RICHMOND—Catholics and Protestants are joining forces in Richmond to serve meals to those down on their luck.
“You want them to always feel welcomed and feel that it’s a family here,” said volunteer Sally Pathak as she welcomed dinner guests to St. Alban’s Anglican Church hall in Richmond Feb. 17.
Pathak, a member of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, is one of 60 volunteers who help out at the weekly community meal. That list of volunteers includes Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, and United Church members, as well as Mormons, Muslims, and people of no faith.
“It’s just amazing so many people of so many denominations work here,” said Margaret Cornish, the pastor of St. Alban’s. “We have a small parish, and we couldn’t possibly do it all with just our parishioners.”
“We serve dinner every Tuesday to over 130 people who are poor, lonely, depressed, homeless,” or addicted to drugs or alcohol, Jacqueline D’Souza explained.
She and her husband Peter, members of St. Paul’s Parish in Richmond, run the program. St. Alban’s began serving free meals on Tuesdays in 1998.
D’Souza said she made a personal commitment to helping others after a near-death experience and miraculous healing at age 12. Later in life, when she and Peter, then new immigrants to Canada, were walking around their Richmond neighbourhood, they saw a sign saying “need volunteers,” and they walked right in.
“I thought, ‘God is showing me a sign to help the poor, the lonely, and the depressed,'” D’Souza said. “God is living in each one of us and that’s why He’s kept me alive and given me a chance.”
Anne Denis, an active member of St. Alban’s, often strikes up conversations with guests as they sit down to dinner.
“They are from the very young to the very elderly, but they are all having tough times making ends meet,” she said. “They know they can come here and there’s no questions asked.”
She added the parish also opens a drop-in centre Monday through Friday mornings, offers free showers and breakfast on Saturday mornings, and opens a 16-bed extreme weather shelter on particularly cold nights.
Renee Beauchamp and her husband, members of Ladner United Church, commute from south of the Massey Tunnel to serve meals every week. “Everyone knows we’re out on Tuesday night; don’t bother calling,” she laughed.
The friendly ties with fellow volunteers keep her coming back every week. “We’re like a little family. We enjoy doing this together, which is nice.”
Grace Turner, who was born in the Netherlands, started helping out after she retired in 2002 and saw an advertisement in the Richmond Review. “I started out like everybody else, peeling potatoes and doing whatever was necessary.”
Now she is the cook, the only paid staff member. “For me, the priority is: healthy. I usually include lots of vegetables.”
She doesn’t go to church, adding that it isn’t a requirement. “I really admire what the parish does for the people in this neighbourhood. So that’s what keeps me coming back here. They look after the needy.”
St. Joseph the Worker parishioner Tony Lee brings two of his sons to help dish out meals. “This is a good way to broaden their view about the different people out there, their needs, and different ways that they can help.”
D’Souza added that the City of Richmond, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, the Richmond Food Bank, and other groups also send volunteers to help the effort.
