Swallows & Bluetits, Prisons & Homes

I opened the chapel up on Thursday, flinging wide the doors at around 9.40am, bidding all who pass to enter. Unfortunately, a swallow came in, and was unable to get out for several hours, circling around the lights and perching on the organ to get back its breath. I lowered the blinds in the hope that it would fly low enough to see the trees and fields through the doors, but after several hours it remained imprisoned. I will confess to praying that the Lord would deliver it to freedom; it probably had young to feed, and grew weaker with each circuit. I kept going back to check, and at least five hours' confinement had passed before it flew to freedom.

Around the back of the chapel, a family of bluetits has found a home in a small gap in the masonry. Their greedy cries can be heard when one of the parent birds return with food. For the swallow, Salem Chapel was a prison; to the bluetits, a home and a nursery. I pray that Salem Chapel is a place to which people can come and go at will: there is no cult-like leadership demanding perfect obedience, no over-dependence on a pastor’s ministry, no ignoring the call of God to progress His work elsewhere. Yet I also pray that it is a spiritual home to people who wish to be there, a place of safety from apostate theology and creepy leaders, a place where Christ may be found and heard this side of the grave. We want it to be a place where people can sincerely say: