PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE OPINION SURVEY

A message from the President of the PCM:

“Dear Friends,

We are very pleased to report that nearly 50 people took part in our survey which had been sent out to the Polonia community just before Easter.  For everyone, those were especially busy days since we were all getting ready for the traditional religious holiday.   So, your interest and extra time in shaping together the vision of our Organization is greatly appreciated.   Some of those who have not forwarded written answers presented their suggestions and remarks orally.   All obtained proposals and comments are very valuable to us and we will do our best to include each of them into the final analysis.  Overall, based on the received information it is clear that almost all Respondents want to continue our traditional activities and events, both religious and secular, and also would like to have them publicized widely to make our presence more visible to the American society.  It seems important to involve all, both young and older in working together for our common good.   This approach is entirely consistent with our philosophy of unifying the Polish community and its Friends, supporting each other and treating the Organization as our Home, open to all people of good will.  We would like to assure you again that the current five-member Board of the PCM are unanimous in this regard and would consider any partitions as wrong and only weakening the Polonia as an ethnic group.  Further, in this preliminary report of the survey it is important to note the gratitude from all of us to Father Kazimierz for his religious services on behalf of the Polish community.  This is an extra work he does in addition to the regular duties defined by the Bishop and the Diocese.  Next, an overwhelming majority of the Respondents expressed a desire to expand the scope of our Organization’s activities.  We were glad to learn that these were not only suggestions but also actual pledges of direct, personal involvement in new initiatives.  They include such activities as a Polish language school, mini-lectures about Polish culture and literature, a philatelic and numismatic club, a culinary circle, a beer connoisseurs’ club, group excursions to neighboring places and other great ideas  – all in all anyone should find something nice for oneself.  Preserving Mission’s traditional roots can go hand in hand with these initiatives and they deserve our support!   The authors of the proposals will soon be contacted to get their work started.  For now, these are just a few of our impressions based on your feedback.  Many other important matters presented by the Participants of the survey will be shared in the near future after we have completed a more detailed report.
                                                       Jacek Dutkiewicz”

MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR 2006

We would like to remind You, that in order to successfully implement our ambitious objectives and plans for the future we need Your financial support and active involvement. We invite You to show such support by paying membership dues by June 30 of this year. As we mentioned in the prior newsletter, this year’s dues are lowered to encourage new membership. Please send checks to the PCM Treasurer. The 2006 membership dues are as follow:

-Family- 2 adults + children   $60
-Family- 1 adult   + children   $30

Any additional donations will help lower our operational expenses and will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your continuing financial support!

PCM membership rights and the newsletter receipt information is provided at the end of this newsletter.

ECHOES OF THE 2006 EASTER SEASON

Big thanks to all Members and Friends of the Polish Catholic Mission for helping us organize the events of the Easter season. Especially for preparation of delectable dishes for all to share and for Your participation in the events sponsored by the PCM. Without Your help and dedication it would be impassible to continue our beautiful Easter traditions such us:

Easter egg decoration for the children

According to tradition, on the Saturday before Easter Sunday children got together to decorate Easter eggs. Their creativity was endless. The eggs had stickers, stripes, ribbons, dots, and even hair do’s. At the end favorite eggs were selected by the creators and filled with yummy candy; they were then placed in each child’s own prepared food basket. The gathering was hosted by Halina and Magda Dutkiewicz and attended by the children’s parents.  It was very nicely and successfully done, and most importantly it upheld the good Polish tradition. 

Easter egg decoration for the adults

This years meeting was filled with good times and laughter. The crowning glory of the evening was the grand prize-the Easter lamb made out entirely of butter!

All present had an opportunity to use an “Ukrainian” technique to “egg paint”. You can find out more about this elaborate method next year so plan to join us next Easter season. 

FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

We met on Sunday, April 2^nd in the St Joachim Chapel at the St. Ann’s Church in Bartlett for prayers and reflection to honor the memory of the passing of our beloved Pope

John Paul II. During the mass, fr.Kazimierz Abrachamczyk read the Last Will and Testament of Pope John Paul II. One of the present was Fr. Tony Clark, who is the coordinator for the Office of the Multicultural Ministries for the Diocese of Memphis. We would like to thank You for honoring Holy Father’s memory with us.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAY 3 CONSTITUTION

On Wednesday, May 3, members of the Polish American Society participated in a commemorative dinner to celebrate the anniversary of the May 3 Constitution sponsored by PCM. Dinner took place in very nice surroundings of the Napa Café and all in attendance had the opportunity to hear a very interesting and educational presentation about the history of that holiday.

DEACON CHRISTOPHER

On Saturday, May 13 at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church locate in Cordova; seminarian Christopher Rusin was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Terry Steib. For all present it was truly a very special event. The celebration had several Polish accents such as: a second reading during the mass in Polish, as well as a beautifully performed hymn by PCM chorus titled  ”Jesus Christ Feeds Us” During the following reception, Christopher was presented with the gift from PKM and all in attendance had an opportunity to try delectable Polish dishes sponsored by PCM and by individual contributors.

We would like to thank all who helped with the preparations as well as all who participated in this very special event.

THE MAGNIFICENT “TREE OF US”

On Tuesday, May 16^th we had an opportunity to experience a truly unique cultural event. It was the presentation by the Canadian group called “Three of us”. Their magnificent performance in perfectly accented Polish exceeded expectations of the present spectators. For them the evening “flew by” in the whirlwind of the warm, often-hilarious humor, beautiful costumes and impressive voices magnified by the outstanding musical accompaniment. It truly was an evening to remember!

JUNE MASS

Fr. Kazimierz Abrachamczyk will celebrate our next monthly mass on Saturday, June 10 at 6 p.m. at the small chapel at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help located at 8151 Poplar Avenue in Germantown.

****Please make a note of the location change for this mass.

JUNE PICNIC-NEW DATE

Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 17, from 4 pm to 8 pm. As in the prior years, we will meet at the park in Germantown, at the Johnson Road Park pavilion.  PCM will provide kielbasa for the grill and soft drinks.  Please bring a dish to share with others.  Ania Woźniak is coordinating the menu. Please direct all questions to Ania Woźniak. We invite You to bring musical instruments and participate in the group singing.

SUMMER VACATION’S HOLY MASSES

Fr. Kazimierz Abrachamczyk will celebrate summer vacation masses on Saturday, July 8 at 6 p.m. and on Saturday, August 12 at 6 p.m. at the St.James Church. We invite all to come.

SEPTEMBER PICNIC

We would like to invite everyone to our end of summer picnic.  This year’s picnic will include mass celebrated by Fr. Kazimierz.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 9, from 4 pm to 8 pm. As in prior years, we will meet at the park in Germantown, at the Johnson Road Park pavilion.  PCM will provide kielbasa for the grill and soft drinks.  Please bring a dish to share with others.  Ania Woźniak is coordinating the menu. Please direct all questions to Ania Woźniak.

CAMPING

We invite parents, kids and nature lovers to sign up for a camping trip to the Chickasaw State Park located in a very nice and interesting countryside about 70 miles from Memphis.  We plan to leave on Friday, September 22^nd (weather permitting) or alternatively on Friday, September 29^th.

Please contact Zbyszek Stroinski, before September 17, so we can prepare accordingly.  You can find additional information about the Chickasaw State Park at the following internet site:
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/Chickasaw/

OCTOBER MASS

October’s mass will take place on Saturday, October 14th at 6 p.m.  at the St.James Church. Please remember that the Officers will are available after each of the monthly masses to talk to you about your concerns and to welcome your suggestions.

 PCM BALL

Our costume ball scheduled for the 29^th October is fast approaching. Due to the need of making reservations and planning needed for such an event we ask that you contact Viola Bute by September 1^st to let her know if you are interested in attending and/or helping with preparations or if you have ideas for the program of the evening. The ball will not take place if we do not receive enough responses.

ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES

Donation to the Victims of the Chorzow tragedy Fund

Polish Catholic Mission of Memphis donated $200 to the Victims of the Chorzow Tragedy Fund. Part of this donation was collected during March mass. Thank you all for your generosity.

Inventory

We are in the process of updating the “assets list ” of our organization and ask you to please contact Ania Wozniak if you are entrusted with any items that belong to the PCM.

Addition to the Newsletter

To accommodate the request of the publishing group, we would like to inform you that the new addition to the newsletter ”Culture with no Limits” will be published approximately 2 weeks following each newsletter publication.

CONDOLENCES

We ask Mrs. Krystyna Zawada and her family to accept our deepest condolences for the loss of her Mother. May she rest in peace

We ask Mr. Czeslaw Figlewicz and his family to accept our deepest condolences for the recent loss of his Mother. May she rest in peace

90-th BIRTHDAY

Mr. John Karpinski, a longtime member of the PAS and PCM, celebrated his 90th birthday on April 8 . His friends prepared a birthday celebration to honor such a special occasion during which Mr. Karpinski was presented with the birthday card and the red and white flowers from PCM.

200 years Dear Mr.John!

ENGLISH LESSONS

Kirby Woods Baptist Church located at 6325 Poplar Avenue and Massey offers English lessons for foreigners. All interested can call 682-2220 or 756-5820

FATHERS DAY

We wish all Dads God’s Blessings, kids love and best of everything on an occasion of Their holiday.

HAPPY SUMMER HOLIDAYS

Congratulations to all students on their successful completion of the school year.  We wish you safe summer holidays full of joy and adventure.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2006

Following is the preliminary calendar of activities planned for 2006. We will inform you of any changes in the upcoming newsletters.

Officers of the Polish Catholic Mission:

Jacek Dutkiewicz – President
E-Mail Jacek

Viola Bute – Vice President
E-Mail Viola

Ania Woźniak – Secretary
E-Mail Ania

Zbigniew (Mark) Stroiński – Treasurer
E-Mail Mark

Zosia Schmidt – Coordinator for Church Affairs
E-Mail Zosia

MEMBERSHIP IN THE POLISH CATHOLIC MISSION

To become a member, one needs to pay membership dues by June 30 of the current year.

PCM Member rights:

• Right to vote to elect PCM officers

• Right to receive all information pertaining to the PCM activities (religious, organizational, financial, etc.)

• Free PCM newsletter

• Admission discount to PCM events (discount includes children younger than 23 years old- if single)

• Free admission to the Wigilia dinner for children younger than 18 years old.

• Free movie rental from the PCM movie library.

PCM Newsletter

• Our newsletter is mailed to all PCM members as well as members of the former Polish-American Society.

• Non-members may continue receiving our newsletter for a $5/year contribution.  The above contribution should be mailed to the PCM Treasurer.