The Methodist Church May 2026
So much is going on:
A chapel outside the town of Nantwich has shown how mission can grow when a church chooses to welcome young families and listen to its community. At Broomhall and Sound Methodist Church in Cheshire, lay worker Kathryn Davies has worked to help shape the family ministry that began with a toddler group and has since expanded into after-school activities, holiday clubs, a twins’ support group and even a pedal-tractor run dreamed up by two young boys.
Tucked inside Hathersage Methodist Church, a quiet revolution is taking place – one made not of noise, but of pages turning. ‘The Book Room’, a second hand bookshop inspired by John Wesley’s publishing house, has quickly become a beloved stop for locals and visitors wandering through this Peak District village. Part of the Church’s wider open-door initiative, the space has welcomed more than 10,000 people in just 8 months. That’s around 42 curious wanderers a day stepping inside to explore Methodist history, pause for prayer, let children play, tackle a communal jigsaw or browse the ever-changing shelves of pre-loved books.
Keen walkers are being sought to test parts of a new pilgrimage route designed by a Past President of the Methodist Conference and launched in honour of a pioneering abolitionist. 80-mile Equiano Way is due to open next March and runs from Sheffield to Hull via the Epworth Old Rectory. The Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal, Past President of the Methodist Conference, and Sarah Maltby, the manager of Epworth Old Rectory, are asking walkers to scope sections of the route ahead of its opening. The trail currently passes through different communities, urban landscapes and follows the Humber estuary.
Karen Allen, Regional Safeguarding Manager for the North East, shares this blog in the series reflecting on ten years since the Past Cases Review. The report, ‘Courage, Cost and Hope’ was a pivotal moment for safeguarding in the Methodist Church. Ten years later I am still reminded by many, in particular ecumenical colleagues, as to what an ambitious and progressive report this was. I continue to be proud that Methodist safeguarding is ‘ahead of the game’ and my counterparts from our ecumenical partners often tell me that they ‘watch and wait’ to see what we do.
On the weekend of 11 and 12 April, the Methodist Church attended the National Wedding Show in London for the first time. A team of six people from across the Connexion helped celebrate the Methodist Church as a loving, inclusive and welcoming denomination, the perfect place to consider getting married. Over two days, the team spoke with hundreds of people, sharing over 500 copies of the new guide to marriage in the Methodist Church, ‘Not your Ordinary Marriage’, with many people leaving a prayer on the prayer tree that was part of the display stand.
All these stories and more are on the Methodist Church website
www.methodist.org.uk