Celebrating 75 Years at Koinonia Farm
Although it’s been almost fifty years since Clarence Jordan died in a tiny shack in rural Georgia, his influence has continued to spread and grow, as demonstrated by the diverse crowd – octogenarian locals, young activists, seasoned communitarians, and farming enthusiasts – that turned out to celebrate his legacy this spring. A farmer and Southern Baptist preacher, Jordan founded Koinonia Farm in 1942 as a “demonstration plot for the kingdom,” a place where he and others could live out economic and racial justice in community. In spite of a hostile local reception, including KKK violence and a boycott, the community has survived to this day. In a remarkable change of heart, two local churches that fifty years ago had expelled the Koinonia members for bringing a black man into the sanctuary vied for the honor of hosting the conference.
Koinonia Farm residents, from left, Norris Harris, Steve Krout, and Bren Dubay offered history and comments at the 75th anniversary. Photograph by Cindi Cox, Albany Herald. Used with permission.
Theology of the People of God
“Theology of the People of God,” a new distance learning program at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, offers a two-year course of study in English and German. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said of the correspondence course: “Drawing on the theme of God’s people, this theology brings together the various theological disciplines into one whole, which comes from the root of Israel. The questions of faith and Church posed by modern man in the time after the Enlightenment are taken up consistently.” The topics examined during the course include: “Why Christianity isn’t a ‘religion,’” “Why Judaism is indispensible to the Church,” and “How faith and history are connected.”
“Theology of the People of God” is a project of the Catholic Integrated Community (CIC), which was founded in Germany in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. Led by Herbert and Traudl Wallbrecher, young people gathered to ask why the Christians of their time had failed to oppose the Nazi regime’s ideology and atrocities. Now with a membership that includes laity and priests, families and singles, the CIC seeks to be a place where “people can live the fullness of Christianity with a modern approach to faith and reason.”
Find out more about the new theology program.