Talking about death can feel intimidating, but every discussion of endings is really a conversation about the meaning of the stories we've lived up to that point. This month, Sunday Assembly goes on an exploration of mortality– what scares us, what makes life worth living, and what values and gifts we want to leave behind.

Featuring:

Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, Joy - these emotions fill our daily lives, and it's quite easy to imagine why each contributes significantly to our survival. What about the uniquely ephemeral emotion of "awe"? When and why do we experience it, why might evolution have selected for it, and how might we evoke it to tell better stories, or to be better listeners? Michael Frederickson, Pixar technical director, is our guest speaker.

Can you imagine what it's like to see the world flat? How much of what we see do we take for granted? How would you drive, park, walk down stairs, play tennis, or dance with a partner?

Did you know that 5% of the population have asymmetric eyes and cannot see in 3D? Susanna Zaraysky will speak about her life seeing in 2D and the vision therapy she did to rewire her brain to see in more depth.

Come out and feel the summer love on July 9! We welcome Michelle Tran to speak to pride and acceptance - queerness and healing. Michelle's parents are parents are Vietnamese refugees and came over to the United States in 1975.As a worker at a domestic violence shelter, Michelle teaches violence prevention to high school students with a focus on gender-based violence and the role of traditional ideas of masculinity.

Local poet Dave Denny will be reading his poetry and the SASV Band will be leading us in some feel good summer songs for singing together. (Paws up!)

Maybe it is just because it is the summer of love, but we are thinking about time travel.

Ken Wharton Ken Wharton, Professor of Physics and Astronomy from SJSU will examine the possibilities of time travel. So set your time machines now so you don't miss 11am on June 11.

We meet at 890 Church Street in Mountain View in a funky old building called the Masonic Lodge. There's tea, coffee, and donuts for socializing and a live band leading us in four fun pop songs to sing together.

Let's show up and be heard! Bring signs, your favorite SASV gear, and water/snacks.

**Update: Let's meet at the donkey statue behind City Hall. It will be easier to gather there and then walk over to the front of City Hall, where the event begins. Look for our bright green banner. We also have a table in Caesar Chavez for the rally.

Contact me at info@sundayassemblysiliconvalley.org

WHEN

April 22, 2017 at 10:30am

WHERE

San Jose City Hall

CONTACT

Gillian 408-205-0375

Humanity is something we all have in common. We are continuing to explore how much we can do right now and have the inspiring Hank Pellissier, of the Brighter Brain Institute, speaking. He will tell us about his humanist work in western Uganda - there's schools, an orphanage, and twelve humanist clinics.

Couldn't we all use a positive focus right about now?

And if that's not enough, we'll be singing our hearts out, hearing stories from members of the community, drinking some freshly-roasted coffee and eating one or two delicious baked treats afterwards, too.

What Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and Other Nones are Teaching Us about Religion Today.

Are nones are "reinventing religion" as a natural rather than (necessarily) supernatural phenomenon? Join author and SCU Professor Elizabeth Drescher to talk about setting aside arguments and doctrinal beliefs as measures of religion. Learn about more meaningful indicators of what religion is and does.

2017 at last! Join us at 11:00am on Sunday, January 8 for live music from our band, inspiring contributions from your community, and a thought-provoking talk by Danny Harris, program director from the Knight Foundation.

What will Silicon Valley leave behind? Many of us feel powerless and worried about the world we are helping to shape and the impact it will have on the next generation. Come learn about philanthropy and our community's role in leaving a legacy of empathy and beauty.

We'll sing pop songs, share news from our community, and celebrate being alive!

Come celebrate our 3rd birthday with a special assembly featuring local craft beer and board games!

Our guest speaker will be local brewer Matt Hartenstein from Taplands. Learn about home brewing and try lots of new and classic games. Plus, assembler and wonder host Jon Selover will bring his home brew along for a tasting - plus root beer, too!