The Koinonia Coffee Shop opened in 2008 and shortly after it opened, Dr. Bill Cooley started meeting there with a small group, on Friday mornings. One day, Dr. Cooley told the owner, “Mayor Harvey Johnson will be coming to talk next Friday.” Mrs. Lee Harper obliged by adding a few more chairs for this Friday meeting. But on that Friday, there were so many people in attendance that they had to stand on the porch and listen. From that day forward, Koinonia began hosting ‘Friday Forums’ at 9:00 am every Friday. Guest speakers have included, city officials, private investors, and non-profits.

We want to recognize Koinonia Coffee House for their meaningful contributions to West Jackson. Koinonia provides a safe place for people from all backgrounds to come and share information. Mrs. Harper said it is very important to have a dialogue about the community, but even more important to have place in the community to foster that dialogue.

Mrs. Harper said, “No matter how difficult the topic, people feel comfortable sharing information in this space.”

In the future, she hopes people will take the information that is shared at Friday Forums and use it to do meaningful actions in the city.

We say thank you to Koinonia for creating this truly unique space in West Jackson.

Koinonia is located at 136 S. Adams St. and their hours of operation are Monday-Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. They serve a full breakfast and lunch menu and they are booking space for holiday events. Call 601-960-3008 to learn more.