February 2010

a monthly e-news publication

Help Koinonia Catch Up! We’re halfway through our fiscal year, but not half way to our $180,000 goal for opera -tions and projects. Your donation no matter the amount will make a difference! 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 We continue to pray for the people of Haiti and for those who have gone to lend assistance and aid. Please join us in praying that God’s healing and comfort would remain close to our brothers and sisters as they struggle to repair what’s left of their homes and their families.   Did You Know? Thanks to all of you who contributed to Koinonia in 2009. If you have not received your end-of-year thank you and official tax-receipt mailed in January, please send us an e-mail at contributions@koinoniapartners.org or call Amanda Moore at 229-924-0391. Koinonia sincerely appreciates those of you who purchase our products and make donations to help us carry out our mission. Currently, we are working toward raising $180,000 for projects and operations for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010). As you can see from the thermometer, we are running behind. There are so many worthy causes appealing for your assistance. Know we are sincerely grateful for whatever support you are able give to Koinonia.  Happy Birthday to our director and her husband Bren and Jim Dubay! Born exactly one year apart, Bren and Jim have been at the farm since 2004. As director Bren has offered excellent leadership and wisdom to the community. We’re so thankful for her guidance! And Jim, well he is one of the handiest people to have around and he has the best sense of humor you’ll ever run across. We celebrated their birthday this year with a surprise party, complete with cupcakes and a cookie cake made by our 3- and 5-year old redheads, Kellan and Ida Prendergast. Reaching Out We were pleased this month to help with a local Fuller Center Build. In two days, we got the walls and the roof on the duplex, just before it began raining again. The duplex is being built for two disabled men, and it was very moving to see them helping with the construction work with such energy and joy. We’re very thankful to witness and be a part of such Kingdom work, recognizing that what we do for others, we do for God himself. Below is a snapshot of the build in progress. We’re happy to welcome our newest Community Intern, Brandon Goober. Brandon was one of our Fall Interns, and he’ll spend the next year serving with us as a Community Intern. His inquisitive mind and eager spirit are a welcome addition to the group. And we’re excited for his continued help in our mail-order business and in our worship services. Brandon has an amazing voice; he even got to open for a concert at the local Café Campesino this month. We’ll let you know when his debut album is released.

For the second year in a row, our homeschool group made it to the State Level of the Lego League Competition! Lego League is a yearly contest that focuses on a different real-world topic related to the sciences. The students work out solutions to the various problems they are given and program robotics to complete the assigned tasks. This year’s topic focused on transportation. The group’s research project entitled “A Streetcar Named Inspire” proposed to revive the street car system to replace the four diesel burning buses Americus currently uses for the City Transit system. The students also researched and found federal funding for the project. During their research, the students learned that Georgia’s first chartered electric street car system was built and operated right here in Americus. At the Super Regional Competition in Warner Robins, the group received a Congressional Award for their research and outstanding community service. The students plan to present their research to the Americus Mayor and City Council in February. We’ll let you know how it goes. Pictured is the team, self-titled The Fellowship of the Polar Bears.

At the Farm

Seventeen students and staff from Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Dothan, AL came to spend a weekend with us mid-January. They were just in time to help out with pruning the grape vines. They willingly worked all weekend in the rain! We thoroughly enjoyed their fellowship with us at Sunday evening Potluck Worship. A few days later a group from Birmingham Theological Seminary came as part of a class on intentional Christian community. We were challenged by their questions, and inspired by their passion and dedication to their ideals.

This month we welcomed six SOOPers to the farm for two weeks. The SOOP program is Mennonite-run and offers Service Opportunities for Older People, hence SOOP. This super SOOPer group was comprised of four Canadians: Eleanor and Zenas Shantz, Carol and Murray Buehler; and two Ohioans: Barbara and Byron Kauffman. We were grateful for their help in sorting pecans, folding letters and stuffing envelopes for an annual mailing, and painting and doing some maintenance work on the Wittkamper House. We were blessed many times over by their beautiful singing and their eagerness to serve God.

Two students from The Meeting School, a Quaker boarding school in New Hampshire, spent the month of January with us. Stephen Budlong was mentored by Koinonians Brendan Prendergast and Nashua Chantal in all sorts of projects around the farm, as well as working alongside our SOOPers in adding a fresh coat of paint to Wittkamper house. Liz Stillwell concocted tasty treats for customers and community members with Koinonian Geneva Brown in the bakery and dining hall, and she also tried her hand in the sorting plant. They joined us for meals and worship, joined in on a project with the local Fuller Center affiliate, and enjoyed playing with the Prendergast girls and socializing with the rest of the community. They were a joy to have around and we wish them well as they continue their high school experience.

(Written by Luke Lyman Barner) There are a lot of odd jobs to do around Koinonia, many of which could use an extra odd person. “Where do you find odd people?” community members asked. The homeschool group seemed a logical place to start. The students of the homeschool group chose a community member to partner with to perform these jobs. Grace Lyman Barner and Sol Pomeroy chose to learn about working in the bakery with Geneva Brown; Ben Thornburgh and Christian Daniels chose farm work with Brendan Prendergast; Levi Lyman Barner chose mechanical maintenance with Craig Martindale; Hughes Pope chose to hang out with Chuck Wilbanks; Ryan Mournigan, Hugh Pomeroy, and Eric Dalva are learning about woodworking and construction with Nashua Chantal; while I'm learning Web site design, photography, and other digital media skills with Amanda Moore. The purpose of these apprenticeships is to increase the amount of interaction between community members and the students, and to share the individual talents we all have with each other through cooperative work around the farm. Click here to see photos of the students in action, all taken by Luke Lyman Barner. (Good job, guys and gals!)

The Permibus family finally made it out of the North Carolina freeze to come help us with the upcoming Permaculture Design Course. Stan, Delyla, and Megan live and travel in their 40ft-long bus that features bio-fuels, solar power, greywater, humanure composting, hydroponic garden, permaculture curtains, and composting (including chickens and worms). They’re on a tour of the nation, educating communities about Permaculture and showing how these principles can be applied almost anywhere. Here’s a view of the outside of the Permibus. 

Coming Soon

To all our friends in the Chicago area — MARK MARCH 27, 2010 on your calendars. The next Friends of Koinonia Gathering is being hosted by sister community Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston. To learn more and to RSVP, e-mail info@koinoniapartners.org.

April 16-18, 2010 we will host our fourth School for Conversion weekend here at the farm! Jesus’ announcement of the kingdom of God is an invitation to come and follow, to learn a whole new way of living. Based on the book “School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism,” this weekend course introduces students to the theology, traditions, and practice of Christianity as a way of life. If you or your group would like more information about this Spirit-filled weekend, contact Sarah Prendergast, sarah@koinoniapartners.org.