November, 2011

Dear Friends of John Paul II Foundation!

I would like to remind you about the 25^th annual election meeting of the Friends of John Paul II Foundation in California, which will take place on November 20^th (Sunday) at 2:00 p.m. in the Kashubian Room of Our Lady of the Bright Mount Church in Los Angeles.  I sent the original notice about this meeting in February of this year to all former and current members of our local Organization.

I wish to offer words of deep gratitude to the Reverend Father Rafał Dyguła for creating a beautiful spiritual setting of the Papal Days in Los Angeles and to Mr. Roman Zawadzki for a very generous gift of $10,000, which in this particular year of beatification has a unique meaning and value for the further development of John Paul II Foundation in Rome.

I want to convey the words of great appreciation for the younger generation of our organization, especially to Ms. Theresa Dudzik for taking the patronage of our Organization, for Mr. Łukasz Sochur for the making of many beautiful films (see attached), and for Julia Golonka’s beautifully written essay about John Paul II (see attached). At this point, I am extending a special invitation to the youth, who was so beloved by John Paul II, to become more active in the development of this memorable work - www.fjp2.com.

I would like to thank the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, the Polish American Congress in Southern California, the Polish Parish Council in Los Angeles, the Directors of the Polish Saturday School in Los Angeles and Yorba Linda, and the Polish Credit Union POLAM for generous support. I would also like to thank all of the other Donors, who have supported us spiritually and materially, and to all those who devoted to us many hours of personal time in order to complete our plans this year. Those of you, who sent us payment by the end of August 2011, should already have received a receipt and thank you letter directly from Rome. In the near future, our Local Organization will also send confirmation letters in English stating your tax-free membership contributions.

I am extremely grateful to God, Blessed John Paul II, and all people of good will for celebrating this year's 25^th Jubilee of the Friends of John Paul II Foundation in California, the 35^th year of the visit of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła to Our Lady of the Bright Mount Parish in Los Angeles and the historical beatification year of the Servant of God John Paul II, by:

• Monthly celebrations called the Papal Days in Los Angeles, which are still continuing

• Competition for an essay, poster, and collage for children and youth about John Paul II

• The concert, titled Children and Youth in Tribute to John Paul II, combined with a banquet and the contest award ceremony on April 3, 2011

• Purchasing and mailing over 60 DVD's, Nine Days That Changed the World, to Catholic high schools in the county of Los Angeles, to celebrate the May 1^st Beatification of John Paul II.  Mr. Marcin Karpiel, vice president of our organization, took initiative and placed a donation of $ 1,100 for this purpose.  Mrs. Graciella Małolepszy, Mr.&Mrs. Zofia & Wiesław Adamowicz, Mr.& Mrs. Martin and Henrietta Henzel, Mr.&Mrs. Sophia and Mark Janczur, Ms. Sophia Łada, Mr.& Mrs. Makiewicz, and Mr.&Mrs. Tadeusz and Teresa Niziński have provided donations for the distribution of the DVDs.

• The offering of $500 to Our Lady of Bright Mount Parish in Los Angeles from the banquet income for the planned Center/Museum of John Paul II at the Church of Our Lady of the Bright Mount in Los Angeles

• The Polish Festival, which took place in September 24-25, dedicated to John Paul II, and organized under the guidance of Father Rafał Dyguła

• The Album, dedicated to the 35^th year of the visit of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła to Our Lady of the Bright Mount Parish in Los Angeles (the album is in progress)

• The establishment of local www.fjp2la.org website, which Mrs. Joanna Zamojdo designed graphically and Mr. Jerzy Górecki developed the technical part of the website free of charge.  They have offered many hours of their work and Mr. Górecki paid the required fees to open up and maintain the website (the work on the website continues).

I would sincerely like to express my appreciation to the Board of Directors and Officers of the Friends of John Paul II Foundation in California for many hours of their work, generous monetary gifts, spiritual support, enthusiasm and numerous advices.  I would like to extend a special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Kazimierz and Henryka Cybulski, Mrs. Agnieszka Górecki, Mrs. Natalia Kamińska, Mrs. Zofia Adamowicz, and Mrs. Graciella Małolepszy, who devoted so much of their time to make the Organization’s celebrations, listed above, happen.

Let our new Patron in Heaven bless You!  See you on Nov. 20^th !

Yours Sincerely and Respectfully,
Dr Maria Zdunkiewicz, President
Friends of John Paul II
Foundation in California