Fr Czeslaw / Polish Parish

One of the two final chapters of Polish Portraits deal less with the individual and switch their attention towards the community aspect. Personally, I would prefer to work along the formula I have chosen, that is, the one putting emphasis on individual characters whose work and life in general I find interesting and important to record. Nevertheless, during my research I have bumped into various information and traces leading me to the Polish Parish in Dunstable (Luton's suburbs) and the Polish Club which is located there as well.

This is one of the weakest stories in the series, nearly hitting the point of being just a collection of unrelated shots; yet, it documents an important community aspect and also presents a person who with his work stands out.






The first time I met him at the church, he was just getting ready for another Polish wedding ceremony taking place in Dunstable. Without the organist, who apparently was running late, I was asked to play the wedding song off a cd recorder.



The Parish has existed since 1953 due to a large number of Polish ex-servicemen who decided to remain in the UK after the war. In 1967 the church was bought from the Methodists and a proper parish was established.




We've spent quite a while talking and discussing various issues (some not necessarily connected to the Parish) in the church hall/house. Every now and then, he'd stop and run upstairs to bring various papers, leaflets and so on.




The masses are usually jam-packed so you really have to shoulder your way through the crowd to get where you want. Here, I was just climbing the stairs to get onto the balcony when this man just rose before me. Without thinking I just hit the button and what wound up on the camera is this bizarre shot of these two men engaged in a weird sort of joga.




Since the accession of Poland into the UK and the influx of immigrants, the number of marriages within the Polish community has soared significantly. Along with that comes the number of Polish children born in the UK last year which reached more than 10 thousand. The numbers in this book aren't perhaps so impressive but they speak on their own anyway.




I took loads of totally crap pictures during the Polish wedding I witnessed there one day. It was only these two apparently Indian-looking guys who really caught my eye.




Readings for the day.




Another collection of traditional elements a Polish catholic church cannot do without.









"Polska Chrystusem narodow"




One of the most memorable moments was that little girl surrounded by adults - covering up her ears to mute the adult world.









Sunday Mass, Sunday Best, Sunday crowd all over the place.









Leading the crowd at November 1.




The All Saints Day at a Polish section at the local cementary and one of the men as a voluntary puppet in the one-man play.




Traditional catholic tokens in the middle of 21st century England are some of the most powerful symbols to me.




Leaving the church hall, empty as if waiting for the twelve to arrive.