River View Hospital is Maine's largest psychiatric hospital. My wife and I have been going up there to do special chapel programs since the 1980's. Then Covid-19 happened, and the hospital never reopened to special outside programs. During this time, the chaplain, and my close friend, James Weathersbee retired from the hospital, and I wasn't sure we'd ever get back in again. Then I got a call from Chaplian Kevan, the hospital's new chaplain, inviting us back. Sue and I jumped at the chance!
As the mental health field has moved more and more toward community based housing and services, the population of River View has decreased, and the patients are often the most severely effected by mental illness. They may be there for reasons such as suicidal tendencies, severe depression, addiction, psychosis, or other reasons, so any chance to bring some hope and joy to the people is valuable. Upon arriving, we met the new chaplain, who had been a prison chaplain prior to getting this position. He welcomed us and helped us bring our props into the locked gymnasium.
As show time approached, it was clear that we would have a large audience; there was a very good turn out. A handful of the patients even remembered us from shows during the pre-covid era. Sue ran the music for the show- a job she's getting more familiar with since we got a new sound system recently. She was perfect. Meanwhile, the audience was quite responsive throughout the show. I ended with my illusion that tells the story of the repentant thief on the cross. This is a very serious routine, and I usually only do it in prisons and jails, but I believed the Holy Spirit was prompting me to do it at the hospital. It clearly resonated with many in the audience, and, when we were finished, Chaplain Kevan agreed that it spoke to where a lot of the people might be coming from.
The show was about an hour, after which Sue and I found a lottle Chinese restaurant outside of Augusta, with some of the best Chinese food we've ever had. Not a typical date night for most couples, but it was a great and meaningful day.