The Polish National Union of America (PNUA) and Spójnia Credit Union (SCU) are effective tools in your financial management portfolio. If you are considering getting your financial house in order for the new year, contract the PNUA and SCU which are able to provide insurance, savings, loan, and other financial products. These products are secure and helpful on a personal basis. Membership also benefits your parish and our Holy Church.
PNUA policies for youth are a great way to start your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews on the road to a lifetime of savings. Giving them the gift of an endowment or life insurance policy not only provides financial security but makes them eligible for PNUA benefits like college stipends, membership in the Spojnia Credit Union, as well as branch and district activities.
The PNU has been providing numerous benefits to the PNCC for 105 years now and with your help we will be able to do so long into the future. Contact your parish, local PNUA representative, or the PNUA office at 1‐800‐724‐6352 or by E-mail.
An article by Matt Soniak, written to honor the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Polish immigrants in America in 2008 recently re-appeared, at mental_floss. It presents a great retrospective of the contributions of Polish immigrants to life and culture in the Americas. Below are a few of the highlights including Poish-American’s organizing of the Polish National Catholic Church from 8 Things You Need to Know About Polish Americans:
1. We got to the party early, and brought a lot of friends.
In 1608, the first Polish immigrants arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, and were quickly recruited by the colony as craftsmen in the colony’s glassmaking and woodworking industries. (They also dug the colony’s first well.) After a decade in Jamestown, the Poles still did not have the right to vote in the elections of the colonial government, and in 1619, they held the first labor strike in America. By walking off the job, they affected the local industry enough that voting rights were granted to them.
Just before America began to fight to gain its independence, Poland lost its own. In 1772, 1793 and 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned by Prussia, Russia and Austria. The first of three major waves of Polish immigration occurred after the partition when Polish nobles, political dissidents and other Poles fled their occupied nation.
A second wave took place between 1860 and World War I. Although the reconstitution of Poland was parts of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic, a few million Poles had already left for America because industrialization had driven them from their farms.
The third and largest wave lasted from the end of World War I to the end of the Cold War, again mostly made up of political refugees. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and emergence of the Third Polish Republic, a fourth wave of immigrants, who generally come to earn money and eventually return to Poland, began. Today, there are an estimated 10 million Americans of Polish descent.
2. We’re mostly found in clusters in the Northeast
Polish immigrants were considered well-suited for manual labor, and were often recruited for work in coal mines and the steel industry. Because of that, the largest Polish American populations can still be found in states that were industrial centers in the 20th century, like Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan (here’s a map of Polish American hot spots).
The largest Polish American population can be found in Chicago, which with 185,000 Polish speakers calls itself the largest Polish city outside of Poland. The cities and towns of Pennsylvania’s Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties, including Wilkes-Barre (my home sweet home), Scranton, Hazleton, Pittston and Nanticoke, are also home to large Polish populations because of the area’s once-large coal deposits.
3. We made some big steps for religion in this country
When the predominantly Roman Catholic Poles came to America en masse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Catholic Church here had no Polish bishops and very few Polish priests. A group of Polish immigrants in Scranton broke away in 1897 and formed the Polish National Catholic Church. Today, the PNCC has 126 parishes in North America and 60,000 members.
While Poland is largely Roman Catholic, it has had a small Muslim population since the 14th century, when Tatar tribes began settling in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A group of Polish Muslims who emigrated to the U.S. co-founded the first Muslim organization in Brooklyn in 1907 and, in 1926, built a mosque that’s still in use today.
4. We’ve got friends in high places
Polish Americans you might be familiar with include Kristen Bell, Maria Bello, Scarlett Johansson, John Krasinski, Mike Krzyzewski, Jerry Orbach, John Ratzenberger, Gore Verbinski, the Wachowski brothers, the Warner brothers, Pat Benatar, Dick Dale, Liberace, Richie Sambora, Jack White, Pat Sajak, Martha Stewart, Steve Wozniak, Richard Feynman, Gene Krupa and Mike Ditka.
While they may not be household names, other Polish Americans have done some pretty important things. Stephanie Kwolek developed Kevlar. Albert Abraham Michelson was the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in the sciences for his work on measuring the speed of light. Curtis Sliwa founded the Guardian Angels. Ruth Handler co-founded the Mattel toy company and created the Barbie doll. Leo Gerstenzang invented the Q-tip…
5. George Washington loved us
Among the Polish immigrants to America after the partitions was Casimir Pułaski, a Polish noble and soldier, who was recruited by Benjamin Franklin to help lead the American army. PuÅ‚aski was made a general and had a large role in training the Continental Army. He later created [the] Pułaski’s Legion, one of America’s first cavalry regiments, and is regarded as “the father of American cavalry.”…
6. There ain’t no Christmas like a Polish Christmas
Wigilia, the traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner, begins when the first evening star appears. Twelve meatless courses (one for each of the apostles) are served after a white wafer called the oplatek, is broken and shared among the diners while they exchange good wishes (a separate pink wafer is shared with the animals). For the dinner, there should be an even number of people at the table to ensure good health, with one empty chair reserved anyone who happens to stop by. Tasting all twelve courses ensures good luck in the new year. After supper, Christmas carols are sung in Polish, and the celebration culminates with family and friends going to Pasterka, the Midnight Mass.
7. We didn’t invent the polka, but we do love it
While often attributed to the Polish, the polka actually originated in Bohemia…
8. Our food is awesome
Do you like kielbasa? How about pierogis? You’re welcome.
Photo of Górecko Kościelne, Poland by Sławomir Nowosad
As we admired our favorite photographer’s beautiful Polish sunset, it occurred to us that – to paraphrase a well-known imperial boast – the sun never sets on the Polish diaspora. They are everywhere, in their infinite variety, and what luck we have to stay in touch, even if only virtually.
This issue of CR is largely about Polonia – to use the term that defines all Poles outside Poland – plus a couple of guests, in keeping with the longstanding tradition of Polish hospitality. So, guests first.
Roy Eaton, a New Yorker who came to Montreal and captured the hearts and imaginations of students at the Quo Vadis conference, won the first Kościuszko Foundation Chopin Competition in 1950, but that is but one of many firsts for this gracious and talented man. His music is a must for fans of Chopin and Joplin.
Staying with music, Justine Jablonska catches up with Katy Carr, not an easy thing to do given the international demand for Katy’s performances. And check out Katy’s work with British school kids. For her part, Kinia Adamczyk introduces us to a Montrealer who is a musician, a poet, a writer and a chef, and all of that in Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, German, French and English. If only he would invite us to dinner!
And speaking of poets, we like to think that Linda Nemec Foster wrote her poem just for us. She didn’t, except in the sense that it is for all of us. “I am from America and Poland…” Yes.
We introduce Agnieszka Tworek who introduces us to the marvelous work of Boston architect and artist, Monika Zofia Pauli. It’s a feast for the eyes.
Three immigrant stories, each one so different from the next: one looks back at the very different Canada that welcomed him – sort of – in 1946; another looks at Poland because she knows she didn’t just come out of thin air; and one tells us about his grand world tour – just the thing to broaden one’s education – with great wit and style.
And then there were those clever Poles who by-passed the cold, cold north and headed straight for sunny California. It’s the 150th birthday of the Polish Society they started. They couldn’t attend the party but you really must meet them.
Check out the review of the new book about Krystyna Skarbek/Christine Granville. British author Clare Mulley’s extensive research and obvious admiration for the enigmatic spy is a great read.
Vince Chesney and Stephen Drapaka weigh in with their reviews of some fascinating if misguided, even malevolent, ideas once promoted by people who should have known better.
Finally, all roads lead to Poland. Another paraphrase of an imperial boast but yes, this road leads to Warsaw, the premiere of Andrzej Wajda’s film, Wałęsa, and Małgorzata Dzieduszycka’s thoughtful review.
The Embassy of Poland in Washington, DC is showing “Wałęsa. Man of Hope” by Andrzej Wajda at the AFI/EU Film Showcase at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on Saturday, December 7th at 1pm.
Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda brings the story of Lech Wałęsa and the Solidarity movement to the big screen. Robert Więckiewicz (In Darkness) stars at Lech Wałęsa, while Agnieszka Grochowska shines as his loyal wife, Danuta. The sharp screenplay by Janusz Głowacki hinges on Wałęsa’s landmark 1981 interview, just months before Poland declared martial law, with Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, recounting in flashback the previous decade-and-a-half of activism; Wałęsa would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.
On Wednesday, December 4th Lech Wałęsa returned to Capitol Hill and the U.S. Congress after 24 years and was greated by a full house of nearly 500 dignitaries. Wałęsa’s appearance coincided with the screening of the film “Wałęsa. Man of Hope” for members of Congress. The evening highlighted Solidarity’s contribution in bringing down Communism and ushering in freedom and Democracy to Central and Eastern Europe which lead to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.
“This history happened in Poland first” emphasized Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf, adding that Poland and the Polish people, will never forget the word ‘Solidarity’ and the support we received, particularly from the United States in our greatest hour of need.
“I spoke at every public high school in Connecticut over the years … and I’d be asked by people, ‘Can one person change the world?’ and I used to constantly cite Lech Wałęsa, Eunice Shriver, Nelson Mandela as people who clearly changed the world,” former Senator from Connecticut and current MPAA President Christopher Dodd said during the course of the on-stage interview held before the movie screening.
“When Lech Wałęsa jumped over the wall at the Gdansk Shipyard, he took the whole world with him. The Solidarity movement brought hope and democracy to Poland, and inspired so many more around the globe, including Polish Americans in my hometown of Baltimore. The United States and Poland are united by our beliefs – in freedom, in people, and in speaking truth to power. Today, we are strong democracies, true allies, and steadfast friends.” said Senator Barbara Mikulski.
Poland has showed marked success in education. The World Bank recently reported that Poland now ranks 9th among all countries in overall reading scores on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test, the only transition country to go from being below the OECD average on PISA to above average. The most recent The Education First (EF) English Proficiency Index ranks Poland as 8th in the world (high proficiency) in English language skills among adults.
The just-released PISA exam — the Program for International Student Assessment – shows that Polish students finished ninth among developed nations in science. They also finished 10th in reading.
And the U.S. finish in those subjects? 28th and 24th, respectively.
To be sure, all these rankings can wear you out. And Wendy Kopp, the who started Teach for America, was right to suggest in her Wall Street Journal piece this week that we should not use these particular rankings as a rallying cry to go clobber other countries. Instead, we should learn from each other.
What we could learn from Poland is this: The country’s schools once were in the dumps. But Poland started using standardized tests to assess students, elevated academic rigor, wouldn’t accept poverty as an excuse and gave local schools more autonomy.
None of those reforms were put into place easily, but over time Poland’s scores went up. That includes on the PISA exam, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development administers. The exam focuses on applying classroom knowledge to real world problems.
There certainly is a Texas element to this story about Poland’s success. As this newspaper reported this week, the state has a
troubling number of high school students who have failed one or more end-of-course exams. As an example, 182,000 students have yet to pass last year’s English I writing exam. They get one more chance to do so this month.
The question is, what should we do about perennially failing students? Or ones who just keep struggling?
By raising this, I don’t mean more tests. The Legislature has made it clear they aren’t interested in additional end-of-course exams.
Rather, how shall the state respond to a large number of students who are behind? And how can the state keep students in the future from ending up in the same spot, assuming they don’t have learning disabilities that keep them behind?
Poland’s answer is you don’t give up on kids. It faced enormous poverty after suffering through decades of deprivation under the reign of communism. But it didn’t accept the notion that kids born into poverty couldn’t meet higher academic standards.
Amanda Ripley, author of “The Smartest Kids in the World,” noted in a recent Point Person interview that “Of all the changes Polish officials made, the one that seemed to matter most was that they held all students to more rigorous academic standards for a longer time period.”
In other words, they didn’t lowball expectations, even though plenty of students were struggling. Polish authorities even tried to get more kids out of our equivalent of vocational education.
Of course, raising expectations requires adequate resources to help teachers best reach students. The Texas Legislature must make sure that it spends smartly but adequately on students. But as Ripley also noted, Poland spends about half of what U.S. schools spend on their students. So, money alone is not the answer.
And Poland isn’t the only nation to do better while raising expectations. “Globally, the longer students stay together in demanding classes,” Ripley observed, “the better the whole country seems to do.”
So, there’s a roadmap here for Texas, or at the least start of one. The state could ease up on expectations. As an example, we could suggest that more kids go into vocational education, as some legislators pushed for this year. On the other hand, the state could keep encouraging kids to set their sights higher, as in for college or at least a two-year degree.
Poland went the high-bar route when conditions suggested otherwise. Will we?
The date will be marked with a Mass, followed by a dinner in honor of the work accomplished by the congregation over the past decade.
“We’ve come a long way,” said Ann Rosky, a member of the church’s board of directors and council secretary.
“We’re proud of our accomplishments these last 10 years,” she said.
The Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant Borough was demolished in 2002 after it was deemed unsafe due to structural damage.
At that time, the church’s parish was dissolved, leaving its 1,500 parishioners without a place of worship.
When a number of members began attending Mass at the McKeesport Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church, part of the Pittsburgh-Buffalo Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church, the parish decided to resurrect Transfiguration as an independent Polish National Church.
In October 2003, the parish was declared an official member of the church by the Rev. Thaddeus Peplowski, bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo-Pittsburgh.
“We said we were going to start a church, and we did,” Rosky said.
To stay local, the new parish began holding services at First United Church of Christ in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday evenings.
“We’re grateful to this day to the Rev. Paul Sarver and the First United Church of Christ congregation,” Rosky said. “They welcomed us with open arms.”
After leasing the space for four years, members set out to find a church they could call their own.
Parishioners purchased the building formerly occupied by Rainbow Gardens — a bar and banquet hall.
“We wanted a place to call home,” said Daniel Levendusky, chairman of the church’s council.
The renovation process was slow and steady, with parish members completing much of the work.
“We were fortunate to have parishioners who had the skill to do the work,” Levendusky said.
The building was gutted and remodeled, the bathrooms were moved and an entrance way was constructed.
Parishioners refinished donated pews and held fundraisers to purchase supplies and kitchen equipment.
“We didn’t have a penny to start with,” Levendusky said. “But with Christ’s guidance look what we did. It’s a true testament of where your faith can take you.”
More recently, a new roof and an addition that will become an office have been added. Plans to construct a new sidewalk are in the works.
“It’s been an uphill battle, but we are just so proud of all the work we’ve done,” Rosky said.
“We’re one big, happy family and everyone contributes. When we have a fundraiser dinner, the president is there peeling potatoes just like everyone else,” she said.
In addition to the hard work church members have done to secure their own place of worship, they also strive to work hard serving the community.
They regularly contribute to care packages distributed to the needy, help the Salvation Army by ringing bells during the Christmas season, and buy gifts for local children who might otherwise do without, and they collect for local food banks.
The church has a rotating schedule of four different priests who conduct Mass.
Rosky said the parishioners enjoy having the different priests, as it accommodates all the different personalities of the congregation.
“I’m proud of them,” said the Rev. Bruce Sleczkowski, the church’s administrator and one of the priests who regularly hold services at the church. “I see their Catholic faith and witness them demonstrating Christian love to each other and their community. It’s a joy to be with them,” he said.
This morning the parish church of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Perth Amboy, New Jersey was destroyed by fire. First, we all request your prayers for the people of the parish, our diocese, and the entire Church as we face the days ahead. May our dear Lord console our grief and give us the grace of His strength.
The beauty of our Holy Polish National Catholic Church is clearly evident in the story below from MyCentralJersey. It is our central focus on faith in Jesus Christ Who saves and strengthens us, Who provides for us and leads us to overcome every obstacle or challenge.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It too is a Church of the people, of the humanity and nations Christ has redeemed. We are the Church that respects, honors, and enshrines every person’s self determination in our democratic tradition. We are a Church organized by immigrants that continues to offer a home to immigrants – not as subjects – but as human beings. Our Holy Church is our home, where the traditions of Poles, Czechs, Lithuanians, Peruvians, Mexicans, and people of every culture are not just kept – as if on on shelf – but are lived and expressed in the ways we worship our Lord.
Bendicenos en cada hora Senor de los Milagros, en nuestras enfermedades y pobrezas, en nuestras pruebas y desolaciones, en nuestors quebrantos e infortunios, escucha nuestra voz, atiende nuestras plegarias, acude pronto en favor de nosotros, de nuestras familias y de nuestros intereses temporales y eternos. En Ti confiamos Senor de los Milagros y de tu misericordia infinita, esperamos alcanzar el remedio en nuestras necesidades.
Padrenuestro, Avemaria con la jaculatoria; Senor de los Milagros, en Ti confiamos.
Bless us at our every hour Lord of Miracles, in our sickness and poverty, in desolation and in the times we are tested, in our losses and misfortunes, hear our voice, hear our prayers; speed Your aid to us, to our families, and help us in our daily and eternal needs. In You, Lord of Miracles we trust, and place our faith in Your infinite mercy; we know that You will hear us in our every need.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and pray: Lord of Miracles, we trust in You!
PERTH AMBOY — Hours after an early morning fire destroyed Saints Cyril & Methodius National Catholic Church, the pastor and some members vowed to rebuild the 598 Jacques St. church.
And they will be looking to other towns with Peruvian communities to assist them.
“We want the Peruvian community to join forces. We need help from them and other Peruvian communities to rebuild,” said Andres Sanchez of Perth Amboy, adding both Paterson and Elizabeth have large Peruvian communities. “We ask for help from our Peruvian community to rebuild the house of the Senor del los Milagros in Perth Amboy.”
The church housed a replica of the Senor de los Milagos, an image of Jesus Christ on the crucifix, also known as the Lord of Miracles considered sacred in Peru. Members stood outside the charred remains to see if the image survived the flames.
Sanchez, a two-year church member, said the destruction of the church by fire is “a big tragedy.”
The Rev. Mariusz Zochowski, church pastor who refers to himself at “Father Mario,” said the church is it’s people, and he believes it will be rebuilt. The church with Polish origins, now has a large Peruvian membership.
“If anyone has the desire to help us rebuild the church it would be greatly appreciated,” said Zochowski said.
For Luis Silva, 23, Saints Cyril & Methodius National Catholic Church, is like a second home.
“It means everything to me. To see it in ruins breaks me apart,” said Silva who attended Sunday services at the church hours before a fire destroyed the wood-frame 1920s era church.
Silva, a member for more than six years, said the church is a place where he feels safe.
“Religion to me is very important. It’s most of what I’ve known since a child,” said Silva who was among a group of church members who came out to the early Monday morning fire scene to see firefighters work to extinguish the flames.
As he returned in the late morning, so did the heartbreaking feeling.
Like many of the church members Silva was interested in learning whether a replica of the Senor de los Milagros, had survived. Fire Chief Abraham Pitre, however, said the image is believed to have been destroyed by the flames.
Salvaging religious items
Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz has asked the fire department to salvage any religious artifacts, including the stained glass windows.
“I want them to be careful and preserve any artifacts that survived this fire,” Diaz said.
Sanchez said the church contained religious artifacts associated with the saint. Pitre said many religious items were recovered, but not the image.
“But of the most value is our faith,” said Sanchez, who learned of the fire early Monday morning from a relative.
Two crosses did survive the fire. One, heavily charred is seen still hanging on the church wall, while another cross located on the cupola fell and now is perched inside the church.
Sanchez said October marks the celebration of the saint Senor de los Milagros and every year in September church members parade the image through the Jacques Street neighborhood in celebration of the Lord of Miracles. Diaz said people from Peru have traveled to Perth Amboy to participate in the procession.
According to Sanchez, a slave from Peru painted the original image and when an earthquake destroyed nearly everything in the church, the image survived.
Sanchez said the church has members who come from as far as New York. He said a lot of people come to the Perth Amboy church to see the image of Senor de los Milagros. Diaz said people from Peru have traveled to Perth Amboy to participate in the procession.
“Today is the last day they do the procession in Peru,” said Diaz, who saw church members crying in the early morning hours as they watched the church burn. “People just cried and cried. It was so sad. It broke my heart. It’s a miracle the buildings around here did not catch fire.”
Three towns assist Perth Amboy in fighting fire
Pitre said firefighters were dispatched to the church around 12:52 a.m. after a passerby walking in the area noticed smoke and fire along the roof and then saw fire inside the church.
When police and firefighters arrived, there was fire burning along the roof. Pitre said the fire spread throughout the corner lot church building. The cause it under investigation, but may never be known due to the amount of damage, Pitre said.
Diaz said the heat and fire was so intense the walls were buckling and shaking.
Firefighters worked to prevent the fire from spreading to the homes behind the wood-frame church on Jeffries Street or to the rectory next door at 600 Jacques Street.
“We tried to keep it contained to the church,” Pitre said.
Firefighters from Perth Amboy, Woodbridge, Colonia, Iselin, Fords, Sayreville, Metuchen and Avenel helped fight the fire and cover the rest of the city. It took about 90 minutes to get the fire under control. No one was in the church. No injuries were reported.
“The church is a total loss,” he said. “There are still some pockets of fire in the front of the church that are still burning. Due to the fact the church is in danger of collapsing we’re waiting for the insurance company to come to order an emergency demolition to further extinguish it.”
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
St. Paul calls us to remain faithful. Faith is imparted to us by our hearing, by someone who proclaims and models faith for us. This is not any faith – but faith in the one true source of salvation who is Jesus Christ.
Jesus told His apostles and disciples: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”
Someone had to inform us of this fact. Indeed they did – the apostles and disciples set out to every corner of the world and proclaimed what they had seen and heard. They spoke it, they held the liturgy – bringing the sacraments to all, and they witnessed to the truth of Christ by offering their lives without fear. These witnesses, mostly uneducated and formerly fearful, brought the faith to every nation.
Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301. Tiridates III was the first ruler to officially Christianize his people predating the date of Constantine the Great’s personal acceptance of Christianity on behalf of the Roman Empire. Subsequently many nations adopted Christianity and assumed the role of imparting the faith to their people. A mosaic of peoples and cultures went on to make salvation known through faith in Jesus known.
Bishop Hodur saw nations as a tool in God’s hands. Each people is endowed with specific gifts and insights that add to the totality of Christian evangelism.
Religion cannot espouse the dissolution of national and cultural boundaries as its goal — an argument made by those who define everything in terms of separation. Our faith, and the expression of our faith – our religion – is focused on making Jesus known through the gift of nations and cultures. Nations and cultures speak of God who works through them to fulfill Jesus’ command to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
God speaks to and values every nation and culture. He works through them to make His will known, to offer salvation to every person.
Today we celebrate the individual heritage of every nation and culture. We celebrate the gifts God has given us – those gifts intended to make salvation known, to bring all to know and worship Him who created us for His purpose.
The halls and steeples of one Scranton church have heard thousands of hymns, witnessed years of weddings, Communions and confessions and have stood tall and welcoming for 100 years.
Anna Zimmie, a 100-year-old member of the congregation of the Providence of God Lithuanian National Catholic Church in Scranton, began her life as one of the first children baptized within its walls. Her daughter, Dolores Krupski, said the church has been a “big part” of both of their lives.
“My mother used to tell me what a great choir they had,” Mrs. Krupski said. “She used to talk about a lot of things that happened years ago.”
The church that brought Mrs. Zimmie into her life of faith a century ago will celebrate its 100th anniversary this weekend with a special Mass and banquet. Father Walter Placek, the church’s pastor, said this milestone has been hard-won by the dedication of congregation members throughout the church’s history.
“For a church to stay open 100 years in itself is a little miracle,” Father Placek said. “Those who are dedicated want so much to keep this church going, and I like being a part of that.”
Janet Kelly, president of the parish committee, leads those dedicated parishioners and manages the upkeep and functions of the church.
“We’re a small group, but we do a lot,” Ms. Kelly said. “We’re all working for the same goal of keeping the church alive and going.”
The church was founded in 1913 by a group of Lithuanian immigrants who had become disenchanted with the “oppressive ways” of the Roman Catholic Church and split from St. Joseph’s Church in North Scranton. According to Father Placek’s historical sketch, in 1913 the group “went around the corner to Oak Street, barely a quarter-mile away from St. Joseph’s Church, and the Providence of God Parish became a reality.”
Today, Ms. Kelly said the parish committee keeps the church alive and thriving through several fundraisers throughout the year, including pork dinners, chicken barbecues, flea markets and bake sales.
“It gets a little tough now,” she said. “If we had to survive on collections (during Mass) we wouldn’t get by.”
A lifelong member of the church, Ms. Kelly said both her parents and grandparents met within the 100-year-old walls.
“It’s had such a huge impact on my life,” Ms. Kelly said. “It’s like my second family.”
Father Placek started at the church 12 years ago for what was originally a “temporary assignment.” Now, he will lead it through the centennial milestone.
“Twelve years ago I didn’t think I would be here,” Father Placek said. “Back then I was hoping we could fill the church. This (anniversary) is a rare privilege.”
The church will host a special anniversary Mass on Sunday at 3 p.m., led by Diocesan Bishop Bernard Nowicki.
As the centennial milestone comes and goes, Father Placek said he hopes to see the church remain for many years to come.
“I hope it’s more than keeping open,” he said. “It’s worth trying to keep it and to grow.”
The Mel Brooks show features Mr. Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft performing Sweet Georgia Brown in Polish. They had performed this piece in their film “To Be or Not to Be,” a 1983 remake of the 1942 Jack Benny comedy by the same name. The story centers on a Polish theatrical company that goes underground and takes on Nazi Germany during World War II.
This performance took place in the early 1980’s after marshall law was declared in Poland to suppress the Solidarity free Labor Union movement.
Anna Zimmie, a 100-year-old member of the congregation of the Providence of God Lithuanian National Catholic Church in Scranton, began her life as one of the first children baptized within its walls. Her daughter, Dolores Krupski, said the church has been a “big part” of both of their lives.