Polish Guides in Britian Gathering en masse, for Mass!

Over the early May bank holiday weekend, Polish Guides in Great Britain came together for the first national gathering in over 4 years You may remember that the Scouts and Guides assisted beautifully in the visit of the Relics of Saint Bernadette back in October 2022.

Their leader (Hufcowa), Kasia Migda, who accomanied ther troop to the Cathedral in the Autumn, invited us along to join them for Mass, as part of their programme of activities based at Walesby Forest Campsite, near Newark

Father Simon Gillespie, a scout himself, celebrated Mass with the 300+ strong congregation of guides (plus a few Scouts!), preaching on the life of Saint Catherine of Sienna, whose feast it was that Saturday, sharing that she was a powerful young woman, with many trials and tribulation, but whom ultimately made it her mission to make the world a holier place

The weekend was joined by both the national and international commissioner (Martyna Kowacka) who travelled from Canada for the occasion!

Renae, a parishioner from St Philip Neri, Mansfield, had baked and decorated some wonderfully creative 'campfire cakes' in celebration of the weekend, complete with to-scale toasted marshmallows!

What is Polish Scouting?

ZHP mission is to educate young people, that is to support them in their full development and character formation by posing challenges.

The Polish Scouting Association UK Region is a social and educational scouting organisation for children, teenagers and adults of Polish heritage It incorporates Rainbows and Beavers (ages 4 to 7), Brownies and Cubs (ages 7 to 11), Scouts and Guides (ages 11 to 15), Explorers and Rangers (15 +), and leaders and instructors (adults). We have a varied programme and great adventures and experiences await everyone.

When Baden Powell’s idea of scouting first reached Polish youth in 1909, Poland wasn’t even on the map having been under Russian, Prussian and Austrian occupation for over 100 years When Poland was reborn as a nation in 1918 after World War I, scouts and guides formed Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego (ZHP) - the Polish Scouting Association

Our history outside Poland continued when the Chief Scout Dr Michał Grażynski managed to reach Paris after Poland was invaded and occupied by the Germans and Soviets in 1939. With other pre-war leaders, he continued the work of the organisation wherever there were leaders to offer Polish children the scouting tradition

After the war, as the Communist system was established in Poland, thousands of Poles in the West opted to renounce their homeland rather than support the Communist regime Scouting and guiding units were first established in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow in 1943 and more units were formed in Polish resettlement camps, then in towns and cities around the UK as Polish people found work and settled here For many of the young people, who had been through deportations and atrocious conditions, often losing their families, Polish Scouting became like a substitute family helping them to find their feet in foreign lands Our organisation continued the work of ZHP, maintaining its independence but working abroad and was formally re-constituted in 1946 It has a presence in Australia, Argentina, Canada, France, Ireland, the USA and the UK

Meanwhile in Poland, the communist government created a youth organisation with communist ideals under the auspices of ZHP It was therefore expelled from the world scout organisations WAGGGS and WOSM, only to be re-accepted when it returned to the scouting promise after Poland regained its independence in 1989 Other independent scouting organisations were established in Poland at the same time and continue to thrive but are not allied within a federation

Through the dedicated, hard work of hundreds of volunteer scout and guide leaders, generations of brownies, cubs, guides and scouts have benefited from our scouting programmes which continue to help young people to develop their personal skills and reach their full potential in society.

It is part of the independent organisation ZHP abroad, which is a continuation of the pre-war ZHP and is known in English as the Polish Scouting Association (International)