Sarah Chambers

Her Final Years 1995-1998

by Victoria Marina-Tompkins

After a long hiatus, Sarah resumed channeling Michael in January of 1996 when she met with a small group in Walnut Creek at the home of Richard and Alice Hannah, the very same one where the Michaels began speaking so many years before. The group included Richard and Alice, Shepherd, and myself and we share a quiet meal before convening for a round or two of questions and answers with Michael. Within a few weeks, Sarah and I talked about how exciting it was that we were able to meet and that she was open to channeling, so we decided to have another group meeting, this time at her house in Oakland. We agreed that I would invite a few other students including several who had been members of a spin-off group of the original group as well as those of us who had met in Walnut Creek a few weeks before. It was exhilarating and everyone wanted to continue meeting.

During the next several months, we realized that Sarah was quickly becoming a bit of a celebrity in the Michael community as she had been unavailable for so many years and was now starting to do private readings as well as study groups every week. We formed a core group that was non fee based and committed to expanding the core teachings through non personal agenda sessions at least half the time, as well as two other fee based study groups that each met once monthly. I acted at Sarah’s request as the gatekeeper and it was my job to ascertain whether someone would be suited for the groups and I also handled all business for the groups.  In June 1996, Sarah and I formed The Gateway Associates that we used as the umbrella for all business and copyrighting of the new material and in July, Paul Avellar joined with us as our third partner. Sarah at that time also began to publish a quarterly newsletter. During that time the core group met several times in a home overlooking Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay, devoting the entire weekend to exploring questions and answers with Michael, and in late July of 1996 several of us spent three weeks in New Mexico where we continued to bond with deep channeling sessions interspersed with time spent on the land.

In the fall of 1996, the groups continued to meet regularly, enjoying weekly meetings and sheet cake, a long held tradition at the Michael groups. Our evenings included pot lucks, wine for some, coffee for many, and always interesting and often quite outrageous talks around her dining room table in between rounds of channeling. We would start at 5pm and often not end until after midnight! It was in March of 1998 when Sarah decided to take a sabbatical and lived in New Mexico for several months during which time I and one other individual split the channeling duties for the groups. I had become the “backup” channel as Sarah wanted to ask her own questions and there was one other member, a scholar,  who had been in the core 1980‘s core group and who was now channeling, so we were prepared to step in and run the groups while she was absent. The groups had over time expanded to include a wide range of members including long time Michael students and several from the original groups, some who would call in from out of state, other Michael channels who wanted to experience being in the presence of Sarah aka “Jessica” as she had honed her fine craft of mediumship, as well as new students who were in the right place at the right time. Sarah did channel in Oakland during the summer of 1998 but then returned again to Santa Fe where she rented a small apartment. Paul Avellar and I visited her there in September where we met with a few Santa Fe Michael students including Jose and Lena Stevens, but had no idea this would be the last time we would see her.

On the morning of Dec. 8th 1998 I received a call from a friend who said she had just heard from Dorothy and that Sarah had died. Stunned, we traveled to New Mexico with her husband Dick where we retrieved her ashes, completed a series of rituals, and returned home about a week later. It wasn’t until early the next year that we had a community gathering to honor Sarah which was well attended by many from the original group and new students as well.

At the present time, two of the groups started with Sarah continue to meet with a handful of the original members on board as well as others who have joined over the years. Now the groups are held in Half Moon Bay, carrying on the tradition started by Sarah who could be described as having been outgoing, highly intelligent, curious, adventurous, pragmatic, loyal, and in all ways remarkable. She was generous and open minded, excited to meet other Michael students, dedicated to expanding the teachings while protecting the basic core elements she and others had brought through so many years before. Sarah Chambers was one of a kind.

c. 2010 Victoria Marina-Tompkins