Meeting with Polish Sabbatarian Leader
Pavel Bujok
October 23, 1996
On Wednesday, October 23rd John Orchard, pastor of churches in Lexington/Omaha, Nebraska and Des Moines/Iowa City, Iowa and I met with PAVEL BUJOK, one of the leaders of the Sabbath Day Christian Church in Poland. He actually lives in the Czech Republic a few kilometers from the Polish border. We met in Lincoln, Nebraska for five hours. We communicated in Ukrainian, Polish and English. It was a most interesting and enlightening conversation. We had so many beliefs in common as we compared our statements of belief and discussed our faith. We also felt a kindred and brotherly spirit for one another.
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We learned quite a bit about Sabbatarians in Poland. In the Christians of the Sabbath Day there are 25 groups who meet on the Sabbath-some of the groups are small as seven people. We were impressed by their work and how they are organized.
They produce a magazine called the Spirit of the Times. They also use a two-level correspondence course as an evangelistic tool that they advertise in their communities. This correspondence course is coupled with lectures open to the public. They are a growing church in a country that is 95% Catholic.
The Polish Sabbatarians are further advanced than the Ukrainian Sabbatarians who only in recent years are getting an organization together. The Poles have a four year study weekend program program for their young adults that they train for the ministry and evangelism. They have keen organizational skills and a system to fund this and are anxious to discuss how we can work together.
How did we come in contact with Pavel Bujok?
It came as a result of chance?? On his trip to Canada and the United States he first met Bob Berendt, pastor of the United Church of God in Kelowna, British Columbia. I'll let Bob describe how Pavel and he met on the last Sabbath of July 1996:
August 4, 1996
Dear Victor,
I felt the need to relate a very interesting event that happened this last Sabbath. You are involved - though not in person. We have just begun to rent the fellowship room of the Seventh Day Adventist church here in Westbank (by Kelowna) in British Columbia.
We have only met there twice and this Sabbath the man who was to unlock the door was late due to some misunderstanding. When he came, he asked if he and a friend could attend our service. He stated that his friend was from the Czech republic and could speak no English, but could speak German. He wanted to meet with me. This man is here on a visit and the SDA is a close friend of his. The friend's name is Ivan Jurek and the guest from Poland who was keenly interested is named Pavel Bujok. Ivan tried to interpret - but with difficulty as he has been in Canada for many years.
From left to right: Victor Kubik, Pavel Bujok,
John OrchardAfter services I spent quite a lot of time talking with Pavel Bujok. He wanted to know about UCG and what we believe. he realized we could not talk there and asked if I could visit with him this week. We set up a date and just as we were about to part he gave me a booklet showing who he is and what church he is part of in the Czech Republic. He had received the Klar and Wahr (the German Plain Truth) for years and knew of the Worldwide Church of God.
Here is a short summary of the situation:
He is the "chief of missions abroad" (a retired man now). His name is Pavel Bujok. The Church is called "The Sabbath Day Christian Church." His booklet about their church is translated into English and has mailing addresses in the Czech Republic for Pavel, and in Poland and Holland. The booklet really is about the Sabbath Day Christian Church in Poland and that seems to be the center though Pavel lives just inside the Czech border.
Their Statement of beliefs mirrors ours with the exception of the Holy Days and when and how to take the Passover (I have not fully discussed these points yet) They have 25 small churches in Poland with several hundred members and are growing and moving to other countries. They have existed in Poland--after breaking away from the Seventh Day Adventist Church for about 63 years, with a great decline during the war years.
All of the above information I found interesting and exciting - BUT Now to the very interesting and exciting part:
Just as we were about to leave, Pavel wanted to show me something. He showed me a copy of In Transition June 24th which he could not read because he knows no English. However - he can recognize pictures!! He is a personal friend and knows personally the men you were pictured with in your article about the Ukraine. It blows my mind how something like this can happen, but we should get used to having our minds blown by now. Anyway, the paper was very helpful in that I could easily show him who we are. He was more than just delighted and asked for a "bond" between our churches. He wishes to have contact with us. I explained who you were in the picture and he mentioned that he was visiting a group of "brothers" in Portland who also have a congregation of about 80 there. He speaks Czech, German, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish. Has devoted himself to much study and Ivan deeply respects Pavel.
Pavel will be here for about another week, so we should have one or two meetings before he leaves. I will bring him to our home and give him a copy of our statement of beliefs and I thought I would put him in touch with Paul Kieffer to get some German information to them.
I thought (knew) you would be very interested in this development. You may have already spoken about these things with the group in the Ukraine. It was interesting to see the surprise on the face of Ivan Jurek during the development of our conversation. I had to speak in English and German so both Ivan and Pavel could understand as Ivan speak no German and Pavel no English and I don't speak Polish, Czech, Ukrainian or Russian. (my father spoke all these languages - would be nice if there would be a genetic inheritance)
Of further interest - I will speak with Pavel - is that I have an aunt living here in Kelowna knows much about our work. She was a translator from Russian into English and German just after the war in EU. It may be of interest to get the two of them together.
Well - that is it. I thought of you right away and this message is "hot off the press."
Take care, in brotherly love,
Bob & Val
Bob Berendt then wrote to me again on August 29, 1996.
Greetings Vic & Bev!
I'd like to tell you more about Pavel Bujok. The very interesting thing is that he knows all the pastors and council members from the Ukrainian Sabbath keepers personally. He gave me a booklet of theirs that has been translated into English and I have given that to a friend who was visiting the home office this week to show to David Hulme and Richard Pinelli. The booklet is tailored after the style WCG has used and he said he did receive the Plain Truth's (Klahr and Wahr years ago).
After several long discussions he has strongly asked that I maintain contact with him. He would like the Okanagan churches here to have a connection with their churches.
The very interesting thing was how this all came about. He has now left and I thought I would fill you in with the details. He is visiting a group in Portland where there is a church of about 80 Sabbath keepers who have invited him to visit them. He is very knowledgeable of scripture and like those you work with the the Ukraine, they basically have all the beliefs we have with the exception of the Holy Days. Pavel does not speak any English, but we did converse extensively in German. It was most interesting. He arrived here in Kelowna to visit a friend "Ivan" who is a member of the Seventh Day Adventists in the area.
We began to rent the Seventh Day Aventist hall about 5 weeks ago (2 weeks after Pavel arrived in the area).
Ivan had the key to allow us entrance, but on the second Sabbath due to confusion he was late and we stood outside for awhile.
Pavel came with Ivan to let us in and Pavel asked to stay for services though he could speak no English. Ivan interpreted for him.
My speaking German was a blessing (and most unusual coincidence) After the sermon we spoke for 2 hours and I tried to explain what UCG was and where we came from. Pavel then told me about getting the Klahr and Wahr. At the end of our talk, he said "just a minute," and went into his briefcase and brought out a copy of the July 24 In Transition that features your article and work in the Ukraine (yes, I have found it on Internet, too). I asked him how he came to have this since he could not read or speak English and his response was " I can't read the paper, but I can recognize pictures." He then showed me that he personally knows the members of the Sabbath keepers in the Ukraine in the pictures. He has met with them and they interact to some degree.
From that point, we arranged several meetings in our home and we discussed many things of interest.
It does have a couple of names of people to contact and gives their statement of beliefs. The actual booklet looks very much like something we would publish.
There is much more to say, but I think I will leave it at this.
You may have heard about the group. Pavel asked me if I would consider coming to Poland at their invitation. I said I certainly would. Of course, there are costs and expenses that would interfere and I think I ought to pass the information on to Paul Kieffer and Winfried Fritz. Winfried did visit a family or two in Poland a few years ago and he might know about this group.
I found Pavel very sincere, thoughtful and open minded. He asked for literature from us and I gave him our statement of beliefs, the Good News, and a couple of booklets. I also had an old booklet on the Holy Days published in about 1980 that I gave him to study.
He is having our material that I gave him translated into Polish.
Bob & Val
Pavel Bujok left Canada and visited in Portland, Oregon where he met with pastors Dean Wilson and Noel Hornor. Noel sent me this report:
September 15, 1996
Hi Vic!
I just finished about 2 and one half hours with the representative of the Christians of The Sabbath Day in Poland. It was a very good visit! Quite interesting! He is most congenial and Christian in nature. We spoke through an interpreter who speaks German. Pavel speaks German, Polish and perhaps some other languages.
You mentioned to me on the phone that these people want to have a relationship with us. This is precisely what Pavel wants.
He has heard quite a lot about you. He would like very much to meet you. He will be in the country for some time yet. He will be in Lincoln, Nebraska sometime in October. He will be staying with a friend there. I told him that I would pass the message on to you. I thought in case you are of a mind to go over to Omaha and see John Orchard, you could see Pavel Bujok too. I think it would be worth your time. Who knows what God has in mind?
Noel
Pavel and Elfrida Bujok
K. V. Raise 8/1082
735 01 HAVIROV-Meste
Czech Republic
tel/fax 06994/33736