Christa Kuljian's Sanctuary: How an Inner-city Church Spilled onto a Sidewalk is based on 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. Many ask, how did a place of worship turn into a shelter for thousands of refugees? Where did they come from? Why are they still there? Seeking to answer such questions, Kuljian fluently combines many elements: interviews with members of the refugee community and residents of the Church, and key figures like the head of Central Methodist, who has often been at the centre of the storm; 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 and southern African politics.

Kuljian takes readers on a historic journey of how Central Methodist became a visible reminder of so many of the challenges facing Johannesburg and South Africa – poverty, migration, xenophobia, policing, inner-city housing and shelter, the vulnerable position of women and children, and the gap between rich and poor.

A complex, compelling book that grapples with some of South Africa's most urgent social problems as they are refracted through one appalling, frustrating, inspiring place; "The story will always be told of how people came to Central Methodist and there was a place for them."