Day of Outreach approaches

There is still time for Methodist churches across the UK to open their arms to local communities to celebrate a hyper-rare solar eclipse.

The sky will darken on 12 August across Western Europe for the most significant solar eclipse since 1999, and the last until 2090.

The Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight for over two minutes. Some areas, like northern Spain, Greenland and Iceland, will experience a total eclipse, but here in the UK there will still be a partial eclipse.

To mark the momentous occasion, Methodist churches will be hosting their own events as part of a Day of Outreach, including viewing parties in church gardens or on top of local landmarks, family barbecues or quiet reflection spaces.

Churches are encouraging people from all over the local community to come, whatever your beliefs – or lack of – and whether you are part of a church or have never been in one!

There is still time to sign up for the event.

It will be a chance to view the majestic spectacle and reflect on the intersection of religion and science, and a great way to spend a day with friends or family.

Dozens of churches have so far expressed interest in hosting their own events, as the Day of Outreach is being piloted by both the Methodist Church in Britain and the Methodist Church in Ireland.

Among those taking part are Lindisfarne Methodist Church, watching the eclipse amid the peace and tranquillity of Holy Island.[AC1]

In Cumbria, Egremont Methodist Church will likely get some of the best, uninterrupted views of the eclipse while, in London, Muswell Hill Methodist Church will also be hosting an event.

Cameron Lee-Hume, Evangelism Project Officer, said the eclipse provided an opportunity for an event to remember.

He said: “The Methodist Day of Outreach was born out of a desire to help churches meet new people in their communities and become more comfortable having authentic, curious conversations beyond their buildings.

“As soon as we realised there was such a significant eclipse this year, it seemed like such a natural opportunity to encourage churches to get involved with – the spectacle is already provided, it has cross-generational appeal, all churches need to do is gather, be hospitable and have some great conversations.

“The next eclipse as impressive as this will be in 2090, so this will be a wonderful opportunity for communities to come together, have a shared experience of awe and wonder and maybe even contemplate the deeper things in life.”

Revd Katie Smith, Mission Area Lead for Greater Manchester Plus and Deputy Chair, said: "That amazing glimpse of something that is usually unseen reflects something of the life of faith – we can be so focused on what is seen that we fail to notice that God is at work in marvellous ways around us.

"Solar eclipses only happen as they do because the moon is just the right distance between the sun and the earth, and just the right size that it is able to block all the light coming through when its orbit lines up just right.

"Science can often be portrayed as being in opposition to faith. Some people think that if we can explain the laws that govern our universe then we are somehow explaining away the need for God. I have never found this to be true. The more I have learned, the more amazing it is that we exist on a planet that is just right in countless ways for life to flourish. And the more we learn, the more we realise we don’t know."

The maximum eclipse in the UK will be between 19:00 and 19:15 on 12 August, when the sun will be relatively low in the sky.

For more information please visit: Eclipse 2026: A Methodist Day of Outreach - The Methodist Church