By David Wm. Gibson
The People of the Village
Catherine stands in the hallway just outside her room. She is rifling through the pages of her Bible looking for specific passages. She finds one, reads it, and tears the page out crumbling it in her hand and dropping it to the floor. She goes on to find another passage and repeats the process.
Whenever Catherine does this it is usually with passages such as Deuteronomy 6 or a chapter from the Gospel of John such as 14, 15 and 16; all chapters on her loving God and God loving her. Later in the chapel she raises her hand and asks me if God would forgive her anything. I can tell by her now recognizable remorse what she had done.
Donny started attending chapel services just two months ago. On the third Thursday evening of each month the Pastoral Care department hosts the Spirit of Hope Coffeehouse, an activity suggested by a Christian Psychologist at this state psychiatric hospital. It was mistakenly announced during lunch in the cafeteria that the gym would be open for volleyball. Donny, 19 and athletic, looked forward to the activity for the rest of the afternoon.
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When the announcement is made correcting the evening's activity Donny's anger becomes apparent to all. He takes his Bible into the bathroom, tears it apart and throws the pieces into the toilet. He then urinates on it. Visiting his unit before the coffeehouse he shouts at me from his doorway that I am weak and brainwashed, then he makes graphic statements regarding the sexuality of Christ.
Chris is a gentleman in his early forties. Over a 24-hour period he will encounter two to three chaplains and request communion from each one of them. Some oblige him and others do not. Besides mild retardation, schizoaffective disorder and severe manic behavior (the later two under control with medications), Chris is religiously preoccupied and wracked with the guilt and shame associated with his illnesses and ensuing sexual behaviors.
Catherine also is diagnosed as schizoaffective. She has yet to turn to wisdom the knowledge that she can not live healthy without her medicines. She too has been noted as religiously preoccupied. Donny has not. However, along with a severe learning disability disorder he also has Antisocial Personality Disorder. His facial appearance is slightly suggestive of fetal alcohol syndrome. Donny had a very traumatic childhood that he has only recently begun to share.
Each of these three, and about seventeen others, attend Sunday worship services that I conduct each week. They read from a liturgy, sing songs while I play guitar, share their joys and concerns, hear the word preached, and ask for prayer for themselves and each other. Many of the others are more severely disturbed than these three while the doctors try new medications, dosages and combinations, or Electro Shock Therapy, till they see an affect on their behaviors. Yet they find in themselves the ability to sit through a service that can last 45 minutes due to their participation.
