Koinonia Briefly

October 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.

If your email reader has difficulty displaying this message, or if you would like to print it, please visit the online version at www.KoinoniaPartners.org/htmlmail/

---

Did You Know?

• This month, lovers of Koinonia’s fair trade Guatemalan coffee got to meet an elder from the community of Santa Anita la Union, Guatemala - the source of that delicious coffee. Rigoberto Augustin Ramirez came to Koinonia for some Georgia cuisine, a tour (in Spanish), and an evening “encuentro” with us. The 32 families of Santa Anita survived decades of civil war and poverty, then unified to produce coffee and bananas on an abandoned plantation. Thanks to the fair trade movement, these families earn a livable price for their crops, plus they now have a personal connection with consumers of their coffee. Don Rigoberto spoke of Santa Anita’s history and daily life, and dreamed of youth exchanges between our two communities. We are grateful to Tripp Pomeroy of Café Campesino (our fair trade coffee roastery) for introducing us to Don Rigoberto, and most especially to the families of Santa Anita.

• We’ve been visiting friends all over the country! Koinonians have been in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, New York, and more to listen, learn, and share about the goings-on and the future of Koinonia. We know that many people who love Koinonia are not able to visit us in Georgia, but the prayers and support of these friends are invaluable to us. If you would like to invite a Koinonian to speak to your group or meet with you personally, please let us know by calling Ann at 229 924 0391 or emailing hospitality@koinoniapartners.org.
  
  

Reaching Out

• Three cheers for the successful Circle of Friends Health Fair this month. The Ellaville Primary Medical Clinic, the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, and others did free blood pressure, diabetes, hearing and vision tests. Healthy snacks and good-for-the-soul fellowship and laughter were also available in abundance. 30 people of all ages took advantage of the opportunity. Special thanks to Kathleen Monts and our new community interns for helping set it up.

• Heart to Heart home repair ministry’s big adventure this month was a trip to Shreveport, Louisiana to swing hammers at the Fuller Center for Housing Blitz Build 2006. Koinonians J. Reilly, Brendan Prendergast and Jim Dubay helped build a house for a Hurricane Katrina evacuee family in just five days. “It was really nice to see the appreciation of the homeowner, and to work with her all week. The days were long, but we met some wonderful folks and had a great time.” Now the team is gearing up to repair our neighbor LaTonya Anderson’s home… stay tuned…
  
  
  
  Jim Dubay (right) helping out with new friends in Shreveport;
  photo courtesy the Fuller Center for Housing

• Koinonia was once again glad to host the Prison and Jail Project’s Freedomwalk (an annual Journey for Justice across southwest Georgia) at the farm this September. Our Guest House was filled with energetic and early-rising walkers for a full week, and we enjoyed serving them a taco buffet—and ice cream too, mmm—after one long day’s sojourn. On the weekend, many of us joined the walk, lifting up forgotten history, calling attention to current injustices, and celebrating victories.

At the Farm

• Remembering Annie Tyner and Robert Laster. The Koinonia family mourns two friends this month. Our neighbor and Circle of Friends member Annie Tyner passed away after a heart attack. “I can’t say enough about her. Ms. Tyner always made everybody laugh, and when you saw her you knew you were going to get some smiles and hugs,” said Kathleen Monts. And our friend Robert Laster was a school bus driver, a mechanic, and a kind and gentle man who contributed inestimably to Koinonia. Norris remembers a typical Robert act of kindness, when he brought not only needed tractor parts and expertise, but also box lunches, GoJo and clean rags for a hungry and worn-out Bud and Bone. Annie and Robert, we miss you both and send our love to your families.

• We were blessed to have Steve Clemens (Koinonia 1975-1990) join us for an evening of conversation recently. He shared what he had learned from his years here, and also shared about his prison witness, peace activism, and current home, the Community of St. Martin in Minneapolis, MN. Thank you so much, Steve. We would love to have other former Koinonians visit and share their memories and experiences, and share with them what’s going on at the farm now… do you or someone you know fit the bill?

• Other recent visitors included a Unitarian Universalist group from Atlanta. Upon being caught in a cloudburst during a tractor-drawn wagon tour through our pecan orchards, they proved to be great sports—breaking into song, even!—and later, they held a delicious shrimp jambalaya dinner at our Outreach Center for a chance to fellowship with us. Although we can’t guarantee the cloudburst, we’d love to host more such group excursions.

• We pray for our chaplain Norris Harris as he continues to care for his wife Imogene, who is also in our prayers as she continues to live with diabetes. We pray for peace in the Middle East, and for those who have died, especially civilians, in Lebanon and elsewhere. Please join us in these prayers.

• The chapel renovation continues! Here’s the latest progress, in photo form. We’re still welcoming helpers for this project, so call Ann or Ellie at 229 924 0391 if you’d like to join in.
  
  
  

Coming Soon

• Safe travels to all the folks heading our way for product season. When you get here, be sure to take a peek at this lovely new mural, painted on the floor of the granola-mixing room by Koinonia service intern Jo Knox.
  
  
  

  
  Order some chocolate
  and you'll keep community
  intern Michael Harren busy!

 

 

We’re pouring chocolate, baking peach cake, and hoping for a good pecan harvest. And our new 2006-2007 catalog is hot off the presses! Watch for it in your mailbox, or place your order early online at www.cottonpatchstore.com or by calling us at 1-229-924-0391.

 

 

 

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.