28th day - August 5th: Wisla Day 2 and Ukrainian hospitality

A long day begins (That's why the text is a bit longer today). Shortly before 8 am, Waldemar Szajthauer, the Protestant pastor of Wisla-Zentrum, picked me up in the community room and explained the historical development of the church in Wisla. Even today, an evangelical-people's church structure can be spoken of. Around 65% of the city's population belong to the Evangelical-Augsburg Confession. In all five districts of the city, there is an evangelical community with its own pastor. There are also some evangelical free church communities and a Catholic community. His congregation in the city center has about 3400 members. There are always two church services on Sundays, with between 250-300 visitors. However, there is no typical church café, because the members of the congregation meet privately with each other. There are all kinds of community groups and numerous concerts in the summer. There is a comprehensive community newsletter for each household, which, however, is not distributed like ours, but can be picked up at the parish office (photo). This office is open every working day and after the church service. In the middle of the pedestrian zone, there is a large community center (photo). However, the entire ground floor is rented out to various shops. The church community also has a paid parking lot, which is used by numerous tourists. These revenues cover the numerous expenses of the congregation. The biggest challenge or problem is the explosively rising energy costs. At present, the pastor does not yet know how the heating costs for the Sunday services in autumn and winter can be paid. Another challenge is a newly designed children's area under the roof. After almost 2 hours of conversation and a tour, we said goodbye. For 4 pm today, he arranged another visit to the nearby health resort town of Ustron. In other cities where I was traveling the days before, I was recommended to visit the Protestant community in Wisla-Malinka.

I packed my things together and hid them in the church garden because it was still unclear where I would spend the next night. I had to overcome another 140 meters of altitude to reach the rural district of Malinka, but without my 4 saddlebags, it was almost a "piece of cake". What I saw and experienced there really amazed me, but let me tell you one thing at a time:

When I arrived in Malinka, I passed a large and modern wooden building on a hill on the outskirts of the village. About 100 meters away, I found the church (photo), the parish office, and a bulletin board. But there was no one there. I sat down on the side of the road, drank something, and saw a young man running from the wooden building toward the church. We got into a conversation, and it turned out that he, Bogdan, belongs to the community and also has access to the church key. He opened the church for me but said that it isn't used anymore because it has become too small for the community, and he pointed to the newly built church, which is the massive wooden structure that I did not recognize as a church at first (photo). It was opened and consecrated only last September. If I wanted, we could also take a look inside. Of course, I wanted to. We entered the newest Protestant church in Poland. Now I understood why I absolutely had to get to know this community. I was deeply impressed by this modern and visually appealing church, which is not immediately recognizable as a church from the outside. Then we took a long tour. The large church hall has over 600 seats (photo). On the slightly elevated stage, there is an altar, a lectern, and a large wooden cross. Various spotlights on the ceiling can illuminate the entire stage. Bogdan told me that around 1000 members belong to the community in Wisla-Malinka, and on a normal Sunday - outside of the holiday season - between 400-500 worshipers, mostly young people and families with numerous children, come. There is children's worship in three groups, if I remember correctly. However, there is no traditional organ, but contemporary worship music, which is created by the five community bands. 5 church bands in one community? I could hardly believe it. A well-equipped technology room (photo) is used to mix the sound for the worship service and the live stream. There is another room for online video editing, and a room for audio editing. I couldn't stop being amazed. There is a very appealing café lounge for the church café after the church service, a large seminar room, additional mobile community rooms, a huge community kitchen with all kinds of equipment, and several guest rooms with showers. Multifunctional, that's the big keyword. Bogdan told me that he belongs to the technical team, which alone consists of over 10 people. Unfortunately, the pastor was not there. He is at the summer camp on the Baltic Sea with 150 children from the community, but I could still stay in the church overnight.

I thought back and forth about whether I should stay until Sunday because my plan was actually to spend the night in Skoszow, where Alfred, the pastor, invited me and will be back tonight, but still, the confirmation for today was missing. I exchanged phone numbers with Bogdan, and we said goodbye. I cycled back to the center of Wisla. How great it is when it always goes downhill, I thought. I reached Alfred shortly before 3 pm, and he told me to come and said he was looking forward to seeing me. But he won't be back until around 8 pm with the children and youth group. So, my decision was made: Off to Skoszow. I loaded my bike again, and it went downhill for another 10 km, but I constantly had the images of the very lively community of Malinka in front of my eyes.

In Ustron, I was able to visit the church. The pastor's wife opened the church for me. When I learned that her husband had died of Corona a year ago, I expressed my condolences and avoided further extensive questions. What I also learned is that in Ustron, 30% of the people belong to the Protestant church. After this stopover, I continued cycling to Skoszow, where I had already spent one night. I arrived there around 7 pm. Two girls came out of the parsonage, and it turned out that they belong to the 9-member Ukrainian family that has been living in the community house since March. Then I set up my tent again in the church garden. When the parents found out that, like Alfred, I also work in the ministry, they urged me intensely to stay overnight in their living and dining room. But I declined because I found it inappropriate. They tried several times to get me to stay with them overnight, but I said no because I didn't want to cause any trouble. I accepted their invitation for a cup of tea - until Alfred arrives - and sat down at the large living room table. Not 5 minutes later, noodles and a Ukrainian soup were served. The father and the son were so delighted that they sang a Ukrainian folk song for me. With the help of my translation device, we were able to communicate a bit, and they showed me on a map the region they come from. Then the father showed me a video of a Russian missile attack on his city and a second video of how they left their home and drove to Poland. I was deeply moved, and I couldn't find the right words for a few minutes. As a thanks for the meal, I wanted to offer a beer to the father later. But now he declined because Christians - as the oldest son said - are not allowed to drink alcohol in Ukraine. It turned out that the family belongs to the Evangelical Pentecostal Church and therefore, alcohol is generally not consumed. We talked for a while longer, and they asked me to pray for their children, which I immediately did. It was well after 10 pm when Alfred finally arrived and warmly greeted the family and me, as if we had known each other for a long time. I helped him unload the extensive luggage from the car, and we talked about my journey and the summer camp he organized. Then Alfred's wife said that the guest room was ready. So, I "surrendered" and did not sleep in my tent that night. Another day with many different impressions came to an end, and I fell asleep quickly.