Religion
Related: About this forumAtheist church spreads to Paris
Last edited Mon Sep 29, 2014, 04:29 PM - Edit history (1)
First Sunday Assembly in French capital gathers 130 people for singalongs, party games and to celebrate life
Sunday Assembly in Islington. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Anne Penketh in Paris
The Guardian, Sunday 28 September 2014 11.31 EDT
In a festive atmosphere evoking a French holiday camp crossed with a Gospel service, Sanderson Jones, the evangelist of a godless church, brought his message of joy to Parisians for the first time on Sunday.
Jones, a British standup comic, announced in French that the citys first Sunday Assembly would celebrate life, before a young woman read a poem and the French philosopher Charles Pépin spoke about the cosmic nature of joy without God.
The gathering of 130 people jumped to their feet and waved their hands in the air when Alexandrie, Alexandra, a hit by the late pop star Claude François, rang out in a small hall beside the boulevard periphérique.
The hour-long event, punctuated by more singalongs and a party game, ended with a moment of silent reflection before coffee was served. A collection was organised to pay for the hall.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/28/atheist-church-sunday-assembly-paris
immoderate
(20,885 posts)Some of my atheist acquaintances, have extended to Pot Smokers Anonymous, and Pagan Churches to accomplish what atheist meetups sometimes lack.
--imm
rug
(82,333 posts)Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)Girl Scouts fighting
RandySF
(59,158 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)But, then "ekklesia" itself means assembly.
n, pl -siae ( -zɪˌiː )
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) (in formal Church usage) a congregation
2. (Historical Terms) the assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state