By John Cole

7 - City Centre

Very few people have permanent homes in city centres - with the exception of licensees and caretakers! Other people do live there: the residents of men's hostels, those sleeping rough etc. For these people the city centre is a twilight world behind the glitter of the shop fronts, the busyness of the offices and the noise of the traffic.

Churches can be local to this situation - for the city centre forms a significant part of many people’s lives - but only if a Sunday commuting congregation understands that the church's main work is on weekdays. either among the shop workers, the business folk and the staff of government departments, or among those twilight residents, the homeless, the drug-users, and the disaffected young people.