Before Them Set Thy Holy Will: Iconography and
pastoral care
of those with mental illness
Graham Reeves
Melrose Books £9.99
(978-1-907732-32-4)
Church Times Bookshop £9 (Use code CT231
)
LIKE the proverbial curate's egg, parts of this book are
excellent. Graham Reeves sets an imaginative and, at times,
inspiring consideration of the icon of Christ healing the
demon-possessed boy at the end of what he calls variously an
"essay" and "extended reflection" on pastoral care of those with
mental illness.
Anyone with experience of mental-health chaplaincy will welcome
his incarnational insistence that each of us is made in the image
of God, especially those who are working in what feels like the
Cinderella department of the NHS. In Oxfordshire, even the words
"mental healthcare" have been removed from the name of the
expanded NHS Foundation Trust.
Christians following the example of their founder have a
particular calling to those on the margins, and there is an acute
danger that the unique personhood of those with mental-health
problems is reduced to mere diagnosis. Reeves speaks well about
this.
What I find less helpful is his critique of spiritual care in
the NHS, which comes across more like a diatribe at times. He fails
to acknowledge the important retreat from secularism pioneered by
many psychiatrists recently, and written about by Larry Culliford.
Those in sector ministry have also pioneered multifaith
collaboration in pastoral care. A minor irritation is the
Anglo-Catholic insistence on the title "Father" in the foreword and
introduction. This detracts from the overall message of
inclusiveness, which otherwise enriches the book.
Icons have an increasingly universal appeal. This particular
example of a theology in "paint and wood" is reminiscent of recent
compositions in choral music, especially Howard Goodall's setting
of the Beatitudes. My recommendation to readers would be to allow
themselves to be drawn into the reflection on the icon, while
sitting lightly to some of the opinions expressed elsewhere.
The Revd Anne Holmes, a former NHS mental-health chaplain,
is a psychotherapist and self-supporting minister in Oxford
diocese.