Socials

  • Feb Social 25 Feb 2023, 11am-2:30pm, Couch Campo Lane
  • Mar Social 28 Mar 2023, 7pm, Showroom Cinema
  • Apr Social 30 Apr 2023, 11am-2pm, Couch Campo Lane
  • May Social 30 May 2023, 7pm, Showroom Cinema
  • June Social 25 June 2023, 11am-2pm, Couch
  • July Social 26 July 2023, 7pm, Showroom Cinema
  • August Social 31 August 2023, 7pm, Showroom Cinema
  • 17th September 2023, Couch Campo Lane
  • 29th October 2023, 11am-1:30pm, Showroom Cinema
  • 26th November 2023, 11am-2pm, Couch, Campo Lane
  • 14th January 2024, 2pm-5pm, LYKKE, New Era Square
  • 26th February 2024, 11am-2:30PM, Couch, Campo Lane
  • 25th March 2024, 7pm, Showroom Cinema

UPCOMING EVENTS

25th March 2024 – Cafe social

Showroom Cinema, Bar area, 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX

Monday 25th March 7pm – 9:30pm

If you’re new to humanism and want to find out what it’s all about, this is a great chance to meet some fellow humanists. Lots of people who are new find this a great way to find a bit more about what we do.
Look out for our table sign or ask at the bar when you arrive.

We look forward to seeing you there.

PAST EVENTS

25th Feb 2024 – Cafe social

Couch, Campo Lane, Sheffield S1 2EG

Sunday 25th February 11am – 2:30pm

If you’re new to humanism and want to find out what it’s all about, this is a great chance to meet some fellow humanists. Lots of people who are new find this a great way to find a bit more about what we do.
Look out for our table sign or ask at the bar when you arrive.

We look forward to seeing you there.

19th Feb 2024 – An illustrated talk

Thomas Paine, The Forgotten Enlightenment Hero

The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.’

Monday, 19th February 2024 at 7:30pm

Delivered by Paul Fitzgerald – better known as “Polyp”

Drawing of Thomas Paine

“An illustrated talk, based on my recent graphic novel biography, outlining the ideas and almost hilariously dramatic life of this great advocate of free speech, rationality, science and democracy. His writings quite literally sparked the American War of Independence, and yet he’s been almost whitewashed from popular history… because, I’ll argue, he was one of the first working-class public figures to apply a blowtorch of plainly spoken logic to religious fundamentalism in his infamous bestselling book The Age of Reason. Plus: he was once a pirate! HARRRRR!”

‘Polyp’ is a professional cartoonist, graphic novelist and science educator. His recent works include PETERLOO, about the infamous Manchester massacre of 1819, and ‘thINK’ a collection of his skepticism cartoons. He’s talked to a range of skeptic groups around the country, and organized live debates about a whole range of conspiracy theories, some light hearted, some tense, political and alarmingly confrontational… copies of his books will be available to buy on the night, but please bring cash as we don’t have a card reader.

The venue

The talk will be at Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield S2 2TP.

Press the buzzer to be let in and ask for the “concert room”. Feel free to buy a drink at the bar and bring it in with you, and arrive early to avoid the queue at the bar.

Getting there

There is free parking at the venue, and it’s about a 10 minute walk from Sheffield railway station or bus interchange.

Registration

Please register for this event here.

LYKKE, 11 New Era Square, Sheffield S2 4RB

Sunday 14th January 2pm – 5pm

This coming January you are invited to a joint “Secular Social” with our friends at Sheffield Sunday Assembly.

For more information please see the Facebook event page.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Christmas Pub Quiz – 2023

Room 5, Showroom Cinema 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX

Monday 18th December 7pm – 10pm

Once again we are hosting a “pub quiz” for the holiday season. This time it will be in a private meeting room in the Showroom Cinema complex. You will be able to buy drinks and food at the adjoining Showroom Cafe/Bar.

And there will be prizes!

All are welcome to attend. You don’t need to be a member of Humanists UK, nor do you need to live in Sheffield!

Is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) only possible for believers?

Room 5, Showroom Cinema 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX

Sunday 29th October 2pm – 4pm

A key component of Alcoholics Anonymous is submitting to a 12-step programme that emphasises submitting to a ‘higher power’. Although the organisation currently claims this higher power can be anything, it certainly carries religious or ‘spiritual’ connotations.

For non-religious people looking to go alcohol free, submitting to a ‘higher power’ might not be the best route forward.

The speaker is an alcoholic with over 30 years of sobriety in AA who identifies as an atheist. She will talk about the history of AA, her own path through the Steps and touch on some of the criticisms leveled at the Fellowship today.

Everyone is welcome to attend. As well as being a fantastic opportunity to navigate this important topic, it’s a chance for anyone curious about their local humanist community to meet us, and get involved with our events going forward. Registration is free but essential.

Stories From The Pandemic – Exhibition Visit

Millennium Gallery, Arundel Gate, S1 2PP | Sun 5 Mar 11am

Sheffield Humanists will making a group trip to the Millennium Gallery Exhibition, Stories From The Pandemic.

This exhibition has been created by a variety of groups including Compassionate Sheffield and Sheffield City Council. Although not directly involved in the development of the exhibition, Sheffield Humanists have been a part of the council’s Covid Memorial Reference Group. We are happy to see this work come to fruition and we look forward to seeing you there.

We will be meeting at the Arundel Gate entrance to the Millennium Gallery.

Joy Cranham: Faith to Faithless

Mon 24 Jan, 7pm, online

With Leeds Humanists and York Humanists.

Joy Cranham from Faith to Faithless will be talking to us about her experiences and the work of Faith to Faithless. Faith to Faithless is a service of Humanists UK which helps those leaving high-control religion.

You must register to attend this event otherwise you will not receive the Zoom link.

Christmas Pub Quiz – 2022

Mon 12 Dec from 19:30

Showroom Cinema, 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX
Please register to come as table space will be limited. We’ll be having a short Christmas Quiz and some drinks to boot. We hope to see you there.

The Campaign for Humanist Marriage

Mon 14 Nov 2022, 7pm, online

With Leeds Humanists and York Humanists.

REGISTER HERE

Leeds Humanists, Sheffield Humanists, and York Humanists are joining together for an event looking at the campaign for humanist marriage.

Tallulah Gordon, Humanist Marriage Campaigner at Humanists UK, will speak on how we can help promote the cause of legalising humanist marriage, and how you can help campaign to get the law changed.

Cafe Social – 20 November 2022

Couch Cafe | Campo Lane

If you’re new to humanism and want to find out what it’s all about, this is a great chance to meet some fellow humanists. Lots of people who are new find this a great way to find a bit more about what we do.

We look forward to seeing you there.

October Social | 19 Oct

Showroom Cinema, 7-9pm

Picture of Sheffield with skyline and greenery. Text: Sheffield Humanists Cafe Meetup Sun 22 May 11am - 2pm Couch Campo lane

Couch, 29-31 Campo Lane, Sheffield, S1 2EG

Come for informal chat and to share a drink with fellow humanists in Sheffield. You’ll also hear from Raj – our branch coordinator – about goings on with Sheffield Humanists.

We’re also having our first event in a public area. We have a table booked in the main bar area. We’ll have a “Sheffield Humanists” sign on our table so look out for it.

We look forward to seeing you!

MONTHLY MEETUP – APRIL

Mon 25 Apr, 7pm | Showroom Cinema – Bar Area

15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX

Text: Christmas social Tues 20 Dec 7pm Showroom Cinema Sheffield Humanists

Image of a cup with a spoon on the left and a red bowl of popcorn on a table with a fire blurred in the background

Showroom 5, Showroom Cinema, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX

You will need an NHS Covid Pass for this event.

Ariane Sherine is a British musical stand-up comedian, comedy writer, author, novelist and journalist. She created the Atheist Bus Campaign, which ran in 13 countries during January 2009. She will be talking to us about her new book, How to Live to 100.

Ariane has always been determined to live into her hundreds, but never knew how. With so much conflicting and confusing health information out there, she didn’t have a clue where to start until she met David Conrad, a public health expert, who helped her to weigh up all the research and evidence and explained exactly what to do to live a long and healthy life.

And together, they’ve decided to tell you how to live to a hundred too.

This book has all the facts, stats, inappropriate jokes and shameless puns you could ever need to make it to your eleventh decade. The evidence is given for a hundred factors that affect life expectancy – everything from green tea to gardening, sex to sweeteners. And celebrities weigh in with their own thoughts too, so you’ll find contributions from Derren Brown, Richard Osman, Lou Sanders, Charlie Brooker, Konnie Huq, Robin Ince, Jeremy Vine, Clive Anderson and many more.

The event will be in Showroom 5, round the back and to the left of the stairs to the main cinema.

Image of Lindsay van Dijk with details of her upcoming talk. Sheffield Humanists logo, Text: Pioneering Humanist Care In the NHS, with Lindsay van Dijk, 7pm Wed 21 Oct 2021 Showroom Cinema

In-person or online.

Please do not forget your covid pass

Lindsay van Dijk was the first humanist to lead an NHS chaplaincy team when in 2018 she was appointed as Lead Chaplain of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s Chaplaincy and Pastoral Support. Earlier this year, she came to the Steel City, when Sheffield Teaching Hospitals appointed her as their Head of Chaplaincy. She became the most senior humanist pastoral carer to take up a role within the NHS.

Lindsay will tell us about how she ended up at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and what work she’s been doing in her new role at the trust.Lindsay will speak to us online *but* we will be meeting at Showroom Cinema to hear her speak. If however, you can’t make it, you can access her talk via Zoom.

In-person: go to Showroom 5, round the back and to the left of the stair used to access the cinema.

Schedule

  • 7-7:40pm – Lindsay’s talk
  • 7:40-8pm – Questions
  • 8pm onwards – Drinks (in-person only)

Pub Social

Mon 27th Sept 2021 | 7pm

After many, many months from seeing you all, we are finally having an in person pub social!We will be in Showroom 5. (Rather than going down the stairs to the cinema, go round the back of them and through to the door to the left. If you get lost, ask a member of staff.)

There are obviously going to be some rules:

1) Please bring a covid pass which you can get here: https://www.nhs.uk/condi…/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/
2) We’ll make an assessment on social distancing depending on the number of you who attend
3) If you have any symptoms or are “pinged” by the covid app, please do not attend. Otherwise – we hope to see you there!

Lock-ups and lockdowns: when can we take away liberty? An ethical discussion group

Tues 24 Aug 2021 | 7-8:30pm

On 23 March 2020, Britain went into lockdown. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, new emergency laws were passed on when, why, and for how long people could leave their homes. Since then, the UK has been in and out of lockdown, with different nations often taking different approaches to fighting the virus.

But what level of risk do we need to be at to constrain people’s liberty? How do those ethical principles apply to prisons? And where is line between the right to protest and the general obligation the government have to keep the population safe?

Join us as Rajin Chowdhury, branch coordinator for Sheffield Humanist and former President of the University of Sheffield Debating society, leads an ethical discussion group on this issue of depriving liberty.

In December 2019, Sheffield Humanists put together an action plan with Humanists UK for the next 2 years. Then, the pandemic hit and we had to make the switch to online events as soon as we could.

We want to get back on track. We have an ambitious plan for the future of our branch. We want to hold events each month that can entertain, inform and engage you. We want to campaign on behalf of humanists in the area. We want to provide a place for Humanists Professionals like School Speakers, Pastoral Carers and Celebrants to come together an network with one another as well as give people a chance to find out if it’s something that interests them.

Above all, we want to create a hub for humanism in Sheffield.

And we want you to be involved. What do you want from Sheffield Humanists? And what do you want to do for us?

Raj – our branch coordinator – will be giving a brief talk outlining our action plan. But the rest of the event will be dedicated to talking to you and you talking to us. We’ll explain the details on the day but whether it’s small you could do or you would like to do for us or whether it’s a big thing – we want to hear from you.

Hope to see you there

Register here by 5pm 23rd June

Audrey Simmons started out her life raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, whilst attending a Church of England school in South East London. She left religion in her mid-30s and later became an organiser with the Association of Black Humanists.

Audrey will be in conversation with Rajin Chowdhury, Chair of Sheffield Humanists and ex-Muslim.

The Association of Black Humanists supports people, primarily but not exclusively from the African and African Caribbean community, who have left or wish to leave religion and are trying to rebuild their lives in a culture that wholeheartedly supports the concept of god, regardless of the denomination or perspective that it may come from.

Audrey is a presenter on Feferity Radio, an online radio station that presents African and African Caribbean music and issues. She is also a humanist UK wedding celebrant.

In her everyday life, she has spent the last 20 years working in the Deaf community as a British Sign Language interpreter.

Register here by 5pm 23rd June

Picture of Teddy Prout with text, Sheffield Humanists, Banning Gay Conversion Therapy, Teddy Prout, Director of Community Services 25th May 7pm to 9pm

In 2018 the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, vowed to ban gay conversion therapy. Nearly three years later and no ban is yet enacted by the UK Government. Teddy Prout will talk about why LGBT Humanists have fought for a ban for decades, the personal cost of conversion therapy, and why the ban needs to be law.

Teddy is an ex-evangelical Christian with personal experience of conversion therapy from his teenage years, was an advisor to the Ozanne Foundation’s ‘Faith and Sexuality’ report, and is Humanists UK’s Director of Community Services, overseeing LGBT Humanists.

Chaplaincy was a difficult job to do from home when the pandemic started. So Jo Mutlow sat down and wrote a book which answered a sceptical chaplain who had once asked what on earth a Humanist chaplain could say without prayers and scriptures to guide her.

She is Regional Coordinator for Pastoral Carers in the Yorkshire and Humber region and a board member of the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network (NRPSN).

Currently working at Bradford Teaching Hospitals to ensure that non-religious patients and staff also benefit from pastoral and spiritual care, Jo will talk about the challenges of gaining entry to chaplaincy teams and the rewards of being there.

Here is an interview with Jo last summer, discussing her work during the covid crisis: https://humanism.org.uk/…/a-commitment-to-be-there-for…/

Picture of Professor Mark Lorch in front a photo of vaccines. Text: When the facts don’t work – how to talk to science deniers Prof Mark Lorch

via Zoom, 7:30-9:30pm

Skepticism around vaccines is an acute problem in the midst of the covid pandemic as vaccines are key to us coming out of lockdown. Professor Mark Lorch will discuss ways to talk to antivaxxers about vaccines. He shared his thoughts at The Conversation back in November.

He is a chemist, writer and science communicator. He started his research career working on protein folding and has since delved into many other aspects of biological chemistry ranging from how organisms’ signalling molecules will be affected by ocean acidification to monitoring micro-pollutants in waterways.

Alongside his research, Mark is passionate about communicating science to as wide an audience as possible. He founded and directs the Hull Science Festival and leads on widening participation projects in the region. He still finds time to contribute to various media outlets, his prose regularly appears in the mainstream press, and he pops up regularly on broadcast media. He has also provided science consultancy services to film and game production companies.

PUTTING THE NON-RELIGIOUS INTO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Luke Donnellan – Director of Understanding Humanism
, Humanists UK

Luke
Luke Donnellan is Humanists UK’s Director of Understanding Humanism. He manages the school speakers programme, teacher training, and production of educational resources.

via Zoom, Wed 24 Feb, 7-9pm

We have seen an increasing recognition that religious education must involve more than just teaching about religion and today humanism is being taught about as an example of a non-religious worldview in more schools than ever. However, there is still a long way to go for humanism to be given equal recognition to the world’s major religions within the curriculum.

Luke Donnellan will discuss the current state of RE in schools, explain the challenges to accurate, high-quality teaching about humanism, and describe work of Humanists UK’s education programme, Understanding Humanism.Luke is the Director of Understanding Humanism at Humanists UK, responsible for promoting the understanding of Humanism, especially in formal education settings. He manages Humanists UK’s school speakers programme; teacher training and CPD; and the production of educational resources.

Picture of Maddy Goodall, Text: ‘Well-doing and well-being’: a history of humanism in the UK

via Zoom, Tues 19 Jan, 7-8:30pm

In celebration of Humanists UK’s 125th anniversary, Maddy will be talking about the long history and significant influence of humanism in the UK, with a specific focus on the development of the organisation we know today. Humanists UK was formed in 1896 as the Union of Ethical Societies, but the roots of humanism are much deeper, and the ethical societies are just part of the story.

This talk draws on research carried out as part of the Humanist Heritage project, launched in 2019 to uncover and share the lesser known stories that make up the history of humanism in the UK. Maddy will also be discussing some specifics of humanism’s roots in the North of England.

Maddy is the Humanist Heritage Coordinator for Humanists UK, researching and writing about the history of humanism to celebrate the organisation’s 125th birthday. She has a background in education, museums, and community history, and is also Humanists UK’s Wikimedian in Residence.

Schedule

19:00 Madeleine’s talk
19:40 Break
19:50 Q&A

2020

FREE SPEECH AND WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE
An ethical discussion group

Thurs 17 Dec 2020, Online

For Humanists, the imprisonment of Mubarak Bala and the deaths of the likes of Avijit Roy and most recently Samuel Paty demonstrate that across the world, people can still come to harm for expressing secular beliefs.And whilst in these cases, the perpetrators are clearly wrong, what about where the line isn’t so clear? What exactly constitutes hate speech and when it comes to debate on religion what is and is not too far?

Join Sheffield Humanists as its chair, Rajin Chowdhury – a former University debater at an national an international level – will host a discussion group on these issues. You can have your say or simply listen to others. We hope to see you there.

3rd Nov 2020

Hari Parekh aims to provide a supportive argument for the acceptance of apostates; people who leave their religious faith, and are victims of abuse for doing so.

The difficulty to accept people identifying as an apostate might relate to the concerted effort to condemn the individual for their act of betrayal towards their religious faith, culture, and traditional values.

This talk utilises a psychological perspective to attempt to understand the difficulties that relate to identifying as an apostate, and how ideological differences of this nature, might be perceived by the family and wider community also. Hari Parekh’s preliminary research on Apostates as a Hidden Population of Abuse Victims (Parekh & Egan, 2020), shapes the context for this talk.

About Hari

He is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Liverpool. He has a first-class honours degree in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Northampton and an MSc in Forensic and Criminological Psychology from the University of Nottingham.Hari was formerly the President of Humanists Students and is currently the Chair of European Young Humanists, as part of Young Humanists International.

Hari has published his MSc thesis on ‘Apostates as a Hidden Population of Abuse Victims’ – the first publication to highlight the worldwide abuse of apostates within religious households, which was published by the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Parekh, H., & Egan, V. (2020). Apostates as a Hidden Population of Abuse Victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. DOI:10.1177/0886260519898428

MARRIAGE: WHAT SHOULD THE RULES BE?
An ethical discussion group

7pm, Weds 19th August 2020

*CANCELLED* Pub Social

Harrison’s Bar 1854 Bar & Function Suite, 15 Regent Terrace, Sheffield S3 7QA
Tues 14th April, Harrison’s 1854

*CANCELLED* Talk Yourself Better: Ariane Sherine

Wed 25th March 2020, 7:30pm, Showroom 5, Showroom Cinema

Assisted Dying: What Would You Do?
An ethical discussion group

Wed 12th February 2020, 7:30pm, Harrisons 1854

15 Regent Terrace
Sheffield
S3 7QA
Off West St, between Jimmy’s Kitchen and So Famous! (formerly Sinclair’s)

Humanists UK form part of the Assisted Dying Coalition who campaign for the legalisation of assisted dying in the UK in the context of terminal illness. Currently, assisted dying is criminal act and neither relatives nor medical professional are allowed to aid their patients in death. However, the withdrawal of life-supporting treatment and palliation are both legal, where patient comfort is prioritised over and above the prolonging of life.

This discussion will be aimed at lay attendees with no prior knowledge and will be chaired by Rajin Chowdhury, Chair of Sheffield Humanists and a former President of Sheffield University Debating Society. You will have an opportunity to either express your opinion or simply listen to others. Both soft and alcoholic drinks are available and the venue is disability accessible.

We hope to see you there for what will be a fascinating discussion!

Pub Social

Harrison’s Bar 1854 Bar & Function Suite, 15 Regent Terrace, Sheffield S3 7QA
Wed 8th January 2020, 7-10pm

Can humanists celebrate Christmas?

One of the great myths surrounding humanists and the holiday season is that humanists cannot celebrate Christmas. Teddy Prout from Humanists UK will be here to talk about and take questions on why he thinks this myth persists and how to get into the secular holiday spirit!

Leaving Religion In The UK

Dorothy Fleming Lecture Theatre, Charles Street Building, Arundel Gate, Sheffield, S1 2ND, United Kingdom
Thu 7th Nov, 7-8:30pm

Join us for a panel discussion and hear from apostates who have left different religions, suffered the consequences and have since rebuilt their lives. Also, learn from experts who work with victims of apostasy crime and honour-based abuse.

Meet The Humanists

From prisons and hospitals to weddings and funerals, find out what we’re doing for Sheffield

DINA Venue, 32 Cambridge St, Sheffield S1 4HP
Sun 20th October 2-5pm, drop-in

Celebrants leading weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies. Pastoral carers providing support in prisons, hospitals and Universities, School speakers teaching our young people about humanism. In Sheffield and across the country, Humanists UK provides a variety of different services and ceremonies. Perhaps you’re looking for a person to help you with a wedding but don’t want to includ any religion. Or maybe you’re a local humanist looking to give something back to the community.

Whether you’re completely new to humanism or want to get more heavily involved, this is chance for you to find out more. There will also be material from LGBT Humanists, Defence Humanists and Young Humanists (18-35).

Trolleys and Tribulations

How to make an ethical decision

Showroom 5, Showroom Cinema, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
Sun 18th August 7-9pm

Humanists in Sheffield and the UK

Farm Road Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP
Mon 19th August 7:30pm

PANEL

Rajin Chowdhury Chair of Sheffield Humanists
Michael Heap (Chair) School Speaker (Humanists UK) and Sheffield Skeptics Committee Member
Jo Mutlow Regional Coordinator of Pastoral Care (Humanists UK)
Mike Parker Local Humanist

Pub Social at Showroom Cafe and Bar
Weds 31st July 7-10pm

Café Social

Couch Campo Lane (not Ecclesall Rd), 28th September, 1-5pm