C. Conrad Browne
Koinonia: an Introduction
Koine,' "common," the root from which
koinonia derives, hardly accounts for the uncommon nature of
the Americus Koinonia. Its commonality was, and is, uncommon
to society around it.
Koinonia's inception was an attempt to break
away from ordinary ideas and experiences of "church"
and "community". In a sense, it was a haven for battlescarred
persons who wanted a "peace that passeth understanding"
in contrast to the hurry and bustle of ordinary societal pursuits.
It was a place where each day was focused
-focused beyond survival, though surviving was a continual
issue (it became a priority during violent reaction to Koinonia's
different practices) with daily attention to Biblical application,
worship and fellowship. Each day had time set for Bible review.
Companionship was fostered by working together and by breaking
bread together (com = with; panis = bread) at a common table
for all peoples regardless of hue. Every day was punctuated
by worship (church every day did not fit neighborhood Sunday
concepts) and regular community meetings.
The search for a "better way" was
often labelled a "retreat from reality." Koinonia
was no retreat from dominant issues --diversified farming, care
of soil and developing it, people's rights and civil rights,
nonviolent direct action, sharing social ethics, different
value system and ways of evaluating, simple living, vital religious
attitudes and applications, new and different worship experiences
and concepts of economic relationships.
It was pioneering a new frontier, breaking
new ground, opening doors and windows. It was change in process.
It was a "rest for battle weary"
civil rights heroes, a procession of whom came for security,
for stimulation, for comfort, for fellowship and hard work.
It was refitting for those who turned to "hippie"
life as a closet from social traditions rejected. Earrings and
other accouterments of "new freedom" were accepted
and challenged.
The pressure of much violence turned the focus
too much, perhaps, to place and continuance. Other communes
not caught up in violence had attachment to "place".
Koinonia adapted its concepts instead of rejecting its base.
Change was common, whereas society clung to what had been and
was, slow to change, slow to challenge accepted patterns.
Koinonia's great challenge was to get people
to graft its unique ideas into their own structures. Many came!
Many left! Those who identified the concepts and adapted them
were never the same again whether they settled in as members
or whether they left. The impact of Koinonia spread not only
from what went on in and around Americus, Georgia, but wherever
persons who had been at the community took up residence.
Bonds, developed among those who touched each
other within common unities of Koinonia, have kept a ring of
ties which are being celebrated this 50th Anniversary of the
start of the Americus Koinonia. Its creation was earlier in
Louisville, Kentucky. One might say, even in New Testament times:
Paul initiated koinonia wherever he traveled. All through the
Christian era, little intentional groups have developed to give
new life to those who have longed for a "more perfect way"
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