Religion & Spirituality
Jonathan Brooks is the pastor of Canaan Community Church in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and the author of the forthcoming book, Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods. He is a community developer, hip hop artist and Chicago city director for Mission Year. Jonathan grew up in Englewood on Chicago’s south side, moved away, and eventually returned to build community. Together with his wife Miche’al and community members, Jonathan created the 5 Loaves Food co-op, providing healthy food options for the neighborhood. In this episode of RePlacing Church, Jonathan joins me to discuss: The history and challenges of his urban community White flight, disinvestment, and neglected neighborhoods The narrative of escaping forsaken places, and why he returned How a 'bifocal' perspective helps us to see brokenness and beauty at the same time Why there are no God-forsaken places, only church-forsaken ones The power of ownership and collaboration in a place Get your free RePlacing Church Resource List, a guide to being and becoming the church in the neighborhood. Subscribe, rate, and review the RePlacing Church Podcast on iTunes, or listen on Stitcher, Google Play, or Podbean. Support RePlacing Church on Patreon. I need your support to offset production costs so that I can continue to offer quality content and insightful interviews that will help you grow in your faith and practice. Visit www.patreon.com/benkatt, become a RePlacing Church Patron for as little as a $1/month and receive access to bonus podcast episodes, additional blog posts and more exclusive content! More information here. Sign up for RePlacing Church updates at www.replacingchurch.org. Like on Facebook, Follow on Instagram. Episode Song Credits: "Another Wrong to Right" by Mercir. "Feels Like Home" by Immersive Music. "Full Humanity" by Cymatix. Used with Permission. Production Assistance by Nate Tubbs.