Chaplains Deliver On-Site Support for the Soul
Could chaplains play a distinctive role in supporting the mental well-being of the Wood River Valley?
Two free showings of the documentary film Chaplains by Journey Films have been scheduled to explore this possibility. The first program will be at the Community Library in Ketchum on Tuesday, March 3 at 5:30 pm. The second will be at Hailey Town Center West on Tuesday, March 10 at 6 pm.
Viewers will see and hear chaplains of numerous faith traditions working in the familiar settings of battlefields, prisons, and hospitals. They will also follow them into factories and offices, NASCAR venues and retirement centers, as well as into the halls of Congress and law enforcement patrol cars.
Tyler Norris, the founding chair who helped lead the early stages of the Mental Well-Being Initiative (MWBI) in Blaine County—and a trained chaplain himself, will moderate a brief panel discussion following each screening. Others on the panel include Jenna Vagias, executive director of MWBI; Sabrina Roblin, a chaplain at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center; and Mike Higgs, a chaplain with Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley and for Blaine County police, sheriff and fire departments.
Program co-sponsors include Light on the Mountains Center for Spiritual Living, Blaine County’s Mental Well-Being Initiative, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Sun Valley Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Wood River Jewish Community.
Martin Doblmeier, the producer of the documentary, has said the only chaplain most people know is the humble and humanizing presence of Father Mulcahy amidst the horrors of the Korean War on the beloved TV series MASH. “One of my favorite lines in the film is spoken by the Chaplain for the US House of Representatives, Father Patrick Conroy, when he says: “nobody needs a chaplain until you REALLY need a chaplain.”
The co-sponsors and panel participants seek to shine a spotlight on the link between spiritual health and mental, physical, and emotional well-being. “Chaplains go into spaces where people face their deepest fears, hardest losses, and most honest questions. In our most vulnerable moments, we discover what truly sustains and connects us—not answers, but presence; not solutions, but compassion,” observes Chaplain Roblin.
Another chaplain on the panel, Higgs looks forward to the conversations and ideas that the documentary might trigger locally. “In a community where mental health and well-being have become a significant concern, an accompanying focus on spiritual health and well-being is welcome and needed.”
“In recent years, several local faith groups have partnered to sponsor free documentary screenings and discussions about the influence of faith on public life,” explains Pastor Stephen R. McCandless of the Sun Valley Adventist Church. “Films on forgiveness, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s moral courage during the who Holocaust, Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s impact on Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement and the value of Sabbath-keeping in 24/7 cultures have sparked meaningful dialogue. People keep encouraging us to continue offering these catalysts for learning, conversations and actions.”
Contacts:
Juli Miller at sunvalleyjuli@gmail.com or 916-717-4118
Martin Doblmeier, Journey Films at martin@journeyfilms.com
Jenna Vagias, Blaine County’s Mental Well-Being Initiative, at jenna@5bmentalwellbeing.org
Tyler Norris at tyler@tylernorris.com
*Trailer for the film: https://www.journeyfilms.com/chaplains