Sunday Assembly starts 3rd year in Christchurch with Electric Vehicle event.

Sunday Assembly is kicking off its third year in Christchurch with a look at the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) as a response to climate change and ever-rising fuel prices.

Local EV enthusiast Duncan Aitken will be speaking about the benefits of EVs and helping shine a light on the current options in electric vehicles. As well as discussion, attendees will be able to view and possibly test-drive one of the three Nissan Leaf electric vehicles which will be making an appearance.

“An electric vehicle joyride is probably not something you’d get at a regular church,” says Sunday Assembly Christchurch co-founder, William Stewart. “But Sunday Assembly (SA) isn’t exactly your average church either. We’re regularly called an ‘Atheist church’, but SA is really just a non-religious alternative for people who want to be part of a community without necessarily having to share a belief system.”

Spokesperson and co-founder Cam Brinsdon says “the whole idea behind SA is that it’s all the best parts of church, but without the religion part which can divide people. We get a range of attendees from all different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. We might sing a song from the Proclaimers and then have a guest speaker talking about Psychology of Moral Behavior and finish with tea and baking. We find speakers on a range of diverse topics and the format is similar to a Ted Talk.”

Since starting in Christchurch three years ago, SA are now up to their 32nd Assembly, and regularly attract upwards of 30 attendees each month. Past topics have ranged from ‘How to be psychologically resilient’, ‘Effective altruism’ and ‘The evolution of medicine’. Most recently, councillor Raf Manji gave a talk on ‘The pros and cons of a Universal Basic Income’.

“Sunday Assembly’s motto is ‘Live better, help often, wonder more’, so there’s room for a wide range of interesting topics,” says Stewart. “SA is a global phenomenon and there are other Assemblies in 70+ cities worldwide”.

Anyone interested in checking out this ‘not-church’ church is welcome to attend. Sunday Assembly meets at 11am this Sunday, and then on the last Sunday of every month, at the Christchurch South Library community room, 66 Colombo St. Morning tea is provided.

ENDS

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