I just finished reading Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places by Sharon Zukin. It's a compelling read about how the desire for authenticity has shaped several New York City neighborhoods. I'm still processing much of what I've read here, but one quote which is really an evaluation of Brooklyn has stuck with me. Zukin writes: "The new Brooklyn is different. It's a place people come to, not a place they come from, and where residents don't have a traditional, urban village way of life but are very proud of the "authenticity" of the neighborhood where they choose to live."

We talk a lot around here about having a theology of place. Actually we don't really use those words very often, but we do, in our practice and vision, hope to reflect and embody the different neighborhoods that make up Brooklyn. In other words we think that place really matters. Christianity has always been embodied on the streets, in the public square, and in living rooms. And so it matters where we live, where we shop, the neighborhood parks where we spend our free time, it all matters not just practically but theologically. Simply put, how can we love our neighbors as ourselves if we don't know who they are and what they do?

Now, if you pick up a work of systematic theology chances are you won't find a category called neighborhood right after the doctrine of the atonement of Christ. But our lives are not lived out in general and generic places. We live in a specific places and those places force us to ask questions and ignore others. Our place offers us alternative hopes for our world, for our future and we have to decide if we buy into them or not. Place really matters.

Which brings me back to this quote and the assessment that Brooklyn is a place people come to not a place they come from. If Zukin is right (and I think for the most part she is) then we have both an opportunity and a challenge before us in the next few years.

The opportunity is that people are coming to Brooklyn. To live, to work, to embody the streets, parks and neighborhoods. And there is a great need and opportunity to listen to their stories, share their love for Brooklyn and offer them a Christianity where place really does matter.

The challenge is that those people coming to Brooklyn don't have roots in Brooklyn. Maybe they're here for a few years trying it out seeing if things will work. But if they're not from here, there is no reason to stay here when the road gets rough. And the call to another place can be deafening at times. And the thing about a place like Brooklyn is that usually there is an cheaper and easier alternative somewhere else. But alongside cultivating a theology of place is a call to stay. But that's another post...

Zukin's overall assessment maybe right but there are still lots of people from Brooklyn who plan on staying in Brooklyn. They grew up here, their roots are here and there is no other place calling their name. It turns out the one's I've met have a really good theology of place. They know place matters that's why they're here, that's why they stay. So if you want to cultivate a theology of place start by talking to your neighbors who are from Brooklyn. Well, introduce yourself first and then get them talking about your street and ask them why they stay.