Polish Mission Work

Kansas has a Polish Connection

Polish Methodists are a hardy lot - in a country with very high unemployment rates and a struggling economy, the 4,200 United Methodists are also greatly outnumbered by the Roman Catholic majority. Their faith is strong and they manage to accomplish a great deal with their limited resources, but help from the rest of the Church is greatly appreciated. The Kansas East Conference has a long history of relationships with churches in Poland, and recently two First Church members had a chance to see that relationship at work.

Maurice and Naomi Cashman traveled to Przemysl (pronounced Shem-ish!) with a Volunteers in Mission team made up of men and women from Topeka, Meriden, Hiawatha, Wichita, and Johnson County. Their task was to begin finishing off the interior of a building that had been constructed in the late 1980s to be a center for refugees fleeing the U.S.S.R. but never completed.

The team repaired and painted the plaster walls, installed trim around windows, re-hung doors and fixed the locks, and built railings for a balcony and stairway. When finished, the building will be a Christian English School - for many Poles, knowledge of English is the key to getting good jobs and bettering their lives. During the time Poland was part of the Soviet Union, the Methodists were the only ones teaching English there.

In addition to providing labor, the team took with them approximately $10,000 for supplies and equipment, and for the hiring of professional plumbers, electricians and masons to complete some of the work on the building, giving a boost to the local economy in the process.

The Cashmans say that working on the building with the team was fun and rewarding, but the most meaningful part of the trip was worshiping with the congregation of the Przemysl United Methodist Church. The 40-50 member congregation was warm and welcoming, and went out of their way to assure that the visitors from Kansas were comfortable.

The church in Przemysl is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Rev. Jerzy Markowski was the pastor for fifty of those years; his son, Roman, is the current pastor. The English School is immediately behind the church, which may eventually occupy some of the space in the School. The church acquired the land for the school in the 1980s when the senior Rev. Markowski was given $1,000 to buy a car for his ministry; instead, he bought the land! Rev. Jerzy - or "Jerry" as he is called - and his wife are still very active in the church and took good care of the VIM team while they were there.

The Przemysl church is one of the oldest of the 39 congregations in Poland. After World War I, relief work by the Methodist Episcopal Church South led to the establishment of a Methodist annual conference in Poland in 1921. At first, American missionaries provided leadership, but the Church has been in Polish hands since 1940. During and after World War II about one-third of the Methodist properties and congregations were lost to the government but since the fall of communism, the Polish United Methodist Church has worked hard to rebuild. There is still much need for outside support for current church activities and for outreach and humanitarian programs.

An important ministry of the Polish UM Church is "Glass of Water" - roughly similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, it offers direct services to alcoholics and their families. Alcoholism is a serious problem in Poland. Other ministries are the English language programs and job training programs.

Would you like to enjoy the same experience Maurice and Naomi and the other team members had? Another VIM team will travel to Przemysl in October. Building skills are handy but not necessary, accommodations in Poland are modern and comfortable, and English-language students act as interpreters so language is not a barrier. The Cashmans encourage everyone to find out more about the trip and the Polish Connection Task Force by contacting Betty Nelson at 272-2573, or to support the missions in Poland by giving through First Church (make your check to Kansas East Conference and put Poland Acct. 877 in the memo line.) You can also learn more at this web site - www.vimpoland.org  - which is being created by the Polish VIM Coordinator and a member of this last Kansas team.

Maurice (left, in blue shirt) and Naomi Cashman (center, in black shirt)
joined others from Kansas in a Volunteers in Mission trip to Poland this spring.