Join us for a HumanLight Celebration! Officially observed on December 23rd, HumanLight is a secular holiday during this season of good cheer and festive gatherings. Multiple Assemblies are coming together to celebrate on Dec 12th from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM PST (starting an hour earlier than our usual assemblies).
Be part of this joyous expression of positive humanist ideals and values: Reason, Compassion, Hope, and Humanity!
Our November Assembly features guest speaker Kim Cobb, Director of the Global Change Program.
Dr. Cobb is a strong advocate for women in science and champions diversity and inclusion in all that she does. She is also devoted to the communication of climate change to the public through media appearances, public speaking, and social media channels, and enjoys frequent exchanges with policymakers about climate impacts and solutions.
Our October Assembly is our annual Remembrance theme.
Jean Higham will talk about her experience as an atheist in offering secular words of comfort to religious loved ones who are dying or grieving. One resource she'll talk about is a book by Greta Christina, called "Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God."
Join us for a fun special event at Assembly in September! One of SASV's goals is to build an inclusive community, and that's what this Assembly is all about.
You're invited to our August online Assembly!
Our guest speaker, Michael Fredrickson of Pixar, will be speaking on the emotion of awe. Mighty Mike McGee will be back to read some of his poetry, too!
Greg will be giving his "Doing Your Best" talk, and we'll have a moment of reflection, "Life Happens," and of course, singalong videos!
Conversation tables are available before Assembly from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM and at noon after Assembly.
Our July Assembly features guest speaker Brian Glass of NASA, talking to us about "Planetary Protection" as it applies to the risks of microbes crossing between planets.
We'll be singing along with the band to Saturday in the Park by Chicago, Paradise by Coldplay, and Rocket Man by Elton John.
Join us online for socializing, sing-alongs, a reading, an exciting guest speaker, a member's Doing Your Best talk, a moment of reflection, and life updates from attendees! Steve Sergeant will be our emcee.
Summer Solstice (and Father’s Day) fall on a Sunday, one week after our June Assembly. Let's celebrate at Assembly!
Our guest speaker, Mark Green, “developed for himself what is now called Atheopaganism: a supernatural-free religious tradition of celebrations, observances, meditations and other meaningful practices, the goal of which is to increase happiness both individually and in society, and to foster the development of a more sustainable, just and kind world.” https://theapsocietyorg.wordpress.com
This is Mother’s Day. We won’t try offering any moms virtual mimosas, but you can honor the women in your pod by offering them one while you all sit back and enjoy the celebration! Maybe you should make one for yourself, too.
Our guest speaker, Megan Hochstrasser, Ph.D., is a CRISPR expert and professional science communicator with the Innovative Genomics Institute, and her mission is to bridge the gap between researchers and the public.
We’ve come a long way since Darwin first introduced his rudimentary theory of evolution. Scientists have recently learned how to modify an individual’s genome. CRISPR, an acronym for a description of nucleotides on certain stretches of DNA, is the new earth-shaking genome-editing tool that does this.
Our guest speaker is Benjamin Bergen, Professor of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego. He’ll discuss research showing that humans are in fact quite resilient in the face of ambiguous language, from homophones (to, two, and too) to headlines (Children’s Stool Good For Use in Garden).
Join our celebration! Assembly also includes a reading, how a member is doing their best, and a moment of reflection. As usual, we'll rejoice by singing along with our band!
Be sure to register in advance. More details coming!
