A note from Sarah Neish...
Some people count sheep when they struggle to find sleep. I have been counting the sheepfold that is my spiritual home . Let me explain. As this time of self-isolation and pandemic fear has become the new normal My mind seems to be much too filled with worries to find the gift of sleep . I say my nightly prayers as has been my habit all my life but then when I roll over and settle in for that haze to descend and sleep to overcome me,  nothing happens. That is when I begin to remember all the family at St. Luke’s and say a small prayer for them.
    How do I do this is by seat and row number as the airlines tell us! I start at the front of the church and going down one row and up the next I find I can remember all of the regulars by name and as I say their names to myself, I picture them in their place. Sounds funny when I am sharing this but it works! Because we are creatures of habit , we seem to have our favourite spots in church. 
    I go up and down and pray for each person as I see them. This makes me feel like I am once again there with my spiritual family, sharing the hymns, the prayers and exchanging the peace .Then , as we go up to receive Communion I feel like we are a family around the table and it makes me feel secure, loved and safe. 
    So try it , you might like it! I know you will be surprised at how easy it is to place all the familiar faces in their places. 
    I don’t forget the choir or the clergy either,they get special prayers of thanks for their leadership . The little ones of the family also have their own spot on my list and I remember them and their teachers as they come in just in time to do their job of presenting the bread and wine and the gifts for the food bank. 
    Try it some time when that blessed gift of sleep seems to be far away .It is a comfort for me and now has become a part of my nightly prayers. ,”Try it....You might like it” .
Pax, Sarah