BISHOP Paul Verryn told Daily Sun it has been very emotional for him to say goodbye to the people who have been living in his church since 2008.
The City of Joburg has had enough of the people living at the Central Methodist Church, and the homeless have been given one day to leave the building.
Some have moved to run- down buildings in the CBD while others still face an uncertain future with nowhere to go.
The church opened its doors to thousands of refugees who had nowhere to go, and those who were left living in fear after the xenophobic attacks of 2008.
The doors of the church will close for the last time on 1 January. “I opened this church in 2000 because I saw how people suffered in their own countries,” said Verryn.
“These are people who have suffered; people who were interrogated and tortured in their own countries.”
He said as much as he had been accused of turning the church into a squatter camp, he had still given people a roof over their heads.
“The church has equipped the people with skills and I believe they will get by on their own,” said Verryn.
He said it pained him whenever he saw locked churches. “A church must have an open door for people to come in so that they can regain some of their dignity,” he said.
He said he was confident that the people would find accommodation. He also has a place in Soweto.
“I hope those who have nowhere to go will find a place there,” he said.
He said the time had come to move on.
WATCH VIDEO HERE
