Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones: Wonder and Joy

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Some of us have God. Some of us have drugs. And some accept we'll never know the baseless euphoria of either. But is there a fourth way?  

If you're Sanderson Jones or Pippa Evans, the answer is a wide-eyed, hysterical yes. It's within us all, accessible through a ritual that's part primal scream therapy, part team-building and part children's party. Or as Jones says, "45 minutes of freaking out". Wonder and Joy is a free taster for The Sunday Assembly, reported as an "atheist church" but played down by its creators as an "accidental" global movement. File it next to feelgood endeavours such as flashmobs and random acts of kindness, but it's less twee and more manic – less Amelie, more One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Whether you'll take part isn't in question. We are all but cattle-prodded into sharing our hosts' fervour. Jones in particular keeps the energy soaring; he's like an over-friendly berserker. Apparently 8ft tall, when not kicking over pints and equipment, he is leaping into strangers' arms. Fracking? Windfarms? Let's just hook him straight up to the grid.

To find this the transcendental experience it's pitched as, you'll have to surrender completely. For some, it's a big ask, and there's little to persuade the most sceptical. The duo's considerable comedic talents are largely left at home and there's little more to this than singalongs, icebreaking and a baffling clapping game. But for the stubborn refusal to surrender to introversion and misery—all while refraining from preachiness—this is to be commended.