard, it was not the greatest speaking I have ever listened to and I certainly still felt a little bit sceptical that there wasn’t some other agenda. But on the day we were, what I can only describe as buzzing afterwards and set on trying to create a local group.We felt refreshed, reinvigorated and we met some genuinely lovely people.

You can argue about what everyone does or does not believe until the cows come home but I am sold on the idea that connecting with other people is the number one thing that brings people comfort and happiness.

Even if you live in a place without an Assembly close by (and just wait because they are rapidly spreading) it is important to remember that there are many ways to connect with other people and it is human to want to do so. Sometimes we have to forget this us-and-them mentality and rememeber that even religious folk may believe some crazy things but they are ultimately just trying to connect with their own communities and get that same feeling of belonging and that is human, not spiritual.

My vision would be that everyone has a choice. If you need a place to go and connect with other people, no questions asked, you can choose to go to Church or you can choose to go to your Sunday Assembly/community group. Somewhere where your belief or unbelief is irrelevant. Creating that choice for people will give far more power to atheists than continually telling people they are wrong to feel connected to alive when they worship.