A  Community  of  those  on  the  Journey

​Journey Koinonia ~ Who are we and how did we get here?

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An Intentional Eucharistic Community of Seekers on the Journey

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​​Journey Koinonia - or "JK" to our friends - moved to our new home in the beautiful, contemporary, light-filled Chapel at Portland's First United Methodist Church, (FUMC) in January 2025, where we have received a very gracious and warm welcome. 

A marriage of two communities ("Journey Community" and "Koinonia House",) each born out of the Catholic ministry at Portland State University's ecumenical chaplaincy center at different times, JK has been praying and journeying together for over 30 years, previously based at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Portland.

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​The community gathers, as we always have, from far and wide, including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington as well as Clark (WA) Counties. And, since COVID, our "zoomers" join us from even further afield.

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​                                                                    Focused on prayer, community, liturgy and service, we continue to                                                                                welcome spiritual seekers who, like ourselves, rejoice in a progressive                                                                        ecumenical eucharistic and liturgical community dedicated to all four                                                                           of  the Early Church’s signs of authentic Christianity, offering:

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                                                                  Didache ~ Preaching grounded in scripture, prayer, and the inspiration of

                                                                                       the Holy Spirit.

                                                                   Diaconia ~ A commitment to service for those in need, both near and far.

                                                                   Liturgia ~ A celebration of liturgy which is prayerful, present,  

                                                                                      inclusive, and committed to the “full, conscious and active

                                                                                      participation of all.”   

                                                                  Koinonia ~ A practical commitment to the Community, not just of faith

                                                                                       but of our shared humanity.

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Music by composers Tom Conry and Bernard Huijbers, from our founding years, still lives in us and leads our worship, along with much from names such as Bernadette Farrell, Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen.

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We are graced and celebrate that we gather as a community drawn from not just our founding Catholic and other liturgical backgrounds, through United Methodists and others, but also including those who grew up in more Evangelical and Pentecostal households.

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Importantly, we are not just inclusive, but also progressive, celebrating all the sacraments for all God's people. Many have been hurt by a previous church or denomination over the years. We celebrate together as a ministry of mutual healing for ourselves and the world.  

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Journey Koinonia is a place where we hope any seeker will find a home to at least rest, and maybe even decide to stay.  All are welcome.

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If you are interested in a more detailed history ...

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First came the “Journey” group. 

When Fr. Gary took over as the Catholic chaplain at Koinonia ("K") House” in the mid-1970's like others before him, he enjoyed the energy of the students plus many others engaging in not just the liturgy but also responding to the social pressures and challenges of the times, both in the world and in the institutional Roman church.

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Internally a powerful influence and presence at that time were the community’s music leaders, including a young Tom Conry and Dutch liturgist Bernard Huijbers, the well-known Dutch composer and liturgist. Coming from an era when church choirs did most of the singing as a performance piece, Bernard pioneered and promoted the idea of the “performing congregation,” and created music for everyone to sing, often in parts. His collaboration with theologian, poet and (for a long time) Jesuit priest Huub Oosterhuis created over 200 works.

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A choir (sitting within the congregation), led the music, supported by a group of instrumentalists. Between the late 1970’s to mid-1980’s these instrumentalists and singers made six CD’s for Tom and Bernard’s music publishers, Oregon Catholic Press (OCP).  This musical and progressive theological tradition remains at the heart of what is today Journey Koinonia.

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By the late 1980’s dominant Roman theologies locally and nationally had become even more conservative. Many were alienated over issues that were also neuralgic in American society, such as abortion, (often also tied to birth control,) the role of women's leadership in the church and society, a lack of flexibility over the issue of divorce, marriage for clergy, and the whole topic of homosexuality. The added theological layer of exploring what were the consequences in liturgy of encroaching clericalism set against the Vatican II renewed teaching in “the priesthood of all the baptized” also became important.  

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The pressure on Fr. Gary’s conscience on these and similar matters led him to give a sermon which invited his congregation to join him in finding a new way to “do church.” He didn’t have a name for this group but simply said that “the journey will name us.”  And it did.

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The “Koinonia House” Group

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In 1992, concerned that all Roman Catholic rules were not being followed at “K-House”, the Portland Archdiocese totally withdrew support for the ecumenically focused community, telling attendees (students, faculty, staff, and interested others,) to return to their local parishes.  This was unacceptable to many, who started meeting as a private group and, (as the Journey Community was doing) inviting priests to preside at services but with their own “K-House” musicians, now led by composer Michael Aguilar, as well as extensive lay leadership and participation, including lay preachers.

Both groups employed a “cadre of padres” over the coming years, at different venues until, with both logistical and financial pressures, the two groups decided to join together into what we celebrate today as “Journey Koinonia.”

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This combined community were led by a team, initially pastored by Nancy Banister, and then comprising two people, (including Lauire Volk, Sam Gioia, and A.C. Caldwell,) through to 2014, when the decision was made to invite those who were music leaders, preachers and presiders to form a volunteer leadership team of mutual collaboration, which is still our model.​

Some of our community