Koinonia Partners
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Koinonia Farm is a Christian farming intentional community in Sumter County, Georgia.[1]
History
The farm was founded in 1942 by two couples, Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England, as a "demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God."[2] For them, this meant following the example of the first Christian communities as described in the Acts of the Apostles, amid the poverty and racism of the rural South. The name Koinonia is an ancient Greek word, used often in the New Testament, meaning deep fellowship.[3] Koinonia members divested themselves of personal wealth and joined a "common purse" economic system. They envisioned an interracial community where blacks and whites could live and work together in a spirit of partnership.[4]
Based on their interpretation of the New Testament, Koinonia members committed to the following precepts:
- Treat all human beings with dignity and justice
- Choose love over violence
- Share all possessions and live simply
- Be stewards of the land and its natural resources
Other families joined, and visitors came to "serve a period of apprenticeship in developing community life on the teachings and principles of Jesus." Koinonians, visitors, and neighbors farmed, worshipped and ate together, attended Bible studies and held summer youth camps. When resources allowed the hiring of seasonal help, black and white workers were paid equally. Additional spiritual stewards of the community in the earlier years included Connie Browne and Will Wittkamper.
During the Civil Rights Movement
These practices were a break with the prevailing culture of
As a way to survive in hostile surroundings, Koinonia members created a small mail-order catalog to sell their farm's pecans and peanuts around the world. The business's first slogan was "Help us ship the nuts out of Georgia!" The business evolved to include treats made in the farm's bakery. The Koinonia Catalog business continued after the boycott concluded, and still constitutes the largest source of earned income for Koinonia.
Habitat for Humanity International
Threats of physical violence dwindled in the late 1960s, but the population of Koinonia Farm was greatly diminished due to the stress of previous years. Koinonia members searched for a new focus, and considered closing the farm experiment if none were found.
Millard and Linda Fuller had spent a month at Koinonia several years earlier. Millard had been an extremely successful businessman before he and his wife Linda rededicated their lives to Christianity, divested of their wealth, and sought ways to live out their faith. Clarence Jordan, Millard Fuller, and other allies of Koinonia engaged in a series of meetings, out of which emerged a new direction for Koinonia.[6]
Changing its name from Koinonia Farm to Koinonia Partners, the community refocused itself as a social service organization. The organization initiated several programs in partnership with its neighbors, chief among them Koinonia Partnership Housing, which organized the construction of affordable houses for low-income neighboring families previously living in shacks and dilapidated residences. Using volunteer labor and monetary donations, Koinonia built 194 homes from 1969 to 1992, which families bought with 20-year, no-interest
The Fullers guided the first four years of Koinonia Partnership Housing, and then moved to Zaire (now
Clarence Jordan's works while at Koinonia
Founding member
In addition to his work on the farm, Jordan penned many works of theology in his writing shack, a small one-room structure set near the "Bottom Garden", now in one of the farm's pecan orchards. Among the works penned there were four volumes collectively known as the
Ministries and structure since 1969
On October 29, 1969, Clarence Jordan died of a
Koinonia members and ministries since 1969 include
In 1993, Koinonia abandoned its "common purse" and experimented with a corporate
The community, again known by its original name, Koinonia Farm, was designated a Georgia Historic Site in 2005.[citation needed] In 2008, the Koinonia community received the Community of Christ International Peace Award.[9]
References
- ^ Holley, Santi Elijah (26 February 2018). "The 75-Year (and Counting) Christian Interracial Farm Experiment". Topic. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
- OCLC 565102618.
- ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
- OCLC 38571913.
- OCLC 61523343.
- OCLC 748993004.
- ^ a b "Habitat's history". Habitat for Humanity. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
- OCLC 748993004.
- ^ "International Peace Award". Community of Christ. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
Further reading
- Faith Fuller ; Michael Booth ; Andrew Young. (2012) [2002]. Briars in the Cotton Patch: The Story of Koinonia Farm. Worcester, PA: Cotton Patch Productions : Distributed by Vision Video. .
- Lee, Dallas M. The Cotton Patch Evidence: The Story of Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia Farm Experiment (1942–1970). Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011.