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Poland - Polish - Polonia

Vacancy announcement – Program assistant for East European Studies program

From the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

The position of Program Assistant for the East European Studies program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., is currently open.

Vacancy Announcement number: CK146427KM

Title: Program Assistant (OA)

Pay Plan./Series/Grade: GS-0303-05/06

Who May Apply: U.S. Citizens and U.S. civil service merit promotion eligible candidates.

How to Apply: You must apply for this position online through the Office of Personnel Managements website:

Duties, requirements, benefits application procedures and the full text vacancy announcement can be found at the above link.

Please note: application materials submitted to the Woodrow Wilson Center’s HR office can not be considered.

East European Studies
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027
tel: 202-691-4000
fax: 202-691-4001

Located in the Ronald Reagan Building Federal Triangle Metro Stop (Blue/Orange) Lines.

Current Events, Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political

Nouveau Neighbors

This is typical of the things that happen when people move into a neighborhood thinking that all must change because they’ve arrived.

It happens in Upstate New York quite a bit. People move into rural areas expecting picket fences and the scent of roses. What they get is electric fences and the scent of cows and horses.

Then they decide to do the neighborly thing – they bring complaints and lawsuits against the farmers, who have been there since the 1800’s.

Jackie Briguglio of the Chicago area moved in across from a PNA youth camp that’s been active for 72 years and suddenly she’s owed peace and quiet 24/7. Alice May who has lived in the area for 43 years gets it. Ms. Briguglio only understand litigation and the police state.

From The Chicago Tribune: Community clash puts damper on Polish camp

Upset neighbors cite rising crowds, noise

Everyone seems to agree that the Polish camp near Yorkville is a quiet neighbor most of the summer, with kids splashing in the swimming pool and families attending Sunday mass in an open-air chapel, then picnicking under the trees.

But the dances and special events grated on some nerves. Polka beats thumped, cars crowded River Road and, one weekend last summer, 7,000 visitors came for a glimpse of the World’s Strongest Man, a stubble-headed Pole capable of carrying a refrigerator.

So this summer, Kendall County in effect exercised a pocket veto of the Polish National Alliance Youth Camp’s special events, failing to approve permits until it was too late to schedule, camp spokesmen said.

The county said it takes time to work out conflicts between the camp and some neighbors.

Either way, the result has been a summer without the four or five fundraisers that usually keep the camp in business, and a sense that times are changing for the 72-year-old camp and the Polish community that sustains it.

As Kendall county has grown — it was the nation’s second-fastest growing county from 2000 to 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — it has gone from rural to more suburban, leaving camp
officials feeling unwelcome.

“We were there before everybody else,” said Chicago attorney Chris Nowotarski, who represents the organization, “and now we’re being pushed out.”

There’s even talk of selling the property and moving elsewhere.

But some neighbors said big-draw weekends bring in rowdy crowds, and the county had to deal with the problem.

The camp is affiliated with the alliance, a Polish fraternal organization. Jointly established by the alliance’s North Side and South Side districts in Chicago, it is a place where generations of
immigrants could escape the city and celebrate their culture in the country.

…

Jackie Briguglio, who lives across the street from the camp, said the music at dances is too loud, though the camp insists it doesn’t exceed county decibel limits. And special events, particularly the
visit of the strongman, have become a nuisance for the neighborhood, with reports of people urinating in Yorkville yards.

…

Some neighbors shrug off the occasional crowds. Alice May, a retired businesswoman who has lived across the street for 43 years, said she charges people to park in her yard during special events. Her children learned to swim there, and she recalls an old-country naivete among some visitors.

…

But Briguglio, the neighbor, has saved a newspaper story that invites the public to attend. So she’s not taking any chances.

“I already called the police,” she said, “and I’m going to be out of town that weekend.”

Homilies,

The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

—For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.—

Do you think that God is mysterious? Do you believe that He is far off?

I imagine that in the midst of our busy schedules we don’t find a lot of time to sit quietly and ponder the mysteries of God. After all, we have to shop, work, drive, mow, clean, call bingo, serve on committees, visit friends, care for children, consider our illnesses, or ponder death.

This quote from scripture is taken from Moses’ final words to Israel, right before he anointed Joshua and turned his authority over to him. Moses would not cross into the Promised Land.

Israel had spent forty tough years in the desert. It wasn’t about to get any easier, they had to fight their way into the land, through Jericho first.

So Moses recounts the entire law of the Lord; the blessings that will come from keeping the law and the curses that will come from disobeying it.

In closing Moses says in effect, ‘It’s easy folks.’

Following God and finding God is easy.

In the first stanza from today’s psalm we hear David crying out to the Lord:

I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness:
in your great mercy turn toward me.

The psalm may very well have been David’s cry in his time of persecution, the period in which he was driven out of Jerusalem by his son Absalom. David was exhausted, alienated from family and community, and falsely accused.

Consider David’s thoughts as he fled Jerusalem and as he encountered Shimei:

When King David came to Bahu’rim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shim’e-i, the son of Gera; and as he came he cursed continually.
And he threw stones at David, and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
And Shim’e-i said as he cursed, “Begone, begone, you man of blood, you worthless fellow!

In times of trouble we cry out to the Lord. We seek His assistance, His miracles, His healing.

Do you think that He does not answer?

Brothers and sisters,

He answers! He sends what we need, often much more than we need. For His love is abundant.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is like that.

The faithful Israelite traveled between Jerusalem and Jericho and tragedy befell him.

Do you think he prayed while laying along the side of the road? Did he call out to God as people passed him by? Did he implore the Lord for help? How did God help?

God sent a Samaritan. The Israelite didn’t see God helping, he saw a Samaritan.

St. Paul tells us:

For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible

God created everything and God uses His creation to help us in our every need, for St. Paul goes on to say:

He is the head of the body, the church.

If He is the head of His body, and we are all mystically bound to, and members of His body, we can be sure that God uses His body to carry out His work, His assistance, His healing, and His friendship. We can be sure that each person we relate to bears the image of Jesus Christ to us.

When we shop, our fellow shoppers and the checkout attendant are Christ. When we work, our co-workers and customers are Christ. When we drive, others on and along the road are Christ. When we mow, the neighbor we waive to is Christ. When we clean, our family is Christ. When we call bingo, the players are Christ. When we serve on committees, our fellow committee members, and those we serve are Christ. When we visit friends or care for children, they are Christ. When we consider our illnesses or ponder our deaths, Christ is with us, because He and His body are present to us.

Moses said, ‘It is easy folks,’ and it is. We see and we find Christ in every person we meet. Whatever our opinion of them, from the store clerk to our spouse, Christ is in them, making Himself real and present to us.

Ponder the words of Jesus:

Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?—

The lawyer answered:

—The one who treated him with mercy.—

And Jesus said

—Go and do likewise.—

God is not mysterious, nor is He far off. We see Him every day.

From this moment onward, go and do likewise. See God in every person you encounter. Treat each person with the consideration and love you reserve for God, because He is right in front of your eyes.

Poland - Polish - Polonia

On Eagles Wings Event

“Why are your children not here with you? Who will remember you, if they are not here, to learn what you have accomplished? Who will remember, if not they? What will happen to your legacy, if they forget?” — Colonel W. Perchal of the Royal Regiment of Canada, addressing Polish-Canadian World War Two veterans

A past correspondent, Mr. Henry Sokolowski, a member of the Board of Directors of the Polish Combatants Association, Branch #20 in Toronto, Canada announces a gathering of the generations to pay tribute to the Polish survivors and victims of World War Two.

These events are meant to connect the children and grandchildren of Polish World War Two survivors with their parent’s and grandparent’s memories and experiences. Part of the project is the documentation of these experiences.

This English-language, family oriented event will feature is Polish WW2 survivors themselves, as well as Polish WW2 experts who will help identify family documents, photos, and medals.

The event, On Eagles Wings will be held in Toronto on October 21, 2007. You can also refer to the Soviet Invasion of Poland During WW2 site for more information.

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