Garrison Keillor, creator of the long-running radio show, “Prairie Home Companion,” is one of American’s best storytellers, and one of his best stories is called “Gospel Birds.” A middle-aged couple, Ernie and Erma Lundeen, toured churches in the Midwest with a program that included some 40 trained birds of all kinds, from parakeets and wrens to a couple of crows. The birds performed amazing tricks including playing hymns on tiny bells and even taking up the collection!

But the heart of the evening was testimony by Erma. She speaks of her childhood, how she had always loved birds. She came from a poor family—she was plain, weighed too much; she was miserable. Maybe that is why she was so attracted to birds—they’re so graceful and free. One day, like a dove with Jesus in the Jordan, a bird came and lit upon her shoulder. She took this to be a sign of God’s blessing and she knew she was not alone. She recalled the words to a hymn, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” and as she did, on cue, four of the trained parakeets played the song on tiny silver bells.

Then Erma invited the people in the congregation to close their eyes and recall a moment when they too felt God uniquely present. She told them a bird would come and land on their shoulders, and if they felt God’s blessing they should stand up. One by one, they contemplated God’s love and the times they were supported as if by invisible hands and the presence of a grace in the world that uplifts. As they meditated eventually they felt a bird alight on their shoulder, and they stood up. It was a stunning experience—they all were, indeed, blessed. The sound of wings, as of angels, stirred the air.

The entire story, told in Keillor’s sonorous baritone, can be heard here: “Gospel Birds.”