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celebrating 30th anniversary, Prague 2009
Letter for Advent
Christ is risen!
Dear brothers and sisters,
“But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, from you will come for me a future ruler of Israel whose origins go back to the distant past, to the days of old” (Mi 5:1).
Micah is one of the prophets who announce the birth of the Messiah. His announcement dates back to before 722 BC, centuries before the actual event took place. In his gospel Mathew quotes him to show that Scripture was fulfilled with Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem.
Koinonia John the Baptist …
…, Reality of Bristol, is a member of the Federation Koinonia Giovanni Battista which is a new lay order in the Catholic Church, founded in 1979, in Italy, by Fr. Ricardo Arganaraz. A member of the Catholic Fraternity, Koinonia is a community of Priests (30), consecrated brothers and sisters (circa 150) and lay faithful (circa. 4000). Koinonia Oases and Realities exist across Europe in Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Spain, Ireland and in England.
Koinonia is called to be John the Baptist, preparing the way of the Lord, by equipping the Church in a biblical mentality and laying down the foundations of our faith by evangelisation through courses (Philip, Paul, Emmaus & the Gospels, John etc.), by prayer, praise and scripture proclamation and by the encouragement of Houses of Prayer (HOPEs). The goal of a House of Prayer is wide-spread evangelisation by means of testimony and the announcement of the Word of God to those who are far way from faith in Jesus.
While consecrated brothers and sisters undergo their own formation internally (personal prayer, community life and prayer, evangelisation school) and at Roman-Catholic universities (faculty of theology and philosophy) the lay member grow through personal prayer and their local family-community life with Houses of Prayer, family-community (Agapito) and Koinonia meetings, ministries and evangelisation school courses which are also held locally.
We minister in our family-communities but also in our local parishes with involvement in the Holy Mass and other parish activities. Our evangelisation school courses are open for everyone and can be held in every parish. Especially Philip Course is well received by parish members as it is comparable to the successful and well known Alpha Course in the UK.
Koinonia John the Baptist seeks to live evangelical prosperity which is understood as a sharing of goods. The upkeep of the life and activities of the Koinonia is derived from tithing, from members’ contributions, donations from sympathisers or the result of other Koinonia activities.
Every pastoral activity of the Koinonia is actively inserted into existing ecclesiastical structures thus adding its own contribution to the realisation of local pastoral plans.
Meet the Koinonia John the Baptist
The following Video was made by the members of Koinonia JtB in USA.
Pastors’ Retreat 2008 in Israel
In June all Pastors’ and Coordinators’ of Koinonia John the Baptist from all over the world were gathering together for a time of prayer and pilgrimage in the Holy Land and the City of the Great King, where the roots of Christianity lay.
Koinonia has a Reality in Israel working close with local Franciscans and also Messianic Jews, which believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, but live the Jewish tradition, just as the first Christians. As the roots of Christianity are laid in the Old Testament and the descendants of Jacob (Israel), with all their tradition, we can learn a lot from them, even today – and especially today.
We all came back in to our Realities enriched with the blessings of Jerusalem – the City of God.
