Seventeen promises, at least by my count. Steve had made 17 promises by the time the ceremony for becoming a covenanted member of Koinonia Farm was completed. He had committed himself to:
Ongoing conversion
Stability
Interdependence
Total, unconditional commitment to seek, express, and expand the Kingdom of God as revealed in Jesus the Christ
Enter into a love union with the Koinonia and gladly submit himself to it
Love through service to others
Joy through generous hospitality
Peace through reconciliation
Carry out the mission statement
Pray with the community
Work the number of hours and days necessary to support the community economically and to build a way of life with the other members
Study with the other members
Serve the community’s neighbors
Fellowship with the other members
Participate in community and team meetings
Serve as a team leader or a member of the board of directors if called upon
Engage with fellow community members in a spirit of reconciliation- avoiding gossip within and without the community at every turn
For many of us, we’re challenged just by reading a list of 17 of anything. Imagine committing to 17 promises! It is extraordinary.
I was at Koinonia as a new member of their board of directors. The community had scheduled the ceremony on Tuesday afternoon to coincide with the two-day meeting.
It had been some years since I had visited the farm, and I wondered if director Bren Dubay had been successful in her aim to steer the Koinonia ship back towards being a community. In the early 1990s they had consciously chosen to organize itself as a not-for-profit ministry focused on job development rather than the koinonia of Christian fellowship.
My question was answered, not so much by the ceremony, as moving and meaningful as it was, but by experiencing the common life of the community in worship, in shared meals, in their affection and consideration for each other, in their hospitality, in their mutual discernment of the Spirit’s desire, and in their commitment to justice.
If you are not familiar with Koinonia of the present day and its history of inspiring generations of Christian communitarians since 1942, please check out its website and some of the writings of co-founder Clarence Jordan.