The Reverend Canon Beau Stevenson retired on 5 August from Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (OBMH) after 38 years of service. Colleagues, friends and staff from the Trust and the wider Oxford Diocese, including the Bishop of Oxford, gathered at Littlemore Mental Health Centre on 3 September to thank Beau and wish him good luck for a long and happy retirement.

Beau first came to the mental health Trust under a scheme whereby Anglican theological students carried out a placement at the Trust, and first worked as a part time chaplain and nursing assistant. Amongst his colleagues in this programme were Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford, who also regarded his time at the Trust as a formative experience according to Beau’s recollections. Beau’s message to those gathered was a simple one: “I’ve learned a lot from patients.”

Dr Mike Hobbs, Medical Director at the Trust, recounted his twenty years of working alongside Beau. “He has made an enormous and sustained contribution over the years, and is remembered and valued by many patients and colleagues. He has supported many patients through times of illness and difficulty, and enriched the spiritual life of the Trust.”

Stephen Bushell, another chaplain who first came to the Trust as a theological student on placement, said “Beau showed us how to bring together the psychological and spiritual elements of care, which is now accepted as a very contemporary approach. Yet he retained the traditional aspect of religious healers who have also been great storytellers. He is one of the most respected and valued members of the Oxford diocese.”

True to form, Beau entertained the group with anecdotes based on his experience with the Trust, and celebrated with a buffet and chocolate cake. The Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend John Pritchard, presented Beau with gifts from his colleagues at the Trust.