After uproar, German town warms to refugees who took over church

Migrant children from Syria pose in front of a Protestant church in Oberhausen, Germany, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

OBERHAUSEN, Germany (Reuters) - When Daniela Handwerk looked out of her window earlier this month and saw the church across the street being emptied out and turned into a refugee shelter, she panicked - and she was not alone.

As news of the plan to house 50 refugees in the church and suspend Sunday services spread through this community on the outskirts of Oberhausen, in the Ruhr valley, angry residents pressed church and city officials to reconsider.