April 2009

a monthly e-news publication

PARTNER WITH US Your gift truly makes an enormous difference. As an E-news subscriber, you show that you care about the life and service of Koinonia. We ask each subscriber to consider making a monthly donation to assist us in the service we do for others. A donation of any amount helps and is deeply appreciated..  Thank you for your generosity! Or make a one-time donation: Donate securely Online, but if you prefer, you may call us to make a donation by phone at 877-738-1741 or by mail at Koinonia Farm, 1324 GA Hwy 49 S, Americus, GA 31719.

Did You Know? Koinonian Sanders Thornburgh just returned from a one-year sabbatical. He and his wife Sandy along with their 3-year-old daughter Mary arrived at Koinonia in 1995 for a three-month commitment. After the three months, they took a one-year commitment, then a three-year commitment. Sanders and Sandy felt they had found a niche for themselves here and made a permanent commitment to this community as a way of life. Sanders worked in the organic garden with former Koinonia Bob Burns, and Sandy worked in various positions in the office. Over many years, numerous trials, and several reinventions of fitting their family into the community, Sanders still sees the sprit of God active at Koinonia, working in and among the people, ordaining the land for a special purpose. “It’s a true demonstration plot,” Sanders said. “I encounter God in my relationships with other people. When humans bump against each other, a spark of the divine appears. This is a special place, and people recognize it.” Through the difficult years Koinonia had in the late 90s, Sanders constantly felt the prayers from friends and sister communities sustaining Koinonia and believes those prayers are becoming a part of what’s happening here now. Thanks, Sanders, for being a part of our family, and to all those who continually sustain us with their prayer. This month Hakeem Brown was named to the Principal’s List at his school here in Americus. Hakeem is the son of Koinonia partner Geneva Brown, our baker. Hakeem received all A’s in his classes and maintained perfect attendance. He also received an award in music. Man, can that boy sing and play the keyboard! Congratulations, Hakeem, and keep up the good work!

We continued to celebrate the life of Millard Fuller this month with a memorial service in Atlanta and a second gravesite service at Koinonia. The memorial service in Atlanta was beautiful. The four children each shared three lessons they learned from their father. Their daughter Georgia and a group from her church in Jacksonville, Florida performed a song she wrote a few days before her father died, “It’s All for Good.” She didn’t know at the time what inspired her to write the song, but shared that she now felt it served as a way to help her with her loss. Linda held a storytelling time for the children. She called all the kids to the front altar and told a story from her and Millard's travels. Once on a visit to a very poor country, a small child stood next to them with her palm outstretched. A close look showed that the girl was not asking for money, but was offering money. The interpreter quickly explained that this young girl had saved all her money and had brought it to Millard and Linda so that she could help someone have a home. What an amazing story! Please continue to pray for Linda, their family, the Fuller Center, and the countless friends across the world celebrating Millard’s rebirth. If you’d like a copy of the Atlanta memorial service or other memorabilia, visit the Fuller Center Web site, www.fullercenter.org or go to the Koinonia Web store and click "Fuller Center Online Store." Pictured, Linda shares her story with the children.

Reaching Out

The latest edition of the Koinonia Farm Chronicle should arrive in the mail next week. The paper features a tribute to Millard Fuller, an update on our garden efforts, covers special events over the past few months, and includes a selection from Clarence’s writings. We hope you enjoy this publication and find it a helpful insight to our life at Koinonia. Let us know at info@koinoniapartners.org if you don’t receive yours in the mail. You can also view an Online copy of the newspaper here: PDF. We want to continue with two issues a year and ask our readers to consider donating as little as $5 to help cover costs. You can make a secure donation Online by clicking the donate button to the left.

This week, hundreds of religious groups have united in this year’s Interfaith Pilgrimage for Immigrants. The 50-mile walk began on Sunday in Gainesville, Ga. and will continue through North Georgia into metro Atlanta on Friday. Koinonia novice Nashua Chantal and our good friend Anton Flores from Alterna Community will be among the participants. The walk expresses solidarity with immigrants and calls for humane immigration reform. Denise Laffan, a Buddhist nun of Nipponzan Myohoji and event co-organizer, said, “The participating communities of faith hope this pilgrimage reminds us that the hardest walls to destroy are the walls of fear built in our hearts.” Please pray for the participants in this walk and please continue to pray for the many individuals and families living in this country undocumented. For more information, e-mail pilgrimage@travelerstogether.org.

We held the first Friends of Koinonia Gathering in Eugene, Or., hosted by our sister community, Church of the Servant King. It was a wonderful time meeting local friends of Koinonia, and sharing delicious samplings of our products. Following a showing of the “Briars in the Cotton Patch” documentary, we answered questions and shared news about the community today. These events provide an opportunity for Koinonia’s friends to connect with others in their area, learn more about Koinonia, and bring new people to learn about the community. The next Friends of Koinonia Gathering will be hosted by St. Catherine’s Montessori School in Houston, Texas on Saturday, September 19, 2009. We’d love to take our community “on tour” to all 50 states this year! If you’re interested in hosting a Friends of Koinonia event in your area, e-mail info@koinoniapartners.org.

Coming Soon

Director Bren Dubay looks forward to spending three days, April 13-15, at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, North Carolina, participating in the events surrounding the Mac Bryan Caring Award. She’ll speak at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14 in Broyhill Chapel prior to the Mac Bryan Caring Award Dinner. She’ll also spend time visiting with students in various classes and meeting with different groups. If you would like to attend the chapel service or the award dinner, please e-mail Cindy Frost at cfrost@mhc.edu.

We’ll host a Wild Edibles seminar at the farm May 8-9. Former Koinonian Bob Burns and Sanders Thornburgh will lead this seminar, which will include a fresh meal of wild edibles. Bob maintained the organic garden years ago and has been very helpful as we launch new agricultural efforts regrowing the garden, revitalizing the pecan trees and renewing the soil. Thanks, Bob, for your continuing friendship!

Koinonia will make its way to the Ekklesia Gathering again this Summer. Join us in Chicago July 9-11 as we explore communities and as we lead a workshop on business within communities. For more information, visit the Ekklesia Web site, www.ekklesiaproject.org.