Peter, A Leader

St. Peter’s story reminds us that leadership isn’t about strength or perfection—it’s about faithfulness, humility, and reliance on something greater. He wavered, failed, and doubted, yet he kept returning, kept listening, kept following. True leaders don’t stand alone; they seek counsel, foster community, and recognize that the weight of their mission is not theirs to bear alone. Even the strongest leader must first be led.

Wine, Women, and Chocolate

Elizabeth Dede
February 26, 2025

Intern Spiritual Sharing and Covenants

A Day in Plains, GA

Elizabeth Dede
February 26, 2025

Celebrating Black History Month: Rough, Rich, Resilient

Love Is Slow

Elizabeth Dede
February 19, 2025

Jesus Is a Realist

Jesus never promised ease or comfort. He never told us that following him would align neatly with the world’s ways. Instead, he warned that his kingdom and the kingdoms of this world would be at odds. And still, he called us to follow. Let’s live as if the Sermon on the Mount still matters—because it does.

In Memory of Our Friend, President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was the same person under the glaring lights of politics as he was in the streetlight's soft glow of his hometown of Plains—a good and decent man who lived with integrity. When others boycotted Koinonia, he stood by us. Later, he and Mrs. Carter rolled up their sleeves to build homes. His life was a testament to faith, service, and peacemaking.

Bren Dubay
January 2, 2025

Advent

Advent—a time for reflection and preparation, though not the kind the world encourages. Our wish for you is simple: slow down. Savor this sacred season. Find moments of stillness to reflect. Take the time.

Feminist and Womanist Theologies

Reflecting on my 15 years at the Open Door Community, a Radical Feminist community, I explore my struggles with ingrained religious imagery and privilege. Through engaging with womanist theologians like Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston, I've learned the importance of recognizing distinct perspectives without appropriation.

Elizabeth Dede
November 12, 2024

Through Clenched Teeth

Living at Koinonia, we are surrounded by quiet heroes who endured the struggle for justice. In times like these, when the world feels harsh and the work ahead seems daunting, Koinonia reminds us that hope grows from quiet acts of courage. The work of a just, compassionate world begins in our own hearts and communities. Let us hold steady to love, even when it requires clenched teeth.

A Plane & A Storm

As the Johnsson family flew from Sweden to Koinonia, Hurricane Helene threatened to strike. In a heart-stopping moment, the storm shifted, sparing them but leaving devastation elsewhere. Read how a family’s journey, Koinonia’s mission, and neighbors in crisis reveal what it means to live as one community in challenging times.

Bren Dubay
October 8, 2024

Black Liberation Theology

I am now a seminarian, taking courses in Bible, practical theology, and anti-racism. For my 'Practical Theology' class, I've been captivated by Dr. Willie Jennings' powerful lecture 'The Origin of Race,' which has deepened my understanding of whiteness and my commitment to Koinonia's vision of life together.

Once Upon a Time There Was a Three-Year-Old Grandpa

David Janzen’s latest book, Once Upon a Time There Was a Three-Year-Old Grandpa, brought a smile to my face and memories of the many meals we shared at Koinonia. Given the wealth of authors Koinonia knows, I don’t often make recommendations—but for David’s wit, wisdom, and heartfelt reflections, I’ll happily break my rule.

Bren Dubay
September 6, 2024

July 29

Clarence Jordan was born on July 29, 1912, and co-founded Koinonia in November 1942, a few months after he turned 30. Though he died almost 55 years ago, his words and actions still attract people to the community he helped create. He wouldn’t want us to get all silly about his birth, life, or death. He would want us to stay focused on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, and visiting those who are sick or in prison.

Vote

Living in Sumter County, Georgia, you meet people who faced segregation and fought for the right to vote. Rutha Mae Harris, a founding member of The Freedom Singers, reminds us, “Things have changed.” At Koinonia, she stirs our hearts with her voice and her call to action: “Vote! If you can’t vote for, then vote against! But vote.”

Bren Dubay
July 5, 2024

Katie

She saw us and began to cry. I’ve carried that picture in my heart since. Katie came to Koinonia as an intern in 2014, and in the decade since, she’s been the heart behind our communications. She’s leaving in May—doing everything just as she’s always done: quietly, with commitment, and no drama. Goodbye for now, Katie.

Sacrifice

Siroki-Brijeg, a small village in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has a remarkable tradition: a 0% divorce rate. At weddings, couples receive a "Marriage Crucifix," symbolizing that Christ is central to their union, with vows spoken over the cross. This grounding in shared love and sacrifice fosters connection and resilience, not just between couples but within the whole community. Here, marriages are supported by friends and neighbors alike. Have we in our culture lost touch with traditions that unite and support us? How might we rediscover them?

Bren Dubay
April 30, 2024

And Now…

There are scenes to stir the imagination should we choose to engage them: a colt tethered, palm branches waving, an alabaster jar opened, a meal, a garden, a Roman instrument of torture, and a rooster that crows.

Pride & Humility

Why does the intern curriculum include a reading about humility? For certain, the health of a community is in danger without it.

Bren Dubay
February 29, 2024

Goodbye

Not all of us have had or will have the chance for a long goodbye. But whatever the goodbye, take the time to make it as holy a goodbye as you can.

Mrs. Rosalynn Carter

The Koinonia community grieves the loss of Mrs. Rosalynn Carter.

Bren Dubay
January 9, 2024

In Her Memory

Kind. Lovely. Real. Rosalynn Carter.

The Wave

October 29th marked the 54th anniversary of Clarence Jordan’s death. ... I hope he doesn’t mind a tip of the hat from time to time.

Bren Dubay
November 2, 2023

Silence

Silence is at the heart of every great spiritual tradition. More than 5,000 years old, it isn’t a recent invention.

Seeing

Sue went on, “I found myself looking at each person who came in and seeing Jesus in them. Not so much me being Jesus, but them. They were.”

Bren Dubay
July 26, 2023

Hugs

In general, as a society, people are only halfway here. We are always starting one task before finishing another. Attention spans are growing smaller and smaller. The ability to concentrate is slipping. We live life on the run. Statio can help us with all these...

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

We just celebrated Pentecost Sunday, which marks the birth of the church and highlights the important work of the Holy Spirit. The work of this Third Person of the Trinity is to gather people, give life, and unify. Any community should desire such gathering, life, and unity, but especially an intentional community such as Koinonia.

Bren Dubay
May 31, 2023

Earth Day

Earth Day is a time to take stock of both the good and the bad. It is a time to be thankful for any progress made to care for the Earth. It is a time to acknowledge that there is much, much more to do, and time is short.

Table Fellowship

Would that every person reading these brief thoughts go out and invite someone they don’t know particularly well into their home for a meal and conversation. It just may be that the light would turn up a bit brighter. When we bemoan the darkness in the world, a sure way to dispel it is to look at the other across the table and hear a story. And share a story. Laugh and cry together. Let’s expand our tables and freely offer fellowship to one another.

Bren Dubay
March 30, 2023

Koinonia Grow Around the Community

Koinonia Grow around the community in February 2023

Jenn & Michael

Surely the original soil from which humankind arose was rich and life-filled. At Koinonia, Jenn and Michael are making every attempt to set the table for those coming after them. Life begets life. Thank you, Jenn and Michael. You give us hope. You give us courage.

Bren Dubay
February 28, 2023

Lamentation

Lamenting is an important part of our faith, even if it isn’t a part of our U.S. culture. Jesus lamented. The Psalms lament. We even have a whole book in the Hebrew Scripture named Lamentations. When we don’t grieve, we don’t heal.

The Inconvenient Gospel Reviews & Resources

Here is a collection of reviews, articles, podcasts, and other resources about "The Inconvenient Gospel" book and Clarence Jordan himself.

Everyone
January 20, 2023

Letter from Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter to Clarence Jordan in February 1957

Koinonia Grow in 2022

Everyone
January 5, 2023

Vulnerable Peacemakers

As I walked around the pond one day after lunch, this thought came to me: though we gathered at Camp Loucon from all over, our common home is the wounds of our Healer. We can become vulnerable because Jesus allows us to dwell in his vulnerability.

80 Years & A New Book

I was struck by Clarence’s words that “you can’t put Christianity into practice. You can’t make it work ... For Christianity is not a system you work – it is a Person who works you. You don’t get it; he gets you.” I think if we are so full of ourselves or the words of others, we may miss the Word. So, we listen. We seek fellowship with the Word. We, too, want to be with him, follow him, know him, and love him. We are open to being changed by this fellowship with him. We are open to “being gotten” by the Word.

Bren Dubay
October 26, 2022

Koinonia Grow – Healthy Sumter Partnership

Koinonia Grow partners with Healthy Sumter at Koinonia Farm, Brookdale Park Community Garden, and the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Home.

Fig Tree

Dan, a retired Lutheran pastor, gave the reflection in morning chapel today. He shared what the fig tree symbolized in Scripture. It was a sign of prosperity, a comfort zone. He suggested that we think about what our personal fig tree may be. Jesus is calling us away from our fig tree to do what?

Bren Dubay
September 30, 2022

Koinonia Grow – Fall Planting

A look at Koinonia's gardens in April.

Open House 2022

Everyone
September 15, 2022

Harry

Do you ever wonder why people do something so crazy as living in a community with other people? Why would you want to form a family with those whom you have no biological connection? Biology can be difficult enough. I watched the way people cared for Harry through the years. I saw their care at the end. I’ve witnessed both for humans here, too.

Memento Mori

Behind me, there’s a small passageway that breaks up the living room and kitchen from the bedroom. It isn’t really a hallway–it's more of just a way. In this space, I have the photos of all my loved ones that have passed away. In the center of their pictures is this prayer: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.” I see these photos and the interwoven feelings of sorrow and joy arise. The hope of the resurrection of the body comes alive in my heart.

Steve Krout
August 11, 2022

Passing the Baton Part 2

Clarence wouldn’t want us to get all silly about his birth, life, or his death. But celebrations are important to community. Celebrations help communities thrive and, truth is, we wouldn’t be here without him. So, I hope he doesn’t mind the tip of the hat we give him from time to time.

Juneteenth and Loaves & Fishes

This year June 19 fell on a Sunday and the Gospel reading was about five loaves and two fish. So, at Koinonia’s Gathered Worship, we were able to celebrate that Juneteenth is now a national holiday and we were able to think about multiplication. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It is good to celebrate but we have much, much further to go. Fannie Lou Hamer said, “Nobody is free until everybody is free.” Is there anything in that parable about bread and fish that can help us go further?

Bren Dubay
June 29, 2022

Uvalde

What is normal? Certainly not this violence against one another. Please, God, no. Please let this not be our “normal.” We must not grow weary of doing good. We must not be silent. We must fight to create a better world. A safer world. For everyone.

Soil Health at Koinonia

All of the things we do here in our orchards aim to create a healthy soil, leading to a healthy ecosystem, and a healthy crop. It’s just one more way we can demonstrate a better way of caring for and working with nature, and letting nature do the same for us.

Everyone
April 28, 2022

That Week

No doubt, Easter is to be a momentous occasion for Christians — it is our greatest feast day. But it seems its beauty is heightened all the more by living that week — from Palm Sunday to Easter Morning. I wish everyone of you could experience this week with us. That not being practical, perhaps give some thought to experiencing it with us from afar? Together let’s give ourselves to the full range of emotions of that week.

Koinonia Grow – April in the Garden

A look at Koinonia's gardens in April.

Everyone
April 21, 2022

Study

People flocked to the Desert Fathers and Mothers for spiritual guidance. Their advice—called sayings—was initially passed down orally. At least 1,200 of these sayings were eventually written down. So, here are a few that have caught my attention as I have read through them again recently. I hope they teach, guide, inspire, and give you a wealth of thinking to do. They have a way of working on and for us.

Koinonia Grow – Preparing for Spring!

A look at Koinonia's gardens in February.

Everyone
March 4, 2022

Decisions

Unity among us is of paramount importance. It has to be worked for again, and again, and again. Division bears no fruit or at least no edible fruit. How lacking in humility is it to impose one’s ideas through gossip, negativity, bullying, or by discrediting those who offer a different point of view? We are constantly trying to learn what humility is and then put it into practice.

Betsy

There was something about the light in those blue eyes. Betsy’s eyes and smile made that first encounter seem so right … then she spoke and that thick Texas accent took me from, “This seems right,” straight to “This is right.” I was home with Betsy from that moment on.

Bren Dubay
January 27, 2022

Kathleen Monts Retires

Our beloved Kathleen Monts has retired. We'll miss her but she’s promised to come see us often. Thank you for everything, Miss Kathleen!

Koinonia Grow – December in the Garden

A look at Koinonia's gardens in December.

Everyone
January 18, 2022

Peacemakers Series – Sojourner Truth

I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it- and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Peacemakers Series – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

Katie Miles
November 3, 2021

Koinonia Grow – A Busy October!

We have enjoyed our time in the gardens this month. With our interns, Come, Stay Awhile, & Serve participants, and all of the Koinonia Grow team working together, we've been able to harvest, turn over beds, plant for fall, and more!

Peacemakers Series – Eberhard Arnold

We do feel drawn, with them, to all men who suffer need and distress, to those who lack food and shelter and whose very mental development is stunted through exploitation. With them, we stand side by side with the "have-nots," with the underprivileged, and with the degraded and oppressed.

Katie Miles
October 27, 2021

A Tip of the Hat

Clarence and Florence Jordan and Mabel and Martin England founded Koinonia to be an experiment in Christian living. It was and is to be a demonstration plot. But what is it supposed to demonstrate? Love and selflessness, yes, but what is the sign that demonstrates we are loving and selfless? Joy is the fruit, the sign for which we look.

Peacemakers Series – Viola Liuzzo

Viola Liuzzo lived a life that combined the care of her family and her home with a concern for the world around her. This involvement with her times was not always understood by her friends; nor was it appreciated by those around her. -Sarah Evans

Katie Miles
October 20, 2021

Peacemakers Series – A.J. Muste

We cannot have peace if we are only concerned with peace. War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life. If we want to attack war, we have to attack that way of life.

Koinonia Grow – Fall Gardens

It's a busy time in the garden this month! We are harvesting, watching new plants sprout, and preparing plots for a round of fall planting.

Everyone
October 7, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Susan B. Anthony

Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best word, work your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval.

Peacemakers Series – Rachel Corrie

Many people want their voices to be heard, and I think we need to use some of our privilege as internationals to get those voices heard directly in the US, rather than through the ﬁlter of well-meaning internationals such as myself. I am just beginning to learn, from what I expect to be a very intense tutelage, about the ability of people to organize against all odds, and to resist against all odds.

Katie Miles
September 29, 2021

Singing the Psalms

At chapel recently, Elizabeth declared that the Psalms were meant to be sung and that’s just what she intended to do that morning. And she did. The notes were crystal clear. I was astonished by the feeling that I was hearing the words at a much deeper level. The experience was beautiful and deeply moving. I wondered why it had ever been our custom to simply read the psalms.

Peacemakers Series -Henri Nouwen

The spiritual life is not before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now.

Katie Miles
September 22, 2021

Peacemakers Series -Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

Let it be stated clearly that to make peace a reality, we must be ﬂexible as well as wise. We must truly recognize our own faults and move to change ourselves in the interest in making peace… Let us banish anger and hostility, vengeance and other dark emotions, and transform ourselves into humble instruments of peace.

Peacemakers Series -Thomas Merton

We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.

Katie Miles
September 8, 2021

Koinonia Grow – An Ordinary Plot of Buckwheat

From a distance, this looks just like an ordinary plot of buckwheat. But when you look closer, you find so many good things going on!

The Storm

Every disaster produces heroes and heroines. We know some of their names, but the majority are regular people whose names we will never know. Regular people helping other regular people. What they do for others, for the most part, goes unheralded.

Bren Dubay
August 29, 2021

Peacemakers Series -Jo Ann Robinson

Women's leadership was no less important to the development of the Montgomery Bus Boycott than was the male and minister-dominated leadership.

Peacemakers Series – Hildegard of Bingen

All living creatures are sparks from the radiation of God’s brilliance, and these sparks emerge from God like the rays of the sun. If God did not give off these sparks, how would the divine ﬂame become fully visible?

Katie Miles
August 25, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Peter Maurin

Although you may be called bums and panhandlers you are in fact the ambassadors of God. As God's ambassadors you should be given food, clothing and shelter by those who are able to give it.

Koinonia Grow – August in the Garden

It's been a great summer in the garden so far!

Everyone
August 4, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Rachel Held Evans

This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.

Peacemakers Series – John Lewis

Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.

Katie Miles
August 4, 2021

Parables Part 1 – Review

Clarence Jordan's parables "The Great Banquet" and "The Angry Banker" are now available to purchase in our online farm store! Communications Coordinator Katie Miles reviewed both sermons for their online debut.

The Seed

In my imagination standing there in the chapel in the silence with my eyes closed, I saw Jesus as the seed. The Word battling rocks, blazing sun, thorns, and even birds. This seed sown far and wide, through all sorts of means.

Bren Dubay
July 29, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Rosalynn Carter

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.

Peacemakers Series – Jimmy Carter

choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes - and we must.

Katie Miles
July 21, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Nelson Mandela

To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Peacemakers Series – Malala Yousafzai

I think that the best way to solve problems and to ﬁght is through dialogue, is through peaceful way, but for me the best way to ﬁght against terrorism and extremism is just simple thing: educate the next generation.

Katie Miles
July 6, 2021

Koinonia Grow – 6 Months and Counting!

Koinonia Grow has been hard at work and we've harvested over 1,300 pounds of produce for our community and our neighbors!

Peacemakers Series – Mohandas Gandhi

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

Katie Miles
June 30, 2021

Is It Time?

The need for equality, for economic and social justice is on our lips and in hearts on a scale larger perhaps than ever before. To meet these problems, we have to be creative. We need a spiritual imagination. We need dreamers and doers, like Clarence Jordan, Millard Fuller, and so many others, to think outside the box. We cannot look to the world that created these problems for solutions. We need to imagine better ways of doing things.

Peacemakers Series – Dorothy Stang

In the midst of all this violence there are many small communities that have learned the secret of life: sharing, solidarity, conﬁdence, equality, pardon, working together. God is present -- generator and sustainer of all life. Thus life is productive and transforming in the midst of all this.

Katie Miles
June 23, 2021

Peacemakers Series – John Perkins

It’s a profound, mysterious truth—Jesus’ concept of love overpowering hate. I may not see its victory in my lifetime. But I know it’s true. I know it’s true, because it happened to me. … God made it true in me. He washed my hatred away and replaced it with a love for the white man in rural Mississippi.

The Color of Compromise Review

"The Color of Compromise" by Jemar Tisby is now available to purchase in our online farm store! Communications Coordinator Katie Miles reviewed the book for our blog.

Katie Miles
June 10, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are not simply to bandage the wounds of the victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.

Koinonia Grow – Summer in the Garden

Koinonia Grow is in the midst of a beautiful summer in the gardens!

Everyone
June 4, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Jane Addams

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain, is ﬂoating in mid-air, until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.

Accompaniment

...offering welcome keeps us grounded and leads us ever closer to God. It slows us down. It helps to cultivate within us the ability to listen, to listen with the heart. Recognizing the ache in people’s hearts helps us to recognize the ache in our own. Discovering the laughter in people’s souls helps to remind us of the laughter in our own.

Bren Dubay
May 27, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Desmond Tutu

Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.

Peacemakers Series – Elias Chacour

We have to move beyond tolerance to the point of accepting one another, which means accepting that the other is different and that this difference is an enrichment, not a threat. That is the way our attitudes have to evolve, and unfortunately this is not yet happening.

Katie Miles
May 19, 2021

Koinonia Grow – Gardening in May

So far in May, Koinonia Grow has been transplanting, maintaining, and even harvesting in the gardens!

Peacemakers Series – Mother Teresa

To show great love for God and our neighbor we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God.

Katie Miles
May 12, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Oscar Romero

We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat, among the poor newsboys who will sleep covered with newspapers in doorways.

Peacemakers Series – Wendell Berry

I take literally the statement in the Gospel of John that God loves the world. I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that, insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love. I believe that divine love, incarnate and indwelling in the world, summons the world always toward wholeness, which ultimately is reconciliation and atonement with God.

Katie Miles
April 28, 2021

Faith and Science

As Christians, we believe God made our world and we believe God is a creative Creator. What is more honoring of God’s marvelous creation than to spend time learning more about it? Discovering how it works? Being in awe of the mysteries we still cannot solve?

Peacemakers Series – Rachel Carson

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.

Katie Miles
April 21, 2021

Prayers from the Peace Trail

Koinonia has a new Instagram account and we would love to have you following along. This account is a collection of prayers and meditations inspired by the Peace Trail at Koinonia.

Peacemakers Series – St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.

Katie Miles
April 14, 2021

Koinonia Grow – Maintaining Garden Plots

Once you get plants in the ground, the work has just begun! Koinonia Grow has been hard at work maintaining the we planted last month.

The Great Koinonia Pecan Sort-a-Thon 2021

The Great Koinonia Pecan Sort-a-Thon was this week and it was a great success!

Everyone
April 2, 2021

Peacemakers Series – César Chávez

Let the Spirit ﬂourish and grow, so that we will never tire of the struggle. Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they have given us life. Help us love even those who hate us, so we can change the world. Amen.

Peacemakers Series – Madres de Plaza de Mayo

“One of the things that I simply will not do now is shut up. The women of my generation in Latin America have been taught that the man is always in charge and the woman is silent even in the face of injustice...Now I know that we have to speak out about the injustices publicly. If not, we are accomplices. I am going to denounce them publicly without fear. This is what I learned.” -María del Rosario de Cerruti

Katie Miles
March 31, 2021

Lent and Mustard

During Lent we can choose to do something that crushes us a little bit, something that grinds us down, maybe even breaks us a bit. Not in a morbid, harmful sort of way but in a way that releases a healing balm, a balm that will course through our veins infusing us with an upside-down kind of power — the power of kindness, of decency, of compassion, of gentleness.

Koinonia Grow – Episodes 1 & 2

We have two new videos to share: "Preparing the Soil" and "Planting the Garden." Come see what we've been up to in the Jubilee garden plot this month!

Everyone
March 25, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Julian of Norwich

"But Jesus answered me with these words and said: “Sin is necessary, but all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well.”

Peacemakers Series – Dorothy Day

“What we do is very little. But it is like the little boy with a few loaves and ﬁshes. Christ took that little and increased it. He will do the rest. What we do is so little that we may seem to be constantly failing. But so did he fail. He met with apparent failure on the Cross. But unless the seeds fall into the earth and die, there is no harvest.”

Katie Miles
March 16, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Corrie ten Boom

"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."

Peacemakers Series – Catherine Doherty

“Do little things well for the love of God. Every task, routine or not, is of redeeming, supernatural value because we are united to Christ. We must be recollected and stay aware of this truth.”

Katie Miles
March 3, 2021

Introducing Koinonia Grow!

Thanks to a generous grant from Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Koinonia has begun a major effort to expand our vegetable gardens and to revitalize our grape vineyard, blueberry patch, fruit orchards and to keep the monumental work in our pecan orchards going!

A Whole Lot of Writing Going On

Have you taken a look at our blog lately? I admit, I am partial to writers and writing. I am lucky to live with some very talented people. And they are sharing with us — so much is happening, so much to share. There is a whole lot of writing going on and we hope there is a whole lot of reading going on, too. Here are a few recent blog posts I think you’ll love.

Bren Dubay
February 25, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Septima Poinsette Clark

“The greatest evil in our country today is not racism, but ignorance. I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than to believe, to inquire rather than to affirm."

In Scorn of the Consequences – Mazie & Carranza Morgan

Maisie and Carranza Morgan definitely lived their lives in scorn of the consequences.

Elizabeth Dede
February 23, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Rosa Parks

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." -Rosa Parks

The Lamentations of Charles Bradley

I became aware of Charles Bradley in 2015 and instantly took to his music. There was something in him that reminded me of two biblical figures that I’ve long loved: David, the psalmist, and Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Bradley had both the heart and voice of a poet- prophet. One will hear in many of his songs the spirit of a man trying to stay righteous and honest and decent in a world that is going up in flames.

Steve Krout
February 16, 2021

Judas & The Man from Gadara Reviews

Clarence Jordan's sermons "Judas" and "The Man from Gadara" are now available to purchase in our online farm store! Communications Coordinator Katie Miles reviewed both sermons for their online debut.

Clarence Speaks to Us

Recently Steve Krout shared that he is digitizing all of the collection of Clarence Jordan’s sermons and talks. These recordings will be available to download, and many people all over the world will be able to hear Clarence speak, some for the first time.

Elizabeth Dede
February 11, 2021

Peacemakers Series – Fannie Lou Hamer

"Is this America, the land of thre free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?" - Fannie Lou Hamer

Peacemakers Series – Dorothy Height

"I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom. I want to be remembered as one who tried." - Dorothy Height

Katie Miles
February 3, 2021

Thirst

We thirst for big things — social justice, an end to apartheid, an end to systemic racism, for good paying jobs, that our children will be safe, that this planet can be saved, for an end to systemic sexism, and for so much more. It is all right to thirst for big things. But we also thirst for kindness. We are starved for cool, refreshing drinks of water. We want to be seen, to be known, to be shown kindness on the smallest scale. Small, kind gestures give life. And many small kindnesses just may add up to accomplishing some of these bigger ambitions.

Reflections on Martin Luther King Day

In many of the people I grew up with, I see a Christianity that is not informed by spiritual and civil rights leaders like Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, and Cesar Chavez. I wonder how differently our country would have been shaped had we been taught to be open to the Spirit’s moving in and through such prophets.

Steve Krout
January 18, 2021

5 Songs for Your Advent to Christmas Playlist

There’s the longing of the Advent season and there’s the excitement that is the Christmas season. I love both of those feelings.

Simple Math

...my going deep is playwriting. It is the way I pray. It is my deepest form of prayer. I need to go deep in order to go more powerfully out. I am no more capable now than before of giving time to getting the plays produced. That isn’t the point. The point is to tap into that reservoir of prayer. Mystic (playwriting). Activist (social justice).

Bren Dubay
November 24, 2020

Baking with Koinonia Farm Pecans!

A great recipe for Pumpkin Blondies with Koinonia Pecans!

Black History Month 2021 – Request for Support

Everyone
October 28, 2020

Leisure

Leisure is an end in itself, a time to dwell on the beauty of creation, to read a challenging book, to be carried away listening to a soaring symphony, to catch one’s breath at a stunning work of art, a time to step back to admire the work that one has done. It is a time to worship and pray, the highest forms of leisure. It is a time to contemplate goodness and allow that goodness and all these meaningful activities to re-create us.

Pecan Harvest 2020

Photos from Koinonia's 2020 Pecan Harvest

Everyone
October 27, 2020

The Great Divorce

Good art, good literature, helps us imagine what a new normal and a new world can be. It is vital in times like these to seek out that which helps us imagine a better world and encourages us to work together, perhaps in small ways like Sarah Smith, to build this new world now.

Father Brown, Clarence Jordan, and the Drama of Redemption

In some ways, Father Brown and Clarence Jordan couldn’t be more different. ... Yet, both inspire me for the same reason: their participation in the redemptive activity of God. Both men are models of mercy.

Steve Krout
September 16, 2020

Lessons for Disciples

The father went on directing his remarks to Naomi, “You aren’t one of us. Why would my children play with you?” Naomi looked at the grown man. She could see kindness in his eyes even though his tone and words did not match it. She said to him, “Aren’t we are all God’s children, sir? That makes us one family … doesn’t it, sir?”

Christ in the Vineyard

There are few things I find more meditative than laboring in the vineyard. I love pruning and harvesting and, of course, eating muscadines and scuppernongs

Steve Krout
August 21, 2020

Grace and Time – “Don’t Worry” by Mary Oliver

Grace must be lived and breathed. Perhaps you are not where you want to be today -- Breathe. Live into the grace offered to you from God. And, don’t worry. Things take the time they take.

God as Father – “The Gift” by Li-Young Lee

There’s a beauty and grace to Li-Young Lee’s writing that touches something deep inside of me. When I read “The Gift”, my inner child cries out in longing for something he never experienced.

Steve Krout
August 7, 2020

Koinonia Reopens for Daily Operation on August 3, 2020

Koinonia Farm is open for daily operations - Welcome Center and Guided Tours - beginning August 3rd.

Reflections on John Lewis from Koinonia Members

Congressman John Lewis, a Civil Rights leader and U.S. Representative, died Friday, July 17. After his death, Koinonia members reflected on John Lewis' life and legacy.

Everyone
July 23, 2020

Don’t Let This Time Pass

Time has been different since March 2020. Up on a white board in my office, I have started keeping a list of names of people that through the years I’ve often thought, “I should get in touch with her or him or them.” All of the names are listed under John Lewis’ name. You see, two years ago I wrote his name on this white board to remind me to write to him.

Joy as Defiance – “Listen!” and “Why” by Wendell Berry

I glanced out the window and noticed Peanut trying to get the attention of a passerby. It often seems like he expects a tasty treat from anyone that has the privilege of walking near him. I smiled as I thought, “I have something in common with a goat!”

Steve Krout
July 17, 2020

Finding a Dear Friend at the Stewart Immigration Prison

Visitation happens through a glass and over a telephone, which has very low volume and lots of static, making it even more difficult to hear and understand each other. These men have not committed a crime. They are in prison because they are undocumented.

Training for Peace – “Pencil” by Teresa Mei Chuc

It isn’t enough for us to say that we abhor war, we must train in peace daily if we wish to see an end to what Bobby Kennedy called “the mindless menace of violence.”

Steve Krout
July 10, 2020

Holy Laughter – “Hippos on Holiday” by Billy Collins

Whether our imaginations lead us to playing in water with hippos or laughing with Jesus, let us be reminded of how beautiful it is to be human and to have such experiences, holy gifts from God.

Massive Heart Change?

Know that the Koinonia commitment to live day in and day out treating all as brothers and sisters who are called to care for one another will not fade. Koinonia is a small place, but with all the resources we have, we will continue to work for justice and to live in a just way.

Bren Dubay
June 30, 2020

Christ Weeps with Those Who Mourn — “For My Brother” by Thomas Merton

Christ weeps with those that mourn the loss of a loved one. He gently speaks: “Beloved, in the night when you cannot sleep, I will wait with you for the morning. When you cannot eat, I will fast with you. We suffer together. I am the first love that holds you within my heart. I will never leave you. I am Hope. I am the Resurrection.”

Observe, Pay Attention, Be Connected – “Blueberries” by Mary Oliver

Few poets have written more beautifully about our place in the natural world than Mary Oliver. Her poetry quietly whispers: “observe, pay attention, be connected.” And, if we follow these instructions, whether we are harvesting berries, sitting under a tree with loved ones, or hiking in the woods - we begin to realize our connection to all living things.

Steve Krout
June 12, 2020

The Speed of God: Poetry and Healing

I hope you will join me in continuing to slow down as I share six poems and brief reflections on them for the next three months. ... We are all children of God and we belong to one another. Let us break down the many walls that divide us and enter into the beautiful together.

Black Lives Matter

Koinonia stands with African Americans, deploring violence and demanding justice in all areas of the criminal justice system: police departments, courts, legal representation, and jails and prisons. The peace that Koinonia has dedicated its life to since 1942 will only come when the violence of the system comes to an end.

Everyone
June 3, 2020

Sacred Reading

It is about an encounter. It is about reading slowly, sometimes even aloud, listening and pausing to reflect on a word or a phrase that captures you. It is about letting the text work on you rather than you working on the text.

Stepping Aside for a Gorilla

What about the coronavirus though? What if instead of an enemy, it is a mirror reflecting back to us the real enemy? No, it can’t do so consciously, but what if it is serving as a mirror nonetheless?

Bren Dubay
April 28, 2020

Fruit Of …

Divisiveness is producing rotten fruit. Is that the fruit we want to serve ourselves, our children or to others? Is that the life we want to live? Mother Teresa offers a better way.

For the People Coming after Me

I reflect about the ways Koinonia has changed in its first 78 years and wonder about how it will change in its next 78. I’m comforted by the thought that some things will remain the same. We’ll still be telling stories and I’d be surprised if we aren’t still offering welcome to all — hospitality has been central from the beginning.

Bren Dubay
January 30, 2020

Full Circle with De’Asia and Ra’Sheena at Koinonia Farm

Black History Month Contest Donations and Judges

Everyone
January 2, 2020

Black History Month Poster Contest

Celebrate Black History Month with Koinonia Farm's Middle School Poster Contest!

Black History Month Essay Contest

Celebrate Black History Month with Koinonia Farm's Middle School Essay Contest!

Everyone
December 10, 2019

Be Still and Know

Just like Mamaw’s bell, the Koinonia bell is nothing special in and of itself, but when we hear it and choose to recenter on Christ, then special things start to happen inside of us.

Passing the Baton

If there is still a Koinonia, I have to think Clarence would want us standing at the door to welcome the people Jesus is bringing home to us or would want us going out into the countryside to find them. There is still a Koinonia and we still are.

Bren Dubay
October 29, 2019

Koinonia Farm is excited to expand their children’s book selection with the addition of Dreamers by Caldecott Honor artist Yuyi Morales. Dreamers tells the story of Yuyi and her infant son Kelly as they immigrated to the United States and discover the magic of the public library in the midst of their unfamiliar surroundings.

Crazy in Love

Fall is different at Koinonia. In the fall, we come together in a focused, intentional way. ... This time of year, the bakery serves as a constant reminder that we all must work together to sustain the community.

Bren Dubay
September 25, 2019

The First 12 Days

Even just before I started writing this in fact I met one of the members walking across campus and when I greeted her she got got a huge smile on her face like something was funny, but not funny enough to laugh. I asked her what was funny, and she replied, “Nothing. I am just so glad you have arrived and are here,” and I think I am finally starting to hear what it really means.

Grateful

Even as so many in our world reject religion, there is a spiritual hunger, a spiritual longing. A Way of Prayer tells a bit about the environment we attempt to create here to feed the spiritually hungry.

Bren Dubay
September 16, 2019

Short Writings from Koinonia

Hunger

We do not have to choose between physical needs and spiritual needs. We can use our limited resources to address both. To remember that humans are body, mind, and soul and to neglect one is to neglect the whole human.

Bren Dubay
June 25, 2019

The Marvelous Pecaness of Pecans

Does it not make sense that to produce healthy food, you need healthy, living soil from which it grows? For our pecans to have the best, most marvelous pecaness of pecans, we (and our animals, too) must work to help infuse life into the soil.

May Our Easter Be For More Than A Day

Easter is a marathon, not a sprint. Easter is a long walk, not a few hours on a Sunday in spring. So, too, is the Christian life. There are many tools that can help us stay focused and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Bren Dubay
April 30, 2019

How to Cook Freekeh and Maftoul from Canaan Fair Trade

Basic Recipes for how to cook Freekeh and Maftoul from Canaan Fair Trade

Welcome, Interns!

Welcoming interns and learning what life in community really looks like.

Bren Dubay
February 27, 2019

2019 Spring Open House

Join us Saturday, May 4, from 2-6pm for our 2019 Spring Open House!

A Live Nativity

Prayers and dreams of new members and a live nativity.

Bren Dubay
January 17, 2019

Gratitude

Gratefulness in the daily rhythms of Koinonia Farm

Clear the Ground

When reading a pamphlet about vocations, this sentence caught my eye, “[God’s] love cannot do without personal response. He neither manipulates nor forces anyone. He does not know what we will reply and cannot answer for us.”

Bren Dubay
October 24, 2018

Giving and Receiving

Joy through generous hospitality is about giving and receiving.

Canaan Palestine Partnership Products

Two great recipes from Canaan Palestine Fair Trade Products

Katie Miles
September 26, 2018

None Should Perish

"God is not resigned to losing anybody."

Beauty

Reflections on Aristotle, beauty, and Italy.

Bren Dubay
August 27, 2018

Subversive Service

It makes me think that we should rename the internship the Internship in Subversive Service. Interns come alongside us to welcome and serve people. This service is mostly in small ways: a smile, a meal, a clean room in which to stay, a quiet conversation … it occurs to me that the smaller the service, the more subversive it is.

Called to Be With Us?

What I do know is we sure could use a few more people with big hearts to join us, to grow deep roots, to pray, to serve, and to live out their lives loving neighbors with us.

Bren Dubay
June 29, 2018

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