“It is our charism, reaching out to others, especially people in need. I see that being fulfilled through this ministry,” said St. Francis Table’s new executive director, Fr. Germain Kpakafi. “They say, ‘We come here and go back happy. We feel accepted. We feel that we are served with dignity.’ ”
There have been more than one million meals served over the last quarter century at St. Francis Table. A few Franciscans have wondered whether they should keep doing the same thing over and over even while the neighbourhood around them changes.
Parkdale’s poverty came about in two stages. First the Gardiner Expressway cut the neighbourhood off from the lakeshore in 1955 — eliminating jobs and chasing away well-to-do residents. Then in the 1980s the mental hospitals emptied in favour of a community care model that left unmedicated patients wandering the streets. Today, St. Francis’ Table sits among trendy shops and restaurants popping up to serve a new population of condo dwellers.
Kpakafi, who has been working at St. Francis’ Table since November and in charge since January, points out that there are still people in Parkdale who predate the condos and need a place for a healthy, cheap meal and companionship.
“From the point of view of patrons, they would like to see this place open,” he said. “Though the situation of the neighbourhood is improving and some people have more opportunities for jobs — maybe they can support themselves financially. But there are others who still come here.”
The restaurant’s clientele include new immigrants, workers with no family, elderly people who find cooking a burden and people with addictions.
“I think the ministry will go on. It is the wish of the people,” said Kpakafi.
The Toronto Capuchins didn’t quite go all the way to the Democratic Republic of Congo to find a new St. Francis’ Table director. They did go as far as Blenheim, Ont., on the Lake Erie shore. Kpakafi came to Canada at the invitation of the Canadian Capuchins to help with parish ministry in the Chatham area. He had barely settled in when the provincial superior came knocking.
Long-time St. Francis’ Table volunteer Craig McWade appreciates how Kpakafi has encouraged the Franciscan spirit of the restaurant.
“I have noticed him to be compassionate, very fair, and he has a sense of humour — a great bit of Franciscan joy to share,” said McWade. “He is a man very committed to his vocation.”
For someone who grew up in Africa and has spent much of his Franciscan life in charge of young men in formation, St. Francis’ Table is a learning experience. The mental health challenges and the homeless population of Toronto are a very different experience, Kpakafi said.
“We Africans, we live more in common. Everything is in the collectivity, the family,” he said. “Those who have mild mental illness in Africa, they are looked after by the family, so they feel accepted by the family and are still part of the family.”
At St. Francis’ Table he finds himself speaking to people estranged from their families and from society.
St. Francis’ Table can’t run without the daily teams of volunteers from parishes and schools. Together with the patrons, they create a sense of belonging.
“They make friends here,” said Kpakafi. “They have people to talk to. You see them finish a meal and sit a long time talking to each other. I’m happy to minister to these people.”