Koinonia Briefly

November 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?

Our friend Zev Aelony recently shared a story about Clarence which moved us so much we wanted to pass it on. Zev visited Koinonia from 1959-1965, and he writes: “I was strongly influenced by a visit by two young soldiers to visit Clarence Jordan to which Clarence invited me. The two youths in uniform came after having read the first of Clarence’s “Cotton Patch” translations of a book of the Christian bible. After some iced shrub (a soft drink then made there from the skins of muscadines after they had been pressed for grape juice) was served to all, one of the teenagers noted the gold cross on Clarence’s bible and said that they were part of the same mission and pointed to the emblems on their sleeves, bloodied swords pointed upward…” Read Clarence’s response and the rest of the story here.

We are currently being inspired and provoked (in the best sense) by our book group on Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. Sanders Thornburgh is guiding us through the book, which shares a faith path patterned after Jesus’ life and works by chronicling the author’s life at the Simple Way community in inner-city Philadelphia, his travels to Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in India, war-torn Iraq, and other points of suffering and light. We heartily recommend the book. And if you’re in the area, give us a call at 229 924 0391 and join in the learning.

Bren Dubay and other community members are traveling around the country these days visiting friends of Koinonia and are available to speak to groups — a gathering of your friends, your church or Sunday School class, high school or university classes, Rotary Club, etc., etc. Give Ann Karp a call at (229) 924-0391 for more information. We’d love to see you here or at your home.

Reaching Out

Koinonia webmaster Geoffrey Hennies is currently working in New Orleans working with Common Ground Relief. He asks for prayers for all the folks in New Orleans trying to rebuild. We send prayers to the entire Gulf Coast. Geoffrey writes, “I took a tour of the lower Ninth Ward yesterday and it brought me to tears. It still looks like Katrina happened last week.” We thank Geoffrey and other friends of Koinonia for their work on the Gulf Coast.

Rose Andrews is mortgage free! New homeowner Rose Andrews received her deed from Koinonia community member Kathleen Monts this month after paying off her twenty-year mortgage this month. Mrs. Andrews’ home in Plains, Georgia is one of 190 houses built by Koinonia Partnership Housing in the 1960s-1980s in an attempt to end substandard housing in our county. This is another success for the project that ultimately became Habitat for Humanity International, building houses with no-interest loans, volunteer labor and sweat equity from future homeowners. Congratulations, Rose.

Who says sleepovers are just for kids? The Circle of Friends met for a special overnight session recently, and an undercover group of whippersnappers who stopped by the Koinonia Community Outreach Center around nine p.m. report being assailed with the smell of delicious barbeque, the sound of laughter and joking, and a barrage of hugs! The three brave souls who stayed all night also watched a scary zombie movie brought by our neighbor Ms. Catherine Harden! As always we send out prayers to those in our Circle with special concerns, such as Mildred Burton, whose daughter Tamara is struggling for her health. Please hold this family in your hearts.

At the Farm

 

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed a recent visit from new friends Bob and Diane Fauth, who rolled in with their RV a few weeks ago. Bob has helped in renovating the chapel, and Diane has kept things lively in the bakery. But more importantly, they’ve shown beautiful hospitality and generosity to our community, hosting an RV “open house” complete with Koinonia bakery treats that Diane had helped to make, letting us watch the Monday Night Football game at their place, cooking a wonderful blueberry pancake supper one Saturday night, and generally being friendly and thoughtful.

The pecan harvest has begun at last! Yum! Need we say more?

Coming Soon

The holidays are fast approaching! Our “family business” of growing and selling pecans and baked goodies gives people around the world a chance to enjoy special treats from our Georgia farm, as well as sustaining our community and ministries. If you haven’t received our annual products catalog yet, either because you’ve moved or because we don’t have your mailing address, please let us know. Call us at 1-877-738-1741 or email products@koinoniapartners.org with your address, and we’ll put a copy in the mail right away!

As the weather cools and the leaves turn color, rain has arrived, just in time for our organic peanut field. Tiny rye and clover plants are springing up all over the field, tiding it over until May when we plant our peanuts. We hope for a fruitful “demonstration plot” next year! And this month, Kurt and Jim are starting plants in the greenhouse for a winter garden, while Norris and Bud ready the pecan equipment for the approaching harvest.

 

We hope you enjoy Koinonia Briefly and share it with your friends. You receive these monthly updates by request, because you placed an order from Koinonia, or because one of our community members added your name. If you have suggestions for improvements, please let us know at . If you would like to be removed from the list, please follow the instructions below.