St. Oswald's Church, Castle Bolton

St. Oswald's Church in the North Yorkshire village of Castle Bolton (home to Bolton Castle, confusingly) is an attractive little place of worship dating to before the fourteenth century. Medieval carvings are plentiful and there is a real sense of history as one pushes the door and sniffs the air. Once, this church would have been the centre of the village with its bell tower and stone walls, in contrast with the cottages' wood and wattle. Later that century, Lord Scope, the local baron, built his gigantic castle right next to the church, which literally overshadows it from its large plot across the lane.

Even today, many thousands are attracted to the old fortress but not so many are pleased to see the church which is a little older, and cheaper to enter. Yet there is one remarkable difference between the two: the castle is largely ruinous while the church retains its roof and windows.  

Civil power, big business, Parliament, and all the rest seem to be far more powerful, relevant and effective than the current Church of Jesus Christ in Great Britain. Yet it is the church which shall survive into the next great age of human history, when MPs, Lords, billionaires and generals are no more. This world is truly passing away; though overshadowed and nearly consumed, the faithful remnant shall rise.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:4-5, NKJV