How did this happen?: Friday night refugee meetings - 2010; A tour of the building - 2010; The police raid - January 2008; "A clear voice to take on the powers" - 1952-1987; "An unexpected thunderstorm" - May 2008; The rise and fall of central hall - 1886-1975; Reverend peter storey and the apartheid city - 1976-1980; Offering political refuge at central - 1980-1991; The Methodist church in crisis: the saga of Stompie Sepei - 1988-1992; "Son of Soweto" - 1992/1993; Reverend Mvume Dandala and the quest for peace - 1992-1996; Reverend Paul Verryn appears before the truth commission - 1997; Changing city; changing congregation - 1997-2002; The first residents arrive - 2002-2005; A murder in the church - 2006; A ray of hope - 2006-2007; The thunderstorm left behind more than a flood. What should be done about all this?: "A hostile, complex situation" - January-March 2009; Death threat comes for the bishop - April-June 2009; Arrested for loitering - July 2009; "Sexual favours for a toothbrush" - 2009; "The horror that we saw" - October-December 2009; The debate over the children - November/December 2009; "The former bishop of the central district, Paul Verryn, has been suspended" - January 2010. Resolution?: Findings of the curatrix - February 2010; The suspension is set aside, but ... - April-September 2010; Ann Skelton to the rescue - 2010; Building communities of diversity and peace - 2010; The spirituality of the poor - 2010/2011; "Is this boat going to sink?" - 2010; Conflict within the Methodist church - 2010; Life (and death) goes on inside central - 2011; Evans Kuntonda - 2011; On the street - 2011; Taking a closer look at the moth building - 2011; The axe and the tree; The man in brown - 2011; Reymond Mapakata's arrests; Some healing and some nuptials in the sanctuary; Sjamboks at Marabastad home affairs; Friday night refugee meetings.
This striking account tells the story of how the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg and its controversial Bishop Paul Verryn came to offer refuge to people who had nowhere else to turn. Xenophobic violence erupted in South Africa in May 2008 and the threat of it spreading to Central Methodist Church became very real--already there were over a thousand migrants living in the church, most of them having fled across the Zimbabwe border in search of a life beyond poverty and political oppression. Every square inch was occupied. Christa Kuljian fluently combines many elements to share this remarkable experience openly: interviews with members of the refugee community, residents of the church, and key figures who include the head of Central Methodist; historical material on the church and its role in the city since the early years; and an understanding of urban dynamics, migrancy, and South African politics. Central Methodist became a visible reminder of the challenges facing Johannesburg and South Africa--such as poverty, migration, xenophobia, and policing--and this is the complex and compelling history of how it happened.
Christa Kuljian is a freelance writer based in Johannesburg, who holds a BA from Harvard and a Master's in International Development and Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. Kuljian completed her Master's in Creative Writing at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007, focusing on narrative non-fiction. In 2010, she was awarded the Ruth First Fellowship at Wits Journalism and gave the Ruth First Memorial Lecture on the refugee crisis at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, which led to her writing Sanctuary. Christa's writing has appeared in South African publications including City Press, New Contrast, Botsotso, Words etc., Digest of South African Architecture and The Weekender, amongst others. Originally from Boston, Christa had a previous career in development, civil society and human rights. In the 1980s, her employers included the South African Council of Churches and Senator Edward Kennedy. She was the Director of the C.S. Mott Foundation in South Africa from 1992-2003.
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