Stewart said many of those who will descend on the Bloomington area — some 300,000 people, officials predict — may head to the University of Indiana’s “Hoosier Cosmic Celebration,” where “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, former astronaut Mae Jemison and “Hidden Figures” actress Janelle Monáe are scheduled to appear.
In Texas, First Christian Church in Kerrville has 110 parking spaces for viewing the eclipse, along with 10 for recreational vehicles, the latter permitted to stay overnight. “About 80 of them are spoken for and pretty sure by the end of the week, we will be full,” said its senior minister, the Rev. Joshua deSteiguer.
“It’s just a service for our neighbors and, other than that, another chance to be in awe of God’s creation,” said deSteiguer, who explained the church, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation, is charging for the spots to cover the cost of the four portable toilets it is renting.
Kerrville, west of Austin, could grow by many times its population of about 25,000, said deSteiguer, who has already seen a change in the traffic patterns there.
“The town is already, even as we speak, seeing a little bit of an influx,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “Right now, it’s hard to tell if the town is filling up because everybody’s already starting to come in or it’s people out getting a week’s worth of groceries and gas.”
Where only a partial eclipse may be viewed, out-of-town crowds will likely be sparser, and clergy have focused on preparing their own congregants for the event.
The Rev. Kim James, pastor of Ogden First United Methodist Church in Marriott-Slaterville, Utah, ordered eclipse glasses in January and distributed about 175 of them on Easter Sunday.
On one arm of the reflective glasses is the name of the church, its website address and “Eclipse – April 8, 2024,” and on the other, the words “Happy Easter!” and the verse from the Gospel of John that reads: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
“I think it’s cool to celebrate God’s creation, and all that God has created, and this is a part of that,” James said. “Science is not something to be denied. Science is part of God’s wonder. And I think it’s good for us to celebrate that as Christians.”
Between announcements about the Easter egg hunt that was moved indoors due to rain and the plans for telling jokes for the following Sunday’s emphasis on “holy humor,” James held up the glasses and showed how to wear them safely.
As she concluded her sermon, she noted that the next view of a total eclipse in North America will not occur for 20 years. Utahns will see about 47% of the one on Monday if clouds do not obscure the event for them.
