Summary 2023
As a community of faith, we commit to prayer and action. Rooted in the Gospels, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, we love and serve. Love is willing the good of the other. To love is to desire the good of the other and work for it.
Koinonia’s identity is not tied to a single ministry or cause, giving us the flexibility to respond to the needs of the times with the people we have. Service infuses our daily life, whether our numbers are large or small.
Here’s a glimpse of Koinonia’s service in 2023:
Food distribution
- Distributed over 1,300 pounds of Koinonia-grown food to local food banks and neighbors in need.
- Managed three community gardens in Sumter County, fostering relationships between locals and visitors. Harvests were shared with neighbors and the local pantry.
- Partnered with Healthy Sumter and Albany Flint River Fresh (led by a former Koinonia intern) to pack and distribute over 1,600 bags of locally-grown produce to food banks.
- Continued support at Americus’ Harvest of Hope food pantry on Tuesday and some Monday mornings.
- Collaborated with Concrete Jungle (Atlanta) to glean over 10,000 pounds of corn, which was distributed to rural and urban food banks.
- Served more than 6,000 meals in the Koinonia dining hall to guests, interns, neighbors, family, staff, and members.
- Delivered 35 meals to families facing illness, loss, or isolation.
- Expanded work on soil biology, sharing knowledge with others. Healthy food comes from healthy soil.
- Increased our flock to 30 chickens, sharing an estimated 240 dozen eggs with others.
Hospitality
- Welcomed 1,433 guests to Koinonia, including 392 who stayed overnight. Among them were 15 groups from colleges, churches, and other organizations.
- Served lunch and gave tours to approximately 773 people.
- Provided spiritual direction to those seeking it, with guidance from our ordained minister and trained spiritual director.
- Held chapel five days a week and Gathered Worship every Sunday.
- Worked with the Sumter Area Ministerial Association (SAMA) to provide assistance twice monthly for those facing financial challenges.
- Hosted a Holy Thursday service as part of SAMA’s Holy Week, followed by a community meal.
- Offered housing for a refugee mother and her five children for eleven months. Welcomed another refugee couple in July.
- Provided temporary shelter, comfort, and meals for a homeless couple and their infant.
- Assisted the Carter Center by housing staff during Mrs. Carter’s funeral services.
- Regularly visited shut-ins and those living alone or in retirement communities.
Immigration/Prison Ministry
- Continued our “Hospitality Beyond Borders” ministry, making trips to Stewart Detention Center to deliver clothes to those being deported.
- Resumed in-person prison visits as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
- Served as weekend hosts at El Refugio Hospitality House, providing accommodation at Koinonia when their space ran out.
- Exchanged correspondence with incarcerated individuals and visited with them via video calls.
- Worked alongside immigration attorneys to help undocumented individuals obtain legal status.
Internship/Come, Stay Awhile, & Serve
- Hosted three seasonal internships and one year-long internship.
- Continued offering four Come, Stay Awhile, & Serve terms annually.
Youth & Elders
- Held Camp Koinonia, a residential summer camp for local youth and young people from across the Southeast.
- Began expanding plans for Camp Koinonia’s future.
- Organized activities for Sumter County youth who attended Camp Koinonia and their friends.
- Hosted Circle of Friends gatherings for elders to share fellowship and service opportunities.
Medical Advocacy
- Provided education and support to individuals living with chronic or genetic conditions.
- Offered rides to medical appointments when needed.
Additional Outreach
- Introduced a successful clothing ministry at Harvest of Hope, where clothes are now distributed alongside food.
- Sent a group to support the Fuller Center’s Millard Fuller Legacy Build.
- Assisted Casa Alterna (Atlanta) in remodeling a home to host newly arrived immigrants.
- Shared our knowledge of organic pecan farming, one of only two certified organic pecan farms in Georgia.
- Educated others on fair trade practices, human rights, justice, and sustainable farming. Koinonia uses and sells fair trade goods wherever possible.
- Provided instruction on raising chickens, sheep, and a pig.
- Played music at local businesses and retirement communities, taught religious education, and served on the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce board.
- Spoke at conferences and published articles and reflections.
- Incorporated Christian traditions from various backgrounds into our prayer services to promote ecumenism.
- Supported a member serving as an on-call chaplain at Phoebe Hospital.
- Helped neighbors and friends, often elders, relocate to retirement facilities.
- Assisted with Christmas gifts for 54 children.
- Continued providing a supportive workplace, as resources allowed.
As a people of faith, we work to feed the hungry both physically and spiritually.
As we look back on 2023, we see a year marked by service, hospitality, and care for our neighbors—actions that flow naturally from our calling as a community rooted in the teachings of Jesus. From feeding the hungry to welcoming the stranger, from nurturing the land to caring for those in need, each act of service is an expression of our deep commitment to love and justice. These efforts, big and small, reflect the core of who we are—a people who believe in sowing seeds of compassion and hope. As we step into the future, we carry forward this mission, trusting that the work we do today will continue to bear fruit for generations to come.
We carry on.
