Methodist Church. In a new book entitled Sanctuary, South African freelance writer, Christa Kuljian, has chronicled their plight. The church was already home to more than 1,000 migrants, when South Africans attacked foreign nationals, accusing them of stealing their jobs and women and competing with locals for the scarce social benefits.
“Every square inch was occupied – at night men, women and children squeezed into makeshift sleeping places, on and beneath pews in the sanctuary and the chapel, and on every step of the staircases, on landings and in hallways,” it reads.
“On the sidewalk outside the building, hundreds more lay head to toe under threadbare blankets. Verryn’s open door policy of hospitality had plenty of critics, both from within and outside the church, but now his neighbours had also had enough and were ready to take action.”
Sanctuary tells the story of how this inner-city church and its “controversial” Bishop came to offer refuge to people who had nowhere else to turn. It is a powerful testament to the indomitable strength and often simple courage of the human spirit.
Post published in: Arts