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Watch “A.D. The Series”

From the renowned producing team of Roma Downey and Mark Burnett comes A.D. on NBC – a landmark television event continuing where The Bible series left off.

A.D. starts with the Crucifixion and The Resurrection – catalysts that altered history. What follows is the epic tale of “A.D.” chronicling several of the most intense and tumultuous decades in history. The complicated birth of the early Church was a time filled with enormous faith, persecution, political intrigue, brutal Roman oppression and the desperate Jewish revolt. The entire world was transformed, and the course of human history would be forever changed.

A.D. tells its story through the eyes of the Apostles, Pilate, Caiaphas, the Jewish Zealots and the Herod family. With the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters as its foundation plus some artful use of history, A.D. shows why little has changed in two thousand years, but the church continues to change the world.

This Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2015, join with me and millions of viewers for the premiere of A.D. and continue on a 12-week journey through what would become the most powerful global movement in history – the rise of the Church.

Art, Events, Media, Perspective, Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , , , ,

Fall-Winter Edition of the Cosmopolitan Review

The Fall-Winter edition of the Cosmopolitan Review has been published. Here’s the preview:

Poland has been commemorating anniversaries all year and those of us observing from a distance have shared in the country’s happiness. True, some of those anniversaries mark events that were far from happy, but now they are not only far in the past but also signify a remarkable endurance and resilience.

To share this joy, CR’s own Justine Jablonska put together a photo essay illustrating these significant dates with selected personalities from the arts, letters and politics of this successful country. We also invited Andrew Nagorski to say a few words, which he does with elegance and affection. And we have musicians from Wawel (top left) for a rousing chorus of Sto lat!

But as faithful readers all know, CR’s Poland is wherever there are Poles, and we hope our British friends forgive us if the sun never sets on us for a change. This issue, we write about Poles in Africa from the perspective of people who cherish the memory of their enchanted childhood, complete with an escape from the clutches of a monster. They hold regular reunions in Wrocław. A refugees’ reunion, you ask? It’s a psychological and social phenomenon Amanda Chalupa feels compelled to study.

About the same time that Polish kids frolicked with boa constrictors in Africa, Polish cabaret stars entertained Polish troops serving in the Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders. Beth Holmgren, who has made interwar cabaret her own, introduces us to some very talented people as The Cabaret Goes to War.

Whatever has been said about the long communist era, artists find a way. Justine Jablonksa reviews Eric Bednarski’s beautiful film about dreamy neon signs created in a system that never delivered the goods that were advertised. A bit surreal? Tune in to the conversation.

Still with films, Małgorzata Dzieduszycka casts a sensitive eye on Jan Komasa’s MIASTO 44 and on Warsaw Uprising. There will never be a last word on this event, nor could it be otherwise.

Ben Paloff muses on the poet laureate of the wartime generation, Krzysztof Baczyński. Is he, as Magda Romańska suggested, “Bob Dylan, William Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda and James Dean rolled into one,” or is he more like Keats, or maybe Marcel Proust?

We move on to the 2nd largest Polish city in the world, Chicago, specifically Stuart Dybek’s Chicago. Agnieszka Tworek explores this gifted writer’s perceptive and sympathetic stories about the gritty immigrant neighborhood of Chicago, and has a few questions for the award-winning author as well.

We are pleased to have another review by the young Toronto-based historian, Michał Kasprzak, whose great writing could upstage the authors under discussion. But with consummate skill, he instead seduces people to read – and maybe even buy! – the book. In this case it is the new history of modern Poland by Brian Porter-Szücs who examined Poland and came up with a startling diagnosis: Poles are normal people, just like everybody else. Some of us have long suspected as much but were waiting for a professional confirmation. Kasprzak will fill you in.

And we end with a fitting finale. Pomp, history, great plans and good feelings fill Martin Grzadka’s account of Canada’s first state visit to Poland. Yes, much business was discussed but the warm bilateral relations were the icing on the cake for a young professional proud to be a citizen of both countries.

Before we go, we invite you to look at our About Us page, where we introduce our stellar cast of Contributing Editors. We look forward to an exciting 2015.

Christian Witness, Events, PNCC, , ,

Revived By Grace: Revival, Renewal & Restoration

10391445_833664746691798_1176176903936145504_nThe fifteenth National Mission & Evangelism Workshop of the Polish National Catholic Church themed “Revived By Grace: Revival, Renewal & Restoration” will take place at St. Martin & St. Rose Parish, San Antonio, Texas from Friday, February 27th – Sunday, March 1st, 2015.

Beginning on Friday, Februay 27, 2015, the PNCC will present the Fourteenth National Mission and Evangelism Workshop. The Workshop will be held in San Antonio at St. Martin & St. Rose Parish.

Over the past fifteen years the National Commission on Mission and Evangelism has presented to the faithful and clergy of the Church an opportunity to explore one of many faith-driven aspects of the Church on a National level, as well as experiencing the Church on a local Parish level.

Our goal for each Mission Workshop has been that the Faithful come away with a burning desire to bring faith-driven work of the Workshop back to their parishes, and be a light to that local Community of Faith, the Parish, and the communities in which they live.

This year’s Mission Workshop will be held in San Antonio, Texas. The hotel is located next to the Alamo and other historical sites, the River Walk, and the River Center Mall, St. Martin & St. Rose is about four miles from the hotel.
Arrangements have been made with the hotel for extra days to be added to our workshop days. Consider spending a couple additional days either before or after the workshop for some R & R.

Please click on the links below for Workshop resources:

Workshop Pamphlet which includes the tentative schedule, names, phone numbers and email addresses you may need.

Workshop registration form and Hotel reservation form. The Registration Committee requests that you call the hotel directly for reservations. When making reservations please use the hotel code: “Polish National Catholic Church.” The cutoff date for obtaining the guaranteed room rate of $109 plus tax ($16.75) is February 15, 2015.

Please fill out the registration form and send it along with a check for the Workshop Registration Fee of $75.00 per person. Please make the check payable to: St. Martin & St. Rose Parish.

Deadline for registering for the Workshop is February 15, 2015. For registrations post-marked after February 15, 2015, the registration fee is $95.00.

We pray that you will consider joining us for the Fifteenth National Mission & Evangelism Workshop of the PNCC, and we look forward to your attendance.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Rev. Raymond Drada, Workshop & Commission Chairman Parish Phone: (586) 978-1125 or Very Rev. Gus Sicard, Pastor Phone: (210) 924-1043

Christian Witness, Events, PNCC, , ,

Thoughts on my Ordination to the Holy Priesthood

Overwhelmed by love – from preparing for my ordination to the Holy Priesthood, to the actual liturgy on the Commemoration of St. Nicholas, to my first Holy Mass offered on Sunday, December 7th, the Second Sunday of Advent for the people of my parish, living and deceased, and for my dearly departed parents. The love of the Lord has been poured out on me through the family of faith in our Holy Polish National Catholic Church, our many friends, and of course my family. This love is overwhelmingly powerful and life changing. I am so thankful for all of you who are a gift to me, a gift from God. I remember in a special way the many blessings I have received through our Church, its congregations, its priests and deacons, and most particularly the love and support of our Prime Bishop Anthony who has guided, supported, and cared for me since he was a priest and my Bishop ordinary, Bishop Bernard who reminds me of the many ways Christ is at work in our Church and in me, and of holy memory, Bishop Casimir Grotnik who loved me as a son. I am overwhelmed by this tremendous love and my heart desires only to love and serve God and His body – our family of faith. Thank you and bless you all.

Thank you to Fr. Robert for the following pictures. Pictures from my first Holy Mass will follow once they are available.

By the way – any interesting ideas on a new name for this website? Let me know.

Christian Witness, Events, PNCC, , ,

Personal news

To all my faithful on-line readers and friends,

I invite you to pray for me as I prepare to enter the next chapter of my ministry in our Holy Polish National Catholic Church. On Saturday, December 6th, the Commemoration of St. Nicholas, His Grace, the Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky will ordain me to the order of presbyter in our Church. I will celebrate my first Solemn Holy Mass on Sunday, December 7th, the Second Sunday of Advent. Attached below is more detailed information and my invitation to all of you. You have supported me, prayed for me, challenged me, and worked with me over these last nine years. You have helped me to grow in faith and in my commitment to the work Jesus has called me to do.

Ordination Invitation - Holy Priesthood

Art, Events, , , ,

Arts Opportunities, Scholarships, Programs, and Research Grants

From the New York State Alliance for Arts Education

Uncommon Approaches to the Common Core 2

August 12- 13, in Albany. Hear an inspiring keynote on inquiry-based learning from Barbara Stripling. Participate in experiential labs where you’ll learn how to create compelling lessons using cultural resources to meet the Common Core Learning Standards. Explore inquiry as a professional discipline. Network with colleagues in your region. And, to close the conference, hear from James B. Short, Director, Gottesman Center for Science Teaching and Learning at the American Museum of Natural History. Register today!

Summit on Transforming Education through Creative Practices

Move this World, a global non-profit that uses creative expression to address and transform conflict and bullying in communities worldwide, invites you to participate in its 5th Annual Global Summit in Transforming Education through Creative Practices! They are calling on a global network of educators, youth workers, thought leaders, creative arts therapists, students, artists and social change advocates to connect and collaborate in New York City, August 22 – 24.

Aesthetica Art Prize 2014

Entries close August 31, 2014.

The Aesthetica Art Prize 2014 is now open for entries, offering both budding and established artists the opportunity to showcase their work to an international audience and influential figures from the arts sector. Celebrating and nurturing outstanding contemporary art from across the world, the Art Prize welcomes all forms of art in the following categories:Photographic & Digital Art, Three Dimensional Design & Sculpture, Painting & Drawing and Video, Installation & Performance.

Prizes include a 12 week group show; up to £1000 in cash; publication in the Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology and editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine (readership of 140,000 worldwide); art supplies and art books; and Q&As on the Aesthetica Blog. There are two main categories to enter: Main Prize and Student Prize. There is a winner for each main category. Entry is £15 and permits the submission of two works into any one category.

Grammy Foundation Supports Music Research and Preservation Projects

Deadline: October 1, 2014 (Letters of Inquiry)

Funded by the Recording Academy, the Grammy Foundation’s annual grant program provides support for music archiving and preservation efforts and scientific research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition. The research projects grant program awards funding of up to $20,000 to organizations and individuals working to research the impact of music on the human condition. Examples include the study of the effects of music on mood, cognition, and healing; the medical and occupational well-being of music professionals; and the creative process underlying music. Priority will be given to projects with strong methodological design as well those designed to address an important research question.

Ucross Foundation’s Spring 2015 Artist Residencies

Deadline: October 1, 2014

Founded in 1981, the Ucross Foundation provides uninterrupted time, work space, and living accommodations in Sheridan, Wyoming, to competitively selected visual artists, writers, and composers. Nearly thirteen hundred individuals from every state in the U.S. as well as Germany, France, Scotland, England, Poland, Egypt, the Netherlands, Canada, and Thailand have spent time at Ucross since it first opened. Currently, the foundation is accepting applications for its 2015 Spring Residency program, which runs from late-February to mid-June.

YoungArts Applications for 2015 Open

Deadline: October 17, 2014

YoungArts identifies and nurtures emerging artists ages 15-18 (or in grades 10-12) in the visual, literary, design and performing arts. Winners in cinematic arts, dance, design, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice, and writing are provided once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, significant access to scholarships and national recognition, including:

  • Up to $10,000 in monetary awards
  • Exclusive U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts nomination
  • Master classes with world-renowned artists
  • Access to scholarships, career opportunities and professional contacts
  • Opportunity for works to be viewed by top artists in their fields
  • All applicants to YoungArts have the opportunity to learn about college programs, scholarships, summer programs and festivals through participation in the YoungArts Student List Service.

Apply here.

Chamber Music Residency Partnership Program

Application Deadline: October 31, 2014

Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership Program supports ensembles and presenters in building audiences for classical/contemporary, jazz, and world chamber music through residency projects. Funding is specifically aimed at activities that take place in community settings and that are not part of a regular concert series. These activities may include, but are not limited to, clinics, interactive classroom programs, and lecture/demonstrations in libraries, hospitals, senior centers, or similar venues. Projects must take place in the U.S. or its territories. The length of the residencies ranges from a minimum of three days to one year. Grants support up to 75 percent of expenses directly connected to the project. The balance must be drawn from other sources, such as cash from other grants, earned income, or an allocation from the organization’s general operating funds. For information on applying, please see their website.

Infographic on Arts Education

This one page document from the Indiana Youth Institute summarizes some valuable research and information on the value of arts education.

Website for Lesson Sharing

Share My Lesson is a free platform, developed by teachers for teachers, that gives access to high-quality teaching resources and provides an online community where teachers can collaborate with, encourage and inspire each other.

Art, Events, Media, Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , , , , , , , ,

Summer Issue of the Cosmopolitan Review

The summer issue of the Cosmopolitan Review has been published. The authors note:

The arts, in all their variety, are mirrors that reflect a people. We owe so much to artists. They make us laugh, cry, think, and see ourselves in our infinite variety, so no wonder we admire those talented people who create images, words and music that enrich our lives.

This issue, we focus on them, whether we find them working in films, theatre, or galleries, composing music or performing it, writing plays or acting, or writing prose or poetry. You’ll find them all represented here.

Let’s start with the movies. For that we’re grateful to Agnieszka Niezgoda and Jacek Laskus, whose marvelous book, Hollywood.pl, introduces us to some of the most talented people to ever leave Poland – not necessarily forever – and make their mark in the dream capital of the world.

Hollywood has been a talent magnet for a long time and one of the first superstars was Poland’s Pola Negri. Justine Jablonska reviews her story written by Mariusz Kotowski.

Poland’s poets… as once written in the New York Times, “if cash money were on the line…” few critics would bet against Polish poets being the best in the world. With that in mind, Agnieszka Tworek spoke to award-winning translator Joanna Trzeciak about her work – and her friendship – with two of the greats: Wisława Szymborka and Tadeusz Różewicz.

And speaking of poets, Magda Romanska introduces us to a poet and playwright who also happens to be a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Roald Hoffman. Join them for a discussion about the arts and science, and about Polish roots.

Beth Holmgren revisits prewar Polish cabaret… and its postwar reappearance in Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Lara Szypszak has a few suggestions about galleries, performances and generally low cost and easily accessible culture in Warsaw. Join her.

An anthology of modern Polish plays, (A)pollonia, came to our attention via Will Harrington. The eleven plays, some performed in many countries, are set in Poland but deal with universal themes.

Łukasz Wodzyński returns to CR to share his love, and understanding, of modern Polish literature with an essay about the Introduction to Polish Literature by Jarosław Anders and a review of a new edition of Gomrowicz’s Diary, with the great writer’s thoughts on everything from the Catholic Church to Marxism, and the human condition in general.

Finally, there’s that long established and very special art form that, over time, has left us a record of some of the most interesting people in every culture: letter writing. We bring back that most colorful member of the original, 19th century Polish Society of California – not to mention a great American patriot, Rudolf Korwin Piotrowski, in a translation of previously unpublished letters found in the library of Jagiellonian University by the research/writing team, Maureen Mroczek Morris and Lynn Ludlow, who seem to travel between centuries with the greatest of ease.

And another writer whose letters transcend time and place, Krystyna Wituska, will be remembered in Germany on June 26th with a new book and a monument unveiled by the Memorial Centre in Halle Saale. A young member of the Polish underground, her words about war and peace, friendship and love, hairstyles, fashion, literature and fun, as well as life and death, were written to her parents and also – in what must be a unique prison correspondence – to the daughter of her compassionate German prison guard. Seems Wituska’s letters were written for our troubled times.

Enjoy the summer, read a lot, visit galleries and theatres, go to movies, and tip your hat to the creative people who make all this possible.

Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , ,

Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema – A screening series of restored classic Polish films touring the U.S. and Canada, which opened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York in February 2014.

The Masterpieces will be shown at the Cinema Arts Centre, at 423 Park Avenue, Huntington, NY from June 18th through July 23rd. More Masterpieces to come on July 9th, 13th, 16th and 23rd. Titles to be announced.

Organized and curated by Martin Scorsese, one of the most recognized and respected filmmakers in the world, the series is the largest presentation of restored Polish cinema to date.

21 Films you might not know

Martin Scorsese has personally selected 21 Polish films that have been an inspiration and influence.

30+ Theaters across North America

Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema is an unprecedented cultural event. Polish cinema has never been showcased in North America on such a scale. The best in classic Polish film will be shown in cities in the U.S. and Canada throughout 2014, beginning with a special premiere presentation in New York City on February 5th.

Pristine quality

Films in the series will be presented in the highest possible quality thanks to extensive digital picture and audio restoration. Dirt, scratches and other ravages of time have been removed, while preserving the integrity and beauty of the original films.

Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Honoring Dr. Walter Golaski in Philadelphia

Golaski_02In 2013 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved a historical marker to honor Dr. Walter Golaski (1913-1996), engineer and inventor who was a leading pioneer in manufacturing knitted Dacron blood-vessel replacements. A Drexel University graduate, he was also a philanthropist who devoted much time and energy to establishing closer ties between the United States and Poland through cultural and scholarly exchange. Though a Philadelphian, he was Chairman of the Board at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York during the years 1973-1982.

A The dedication ceremony for the Historical Marker honoring Dr. Walter Golaski will take place at 12:00 noon on Saturday, May 17th at the corner of 34th Street and Lancaster Ave. in Philadelphia, this is Lancaster Walk in back of Drexel University athletic center. All are welcome to attend.

A luncheon will follow the dedication at approximately 2:00 pm at Drexel University’s Paul Peck Alumni Center located at 32nd and Market Street. Seating is limited – please make your reservation now. Tickets are $40 per person.

The contact person for information and tickets to the luncheon is Jean Joka, telephone: 215-483-0193.

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