Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - What Has Been Done for These People and Their Neighbors Now in America? (Symposium) The Rev. Jesse W. Brooks, Ph. D. (presiding) - The Poles: Rev. Paul Kozielek - The Niobe of Nations - Experience at Detroit
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112 What Has Been Done for These People
January 22, 1917, said: "Statesmen now agree everywhere, that there
should be a united independent and autonomous Poland."
The Poles whether they are in Europe or here in America need the
preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It may interest you to know
that not all of them are Roman Catholics. About eighteen years ago I
came to America from a Polish Protestant church in Austrian Silesia,
in connection with which I had four mission stations. That church
was built more than two hundred years ago. It has seventeen thou-
sand people, and a seating capacity, for about eight thousand. Large
numbers of Polish Protestants are also in Russia and Germany.
Experience at Detroit
In Detroit we have over a hundred thousand Poles, from whom we
have gathered the First Polish Protestant Church in America. It is
a slow and difficult work, yet God has blessed us richly in bringing
many to Christ. What has been done to evangelize the Poles is due
largely to the efforts of the Chicago Tract Society, with which I am
glad to be connected and whose colporteurs are doing splendid work
in Detroit and neighboring cities.
We had a meeting on the west side not so very long ago, and we’
were not disturbing the Roman Catholics at all. I do not believe in
attacking them, but I believe in preaching the Gospel to them; for
we know that we have the Gospel to give to these people whether they
are Roman Catholics or not. We used to hold meetings among large
numbers, and we preached to them in Polish. But one time a zealous
pastor spread a pamphlet which attacked the priests and angered
them, though we were not responsible, yet they took about two hun-
dred people on Sunday and brought them to a saloon and gave them
all they wanted to drink, and then they came around to our meeting
and disturbed us. When the meeting was over, I started with my
assistant to go home; but the stones began to fall, and you could
readily see that I was going to have difficulty in getting home; so
some friends took me in and kept me prisoner until midnight, when I
went off in another direction, and in this way got home. The priest
who led the mob had just come from the old country and he did not
know that in America the people have freedom to worship God ac-
cording to the dictates of their own consciences. The case would have
been brought to court had not the bishop promised that this thing
should never happen again. The religious cottage meetings con-
tinued and large numbers of Poles came to hear the Gospel preached.
Eight of our boys are already in the service of the government, and
fifteen have joined the Polish Army; some of them are in France and
some are still in training. I had a letter the other day from one of our
boys in France. He sent me ten dollars, so that I could get him a
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