Wow! What an amazing event, attracting more than 500 people to witness in “awe and wonder” the August 2026 solar eclipse. Seascale has never had so many people gathered together at the beach. There was a lovely atmosphere with family groups, friends, work colleagues, holiday makers, and villagers all come together. They filled the Seascale seafront, on the beach, on the jetty, on the grassy areas, on the seats next to the pathways, up by the station, on the playpark, and even in the sea.
We distributed 100 pairs of solar spectacles and people were genuinely surprised that the local churches were gifting them, we had so many comments of “How much are they?” or “Do you not have a donation box?” It seems to be a modern reality that people find it very strange for churches to be giving gifts out rather than collecting money. We get a similar reaction when we distribute hot cross buns at Easter and mince pies at Christmas.
The atmosphere gradually built as we got closer to the start of the eclipse. We were fortunate enough to have 3 telescopes stationed near the beach and the astronomers included Martin Whipp FRAS from the Lime Tree Observatory, Keith and Jill (from the Phoenix Praise worship band) and a very keen young lad (with his mum), who kept us informed from when the very first edge of the sun was ‘nibbled’ by the moon.
A stillness and a gentle quietness came over the beach as the eclipse progressed. Everyone enjoyed watching in amazement and sharing with those around them what they had seen. You could sense the feeling of calmness and joy at what they had collectively experienced. It was community at its best.
At the start of this year the Methodist Church advised members of special dates for the coming year including a mention that on 12 August there would be an almost total eclipse and it may create an opportunity for churches to engage locally. God always has a hand in these things and the following Sunday the Deputy Superintendent Minister for the Cumbria Methodist Circuit, Rev Nick Baker, was preaching in Seascale so we got the date fixed in his diary and the planning began. Community events in Seascale are held as joint ventures with Seascale & District Churches Together Group. We believe we can achieve more when we work together.
We wanted everyone to experience the shared moment of “awe and wonder” and considered how we could be church at the event without detracting anything from the moment of the eclipse. We decided to have a Prayer Station on the jetty, which came from us thinking and talking about Jesus being on the beach and telling his disciples “go and become fishers of men.” It was also important to us to share our Eco Church values of looking after God’s Creation and getting the message across to everyone, that they are loved by God.
We wanted our community to feel very much a part of the event and decided to host a couple of craft afternoons to help decorate our prayer fish and wooden discs while chatting over a cuppa. We have an ecumenical group who attend our Tea Services and they were very happy to oblige.
Our fish, like us, were all different and multi-coloured. Our wooden discs had “You are loved” Romans 5:8 and lots and lots of heart stickers on one side, and on the reverse “Save our Seas” decorated with colourful “sea life stickers”. We gave out 60 fish and 40 discs. Three of our Churches Together group are trustees with Shackles Off Youth and Community Project so it felt appropriate that we linked in with their upcoming Sea 2 Shore Plastics Free Festival which is being held in Seascale on Saturday 22 August.
There were so many wonderful moments: we found it heart-warming to have a mum walking down the jetty with her little girl who thanked us for her disc and she told us she was going to hang it on her bedroom wall with the “You are loved” side on display. We pray this quote from the bible will lead others to want to know more about God. To close the event we gathered beside our prayer station where we gave thanks in prayer, including the prayers from the prayer station, and concluded with the very appropriate words of the Celtic Blessing.
“May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
Thanks be to God for this wonderful event and may those who attended remember “You are loved. Romans 5:8”
All photos credit: Lois Sparling/Churches Together in Cumbria.