"I keep thinking about all those big churches in the inner city that are sitting empty during the week. Wouldn't it be wonderful if those unused classrooms could be turned into dormitories filled with hundreds of unloved children and teenagers from the slums? Each church could become its own [Teen Challenge] Center manned by volunteers."
"Nicky," Gloria interrupted, squeezing his knee, "you're too much of a dreamer. Do you think those church people are going to turn their beautiful buildings into dormitories for lost and homeless kids? These church people want to help, but they want someone else to do it for them. The fuss now if a drunk interrupts a worship service. Think what they would say if they came to church some Sunday morning and found their sacred temples desecrated with beds and cots and a bunch of former junkies and glue sniffers in the spic and span halls. No, Nicky, you're a dreamer. These people don't want to get their hands dirty. They rebel against having their carpets stained with dirt from bare feet."
From me:
This is no longer just for the slums! We need socially active churches everywhere (even/especially suburbia).