Koinonia Briefly

December 2006
a monthly e-news publication

To keep you up-to-date with news from the farm, we’ll be sending Koinonia Briefly to you each and every month.

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Did You Know?

Koinonia community intern Michael Harren is also known to many as Mikey of Mikeypod.com, a podcasting website he’s been running for some time. We’ve been tuning in with interest as he podcasts reflections on his time at Koinonia, interviews with engaging visitors and community members, and local social justice experiences such as SOA Watch and the Freedomwalk. Each episode is about 20-30 minutes long and includes music as well as talk. If you’d like to listen for yourself, visit www.mikeypod.com

Reaching Out

The Circle of Friends lovingly prepared early Thanksgiving dinners for shut-in neighbors, then shared a dinner of their own at the Koinonia Community Outreach Center. Hams and turkeys from the food bank were also distributed by visitor Pauline Jenkins and KCOC’s Jim Dubay and Kathleen Monts. Ms. Kathleen was recently recognized by the Southwest Georgia Women’s Missionary Society of the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church for her 27 years of dedicated and outstanding service. We’re also grateful for Kathleen’s dedication and service to Koinonia. The Circle of Friends has created a beautiful Tree of Thanksgiving at the Center, and indeed they remind us that we have many reasons to feel grateful for life!

The Koinonia Community Outreach Center has been filled with Puppetistas—kids and grown-ups creating beautiful, gigantic puppets out of used cardboard, for awareness-raising performances at the annual vigil and rally at the gates of the School of the Americas (WHINSEC) at Fort Benning, GA. The same week, we also opened our doors to friends from Common Ground Collective, Nazareth Farm, Sojourners, Eckerd College, Oberlin College, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, the Georgia Green Party, University of Notre Dame, and Washington University Catholic Student Center. Along with a group of Koinonians, all were among the 22,000 gathered at the gates this year to work to close the SOA, which has been tied to the training of human rights offenders in Latin America.

We again welcomed for a visit our friend Chaplain Bonita Davis and a group of soldiers from the Medical Retention Center at Fort Benning. Bonita brings these soldiers, returning from often scarring experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places, to Koinonia to heal and to open their hearts to new possibilities. The soldiers were eager to learn Koinonia’s history and continued work and witness. We pray for healing, and for an end to all war.

 

The Heart to Heart home repair ministry team has begun work on our neighbor LaTonya Anderson’s house. It will be a major repair, both inside and out, but we are glad to be able to undertake it even during this busy season on the farm. So far, Sarah reports, “We have installed all new windows, which are double glazed with low-e glass, helping to keep LaTonya’s home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. And we’ve begun rebuilding the bathroom including new drywall and a new tub and tile surround.” Here, Sarah’s husband and Heart to Heart crewmate Brendan Prendergast installs new tile in the shower.

 

At the Farm

We report to you from the midst of a harvest of persimmons, pumpkins… and pecans, of course! Community intern Kurt Morrow (pictured) has been sprouting seeds in the greenhouse, and in his spare time, service intern Brendan Prendergast has built a new, larger compost pile container as well as a hot house frame—a box tilted sunward, with glass panels to insulate young plants during cold nights. We look forward to lots of hearty greens and veggies to share with visitors and friends on our table soon.

We are so thankful for our three community interns this fall. They came to join us for three months of prayer, work, study, service and fun… and the results have included podcasts (see above), ice cream parties, and an excellent rate of swingset usage. We also rejoice that former community interns Israel, Jo Knox, and current community intern Kurt Morrow have committed to stay at Koinonia another year. If you’re interested in a deeper experience of Koinonia, a change in your own life, or are seeking community and service, consider an internship here. Spring term begins in February, summer in June. Email Ann at hospitality@koinoniapartners.org if you might like to join us.

Coming Soon

Our friend Leland Mott recently sent us copies of several recorded lectures of Clarence Jordan, just in case we didn’t already have them. His generosity makes us wonder how many other unknown gems might be out there. So we are asking you, our friends: Do you have recordings or writings by Clarence, Florence, Martin or Mable England, Margaret or Will Wittkamper, Con or Cay Browne or other early Koinonians that we may not know about? First-hand materials are also wonderful to share with visiting students and groups, and we would love to receive copies for our archives! Our mailing address is 1324 Georgia Hwy 49 S, Americus GA 31719.

Finally, we are grateful for the many friends, old and new, who have visited the farm this fall and winter. Already groups of youth are inquiring about visits during our “alternative spring break” season and beyond. If your group is considering a visit to Koinonia, please let us know by calling Ellie at 229 924 0391 or emailing hospitality@koinoniapartners.org. We’d love to welcome you to the farm for a wagon ride, some hot cornbread, and a hearty helping of prayer, work, study and service.

 

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