Sentence:  The congregation perishes when it is no longer possible to replenish that core from the neighborhood ; moreover , residential mobility is so high in metropolitan <WSD>areas</WSD> that churches have to recruit constantly in their core stratum in order to survive ; they can lose higher - and lower status members from the church without collapsing , but they need adequate recruits for the core stratum in order to preserve economic integration . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)