The sidewalk outside Victoria’s Central Baptist Church was littered with trash on a recent visit. A woman was slumped like a resting marionette, her arms hanging from her waist. The smell of urine rose from the concrete. It was mid-week in the heart of the city’s central business district but Pandora Avenue was strangely quiet. Nobody was talking. No one was asking for change.
Central Baptist Church stretches almost an entire block along Pandora’s south side. Judged from the nave, it looks in good shape, with a new pastor, a banging house band, a popular youth ministry. On Sundays, 700 people pack the pews to hear Shawn Barden preach.
