July 24, 2021 – Polish Ethnic Novena at Ste. Anne’s Church

July 16, 2021 by

Dear Friends,

We hope this letter finds you well and in good health. As we slowly return to what we know as normal, once again, we will be celebrating the Annual Novena to St. Anne at Detroit’s historic church, 1000 St. Anne Street, from July 17- 26, 2020.

Ste. Anne Novena has been celebrated annually for over 100 years in this beautiful church, now designated a Basilica by Archbishop Vigneron in 2019. We gather to pray for all our own intentions, the intentions of our families, our community, our Archdiocese, and continue to pray for the world affected by the pandemic.

The Novena encompasses nine days of prayer and masses, each day’s mass designating an ethnic group associated with Metropolitan Detroit. It culminates with mass, July 26, the Feast Day of St. Anne, celebrated by Archbishop Allen Vigneron.

On Saturday, July 24th at 7:00 pm, we will be honoring Eastern European cultures, however Msgr. Kosanke, Ste. Anne’s Pastor, again extended a special invitation to Polish American Congress Michigan Division to be the principal patron for that day, with His Excellency Bishop Robert Fisher as main celebrant and Fr. Roman Pasieczny as homilist at this mass.

The Polish American Congress Michigan Division serves as coordinator of the Polish Novena Mass and we are focused, once again, on making this a successful Polonian event.  We encourage representatives and members of your organization to join us in celebrating the Polish American community in Michigan.

As in the past we will feature a procession into the church with flags, organizational banners, uniforms and colorful costumes, proudly exhibiting our heritage. We especially encourage organizational representation in this procession. Please note, we will gather in front of the church at 6:30 pm.

Please accept our warm invitation to come pray to St. Anne for all our intentions and to show our Polish Pride!

 

Sincerely,

Ann Bankowski, President

Polish American Congress-Michigan Division

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A REALLY BIG BIRTHDAY CARD – A 4th of July lecture by Zbigniew Kantorosinski

July 16, 2021 by

Last weekend as America celebrated the anniversary of this country’s founding and independence, the Kosciuszko Foundation made available a lecture online by Zbigniew Kantorosinski, who served as Chief of the Germanic and Slavic Division, Library of Congress. The lecture was about an unusual proof of friendship between Poland and the US. We were invited to hear about an earlier American birthday, 95 years ago, in 1926. That year a newly independent Poland celebrated along with Americans in very special way. To mark the 150th Independence Day, a congratulatory message signed by an estimated 5.5 million Poles on over 31,000 pages was presented to President Calvin Coolidge on October 14, 1926. It was a unique testimonial exhibiting gratitude and friendship of the Polish people for the United States.

The Library of Congress website, entitled “Emblem of Good Will: A Polish Declaration of Admiration and Friendship for the United States of America”, honors the 111 volumes gifted by Poland to the United States. Over a sixth of Poland’s population signed the declaration, thus expressing their esteem for American democracy. The books are sectioned into volumes of signatures, including those of municipal, societal, religious officials, university faculty and students, members of Polish organizations, as well as teachers and pupils of secondary schools. The Library of Congress website provides rich illustrations from the book and an excellent history of this gesture.

Because a presidential library system was not created until after Coolidge’s administration, all the volumes were transferred that same year to the Library of Congress and forgotten for 70 years, only to be discovered in the 1990’s.
Zbigniew Kantorosinski was involved in the meticulous effort to process and publicize this collection in the United States as well as in Poland. The collection has gained popularity not only among visitors to the Library of Congress, but with historians, genealogists, art lovers and anyone interested in Poland and Polish American relations as well.

This interesting lecture highlights a unique and enormous expression of friendship between 2 nations and provides a snapshot of life and spirit of the Polish nation at a time soon after regaining her independence. Their gesture joyfully pays tribute to freedom and democracy.

I encourage you to listen about this inspiring act of friendship by linking to the Kosciuszko Foundation website: www.thekf.org or the link below and hear this fascinating lecture. You will be impressed.

Thank you!

The Library of Congress website is entitled ‘Emblem of Good Will’: A Polish Declaration of Admiration and Friendship for the United States of America

http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/egw/polishex.html/

Filed Under: Featured, Videos

Office Closed July 2021

July 1, 2021 by

NOTICE

The Michigan Division office of Polish American Congress will be closed for the entire month of July 2021 for a summer break. Any requests for assistance can be made by calling the office at 313-365-9400 and leaving a message. Someone will get back with you. You may also drop a message into the mail slot or email it to the office@pacmi.org. These will be checked regularly

Thank you.

UWAGA

Z powodu letniej przerwy, uprzejmie powiadamiamy że biuro Kongresu Polonii będzie zamknięte na miesiąc lipiec 2021. W razie potrzeby można zadzwonić na numer biurowy 313-365-9400  i zostawić wiadomość. Zapewniamy  że oddzwonimy w najbliższym czasie. Można także napisać prośbę o asystę i wrzucić przez otwarcie pocztowe. Również można wysłać maila na adres biura: office@pacmi.org. Wszelkie prośby będą regularnie sprawdzane.

Dziękujemy.

Filed Under: Featured, News

A Call for Legislative Action

June 25, 2021 by

Please view 2 format letters you may use regarding US legislative actions, in each the House and Senate. You are encouraged to send it to your US Congressman and our 2 US senators seeking support from them for the current proposed resolutions for the Social Security Fairness Act 2021. One letter format can be used by the individual voter and the other letter on behalf of an organization. You may adjust the wording as you choose. Another possibility is to call your US Congressman and US Senators and leave a message with the request. Thank you for taking an active part in our legislative process and helping many Polish immigrant retirees to receive the full social security benefits they earned and are entitled to receive.

Filed Under: Featured, News

The Distortion Of Polish History

June 25, 2021 by

The agendas of historical revisionism about Poland at play right now.

It’s not the Russians or Germans intent on rewriting history, but sadly it’s the co-victims from the Holocaust who are now trying to revise history and turn Poles into the aggressors, worse than the Germans for various reasons, which I address in the video.

I look at this objectively and in doing so I have been attacked repeatedly as an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier, and a white nationalist. My work is all research based and factual and though some of it may not sound positive for some people, it is the truth and our goal as historians is to find the truth and that is what I did.

It is important that we share this message so people understand why Poland is being attacked now and the reasons behind it as well as the truth about Poland’s wartime heroism, which is hardly known. The more people hear the truth, the better. Poland has been defamed and her good name needs to be repaired for the sake of all of the heroes that died in the name of freedom.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1075295745996640

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The Polish Constitution of May 3rd, 1791

May 12, 2021 by

The Polish Constitution of May 3rd, 1791

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May 2, 2021 – 230th Anniversary of the Signing of the Polish Constitution

April 21, 2021 by

Enclosed is an invitation to this year’s Polish Constitution Day celebration, which will take place on Sunday May 2, 2021 at the Polish Sunday Mass at 1:00pm at the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II on the campus of Orchard Lake Schools. A short program is planned at the end of mass. The year 2021 has been designated by the Polish government as the “Year of the Polish Constitution of 1791”. All of Polonia is warmly invited. Please mark your calendar.

Serdecznie zapraszamy!
Ann Bankowski, President

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Msza Święta Upamiętniająca Smoleńsk i Katyń, 10 kwietnia, 2021

March 19, 2021 by

Smolensk Katyn_polish 2021

Filed Under: News

Mass of Remembrance, Saturday, April 10, 2021

March 17, 2021 by

2 Smolensk Katyn_polish 2 Smolensk Katyn_polish 2021

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Message from The Polish American Congress National President, Frank Spula

November 22, 2020 by

PAC–MI Members,

 

Below is a letter from our National President Frank Spula with a crucial request to contact our Senators and urge them to support the Senate Resolution 566. (suggested script included)

The memo clearly explains the urgency and the need for all of our members and friends to influence our two Senators to support this resolution. As you might recall our division did send a letter with that request to Senator Debbie Stabenow as well as Senator Gary Peters and we did receive a reply from both stating that they will take it under consideration.

 

 

Dear President Bankowski,

 

I would like to ask you to call your Senators and urge them to support Senate Resolution 566. This resolution honors the Polish soldiers and civilians who were murdered by the NKVD during the Katyń Massacre, as well as condemns Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation about this horrific event.

 

I also ask you to encourage your members to call their Senators and urge them to support the resolution. Calling our state representatives is a simple act of civic engagement that allows our voices to be heard. The more members of the Polish American community participate, the more likely it is that we will be able to make an impact.

 

You can find your Senators’ contact information by searching by state here. Below is a suggested phone script, which you can pass along to your members as well:

 

“My name is _______ and I am a constituent residing in zip code ________. I am calling to ask Senator ______ to support Senate Resolution 566, a resolution commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Katyń Massacre. This resolution honors the Polish soldiers and civilians whose lives were lost at the hands of the Soviet People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, also known as the NKVD, during the Katyń Massacre. The bi-partisan resolution condemns Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation about the Katyń Massacre and World War II. Passing this resolution will strengthen our alliance with Poland, one of our oldest and most reliable allies, as well as serve as a gesture of solidarity with Polish Americans, many of whom lost loved ones to the atrocities of this war.

 

For record purposes, please let me know how many of your members reached out to the Senators office. Thank you for your time!”

 

A copy of this resolution is attached to this email for your review. This resolution is sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and co-sponsored by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), Senator James Risch (R-ID), Senator Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).

 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

 

Regards,

 

Frank J. Spula 

President

 

 

Filed Under: News