Sheila Clarke interviewed by Sandie Keetch

From Spiritualism to Salvation

On the streets, behind prison doors and at a centre for addicts, Sheila Clarke promotes the love of  Jesus; quite a turnaround for a former spiritualist and medium.

Today Sheila Clarke can be most accurately described as a “grandmother and evangelist amongst society’s stricken outcasts”. But her calling came only four years ago after renouncing the occult and turning to Christ.

“I spent 42 years in legal work but now I’m doing what I love,” Sheila explains.  “I believe God has given me a wonderful gift of tell people about the Gospel in a simple way.” Now she regularly circulates copies of her story to would-be visitors to a mystic and psychic fair near her home.

Sheila used to dabble with the ouija board.  As a result she had a frightening encounter with evil. "Then I could not sleep with the light off  and my daughter suffered extremely bad health. I was admitted to hospital every November for years, and had 13 operations! And I always felt ill.”

Later, with her nerves in tatters, Sheila’s son was diagnosed as epileptic after countless fits. “Desperate for a cure, I saw an advert for a Christian Spiritualist church. I did not know anything about Spiritualism then nut it mentioned healing. After one session, Gary’s fits never returned. That was 20 years ago now.  I did not realise that Satan has a cunning way of mimicking healing since true healing comes from God.

“Of course we were elated and didn’t think the church was wrong since it seemed to help us so much. I became Secretary of the church and my husband, Ian, and I did a two-year course and became registered healers so we could help others. I also became a medium. We believed that Jesus was with us when we laid hands on for healing. Again Satan was deceiving us.”

Then in May 1998 Sheila was invited to attend a Christian conference. “When the speaker told us to raise our hands and praise the Lord I was unable to raise my arms. I wanted to but I felt as though they were chained down beside me and a voice was shouting in my head: ‘No, no, no.’ I was as stiff as a board, my whole body shook and I sobbed my heart out. I opened my eyes as I was prayed for and saw the most brilliant, white light and know Jesus was real. The peace that filled me was wonderful, as if all my worries and trouble were lifted from me. I thought I knew Jesus but I now realise that I didn’t have a personal relationship with him at all.” Ian also became a Christian three months later.

“Bible passages were read at the Spiritualist church but no-one showed me Deuteronomy 18 stating that the occult is detestable to the lord including interpreting omens, witchcraft, divination and those who are mediums, spiritualists or consult the dead (Deutoronomy 18: 9-13).

“Either things are from God and are good or they are dangerous; there is no middle ground. I know a tarot card reader who works s home for money and now her children are suffering; her son has nightmares every evening and her daughter looks sickly and

undernourished,” says Sheila.

Today, through Sheila’s work, God brings his healing love to the homeless and addicted in Norwich city. When three former gangsters from London’s East End spoke about their dramatic Christian conversions, Sheila made sure that women from the rehabilitation centre managed to hear their stories.

“The girls included a hard nut to crack who was totally against Christianity. But it turned out that she knew one of the speakers who was once a debt collector with a bad reputation. By the time she was in a taxi back in the centre she’s told the driver about Jesus!  She was on ‘fire’ for God and that evening she called her children to tell them to start praying.”

An alcoholic, suicidal woman also accompanied Sheila that night. “She was shaking throughout the evening; she wanted to get back on track with the Lord. I felt God wanted me to bring her to him; as I did there was a complete and immediate transformation – and she has never looked back. She is doing remarkably well and has started a new branch of Alcoholics Anonymous.”

Sheila had also helped turn an old man’s ‘twilight years’ into a time of new birth. “A grief-stricken 82 year-old widower visited his wife’s grave up to three times a day after she died,” Sheila recalls.  “By the graveside one day and on the verge of suicide he worried if there would be room for him in heaven to join his wife. He began to sob when I told him the Gospel.  Now he comes to church and lives for God.”

The centre where she works runs an evening city  ‘soup run’.  During one of  these trips a young lad, huddled in a ship doorway, caught Sheila’s eye. Having just arrived from the coast as a sand sculptor, he wanted to paint. With genuine tears of repentance he found Jesus that night and within days he met two students from the local art college who helped him pursue his dream!” enthuses Sheila.

Looking back to her former life, Sheila says that, sadly, “most of my former Spiritualist Church colleagues have fallen away as friends; they’re afraid of me because I’ve become a Christian, but I pray for opportunities to help them see the truth.”