Welcome to the world!

Hello, Portland!



It's Wednesday, August 15, 2007. I'm the blog of Koine Community in Portland, and I've just been born. I'll have more to say in the very near future, but first I'll explain the name of a community that doesn't exist yet: Koine Community. We'll get to the community part in a later post, but for now what about my unusual first name, koine? It's a two-syllable word pronounced like the English word "coin" followed by the English name for the first letter of the alphabet. "Coin-A". Koine is a Greek word meaning common or ordinary. Specifically, it's also the name of the Greek dialect developed in the time of Alexander the Great ca. 300 BCE. Koine Greek was simplified from classical Greek so that Alexander's officers and soldiers from diverse areas could communicate. Koine Greek soon became the written and spoken language of politics and commerce throughout the Mediterranean world, and it prevailed for about 600 years. The entire New Testament of our Bible was written in koine Greek. It was the language of Apostle Paul, Luke the physician, John of Patmos, the Early Church and the Nicene Creed. Language that is common, koine.



Common is good place to begin, a good place to be. So, dear blog readers, that's my first name; and I'll say more about my last name and why they go together when we meet next. 'Til then, blessings on your day; and I'd love to hear from you to begin our conversation!



Pastor Roger