The 2026 international Sunday Assembly gathering and conference in Atlanta July 16-19) was a fabulous success. Assemblers gathered from around the USA and across the pond to connect, play together, talk about how to Sunday Assemble better, and in particular to get creative in a packed and varied program.
The theme was Welcome Y’all – welcoming growth, creativity and community. Everyone received a creativity booklet with artistic prompts, and the tradition of ‘love letters’ (appreciative messages in envelopes) was maintained. New chapters like Fort Worth TX and returnees like Detroit MI joined with long-time chapters from Nashville, East Bay, Chapel Hill, Silicon Valley and many more. The venue (The Supermarket ATL – not a supermarket, obviously) worked well and provided a great space, close to handy and interesting stores and neighborhood restaurants.
“The event was a chance to connect at a different level”, says SA East Bay’s Shawn Shih. “We had such a good time.” The all-star band led by Steven Phelps (Nashville) and Crista Alvey (Silicon Valley) also featured musicians from Chapel Hill and Atlanta. The annual cabaret was another hit, with assemblers from all around showing their (sometimes unexpected) talents in an entertainment definitely “by the people, for the people”. Restaurant Roulette was well received, a chance to go to a local eatery with (as yet unknown) assemblers and connect over dinner.
All the keynote speakers were excellent. Douglas Scott, acclaimed choreographer and founder of Full Radius Dance, kicked things off with an appeal to ‘let’s get radical’. Full Radius Dance has established a high reputation for their work as a physically inclusive and highly professional company. The Saturday keynote, “Who’s Your Neighbor?”, came from 285 South journalist Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow. 285 South launched in August 2021, creating the first ever English language publication dedicated to Metro Atlanta’s growing immigrant and refugee communities. Both these keynotes spoke into Sunday Assembly’s mission to ‘welcome all who welcome all’.
The workshop program was threaded into three headings: creativity, growth and community. There was high praise for American Humanist Association organizing director Jake Via’s session on ‘play connects us’. Ashley Silfra (Atlanta) was busy, leading workshops in the both the growth strand (magical metaphors), and the creativity strand (Scottish country dancing). Gareth Dee (SA Brighton) led a session on storytelling, and Kishka Bluspiro (SA Santa Cruz) encouraged everyone to explore their creative sides by challenging ideas that ‘it can’t be’.
The whole event culminated (of course) with a Sunday Assembly on the Sunday morning. Brett Schultz (a ‘pastor’s kid who ended up a normal guy’) put together and presented an improv show with the help of some brave assemblers. Everyone sang, talked, thought and connected – just like we do at every Sunday Assembly. Huge thanks go to Ross Llewallyn and the SA Atlanta team for organizing a great event.
Conversations are going on about plans for future events. In the meantime, Sunday Assemblies around the world will keeping striving to Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More.
News update! Shawn Shih from Sunday Assembly East Bay will be visiting Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan, on 21-22 August 2026. He is getting together an opportunity to meet and share information with individuals that may be interested in building a Sunday Assembly community there. Interested individuals can contact Sunday Assembly Taipei on Facebook or via Instagram.
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