Even a quick look at the Web site of the Polish Seventh-day Adventist Church suggests that music and church life seem inseparable.
Even a quick look at the Web site of the Polish Seventh-day Adventist Church suggests that music and church life seem inseparable. But music in the Polish Adventist Church is actually more than an expected part of the church’s mission and worship. A recent public concert of Christian music in front of the King’s Castle in Warsaw has elevated public worship to new heights for Seventh-day Adventists.
Observing the event among the thousands of participants, Roman Chalupka, secretary of the Adventist Church in Poland, concluded that the one-hour program of the Adventist ensemble, “Bogu” [For God], can be regarded as one of the largest Adventist worship services in the history of the church. “We regard singing as a part of our praise to God, and when we have something to say and we do it with prayer, we are dealing with worship,” he said. Chalupka added that the event had an evangelistic dimension, as “it centered on Christ and not on the church itself.”
Organized by a local radio station, Radio Praga, the third annual Christian Festival of Good Music was held June 5 to 6. The program featured artists and groups representing the contemporary Christian music scene, with varied musical styles, whose artistic message aims to integrate people and nations in sharing the ideals of a community built on goodness, truth and beauty, organizers said. The Adventist program featured Jarek Wajk and “Bogu,” who presented his Christian repertoire together with recitation of the Bible and a moment of common prayer with the thousands of participants.
Members of the Warsaw Church Choir have joined Wajk and his group, “Bogu,” for their festival appearance. “They are like a dried-up spiritual sponge,” one of the choir members said after seeing the bowed heads of young people. “It was an awesome experience to see how many young people would bow their head in prayer when Jarek prayed. They sang with us, they praised the Lord. I was touched. I thought that they would ignore it, but they didn’t.”
Wajk is a well-known music personality in the country. His successes as a rock singer made him an icon among the “where next? generation,” as he put it. “Today, I give myself wholly to God and He does wonders. All that I am today comes from Him and there is nothing else I must do except to allow myself to be used by Him.”
Looking at this piazza in front of the castle, Wajk reminisced how it was when he joined the church several years ago. “From the beginning I listened to every word that was read from the Bible, and all of it now defines me and my mission. Now, all I am interested in is to bring God to the people of our generation. All of them are hungry and often aimless,” he added.
“God stopped people in their tracks for this one hour today. He made them quiet and then sent them on their journey with Good Thoughts,” Wajk told Adventist News Network. He wanted to make sure that these words are written in capital letters. “Love made a place for itself on this square,” he added.
Wajk is known in Christian circles as an inventor. Three years ago his new public debut included what they call an integrated group, “Bogu” [For God], a mostly vocal ensemble composed of a choir of the hearing impaired. In the last three years, they have traveled throughout the country, sung before the nation’s leaders, joined the finest classical musicians in benefit concerts, and brought a new dimension to musical and artistic expression, while becoming part of the country’s musical and spiritual culture. Media reviews and interviews were shared throughout Poland.
If not on tour, one can meet Wajk worshipping in the Warsaw Central Church. “One day a thought hit me when I saw a group of my brothers and sisters sitting in the front of our congregation. The worship service was translated to them through sign language. So I thought, let me join them. And I did. The rest is history,” he recalled.
Wajk invited himself to learn sign language and made an effort to understand the “life of silence of my fellow believers.” The next thing was easy, he recalled with a smile on his face. “No, it was not that easy to enter into a world of silence and bring out a sound that would give meaning and that it would bring these people out of isolation of their church’s corner, and bring them into the mainstream of the church’s Sabbath service,” Wajk continued. “The easy part was to make a decision to be inclusive and to make music that would bring meaning to thousands of listeners. I included them in my musical group. The words that two or three of us sing, they interpret it through sign language and do it all in unison. But of course there is more, there is more sound.”
The lyrics of an acclaimed signature song, entitled “Bogu,” say: “You think silence is my home / You say that I don’t know music / Look, I am singing a psalm today / My voice ascending heavenward / Ascending to the stars.” Through such lyrics, “Bogu” made themselves and their presence known on national TV and a documentary explained their journey.
Their phenomenon includes two components of making their appearances popular. “It’s the message of Scripture delivered with professionalism of the form we use,” Wajk explained.
Following the Warsaw concert, the organizer of the Festival of Good Music, Rev. Andrzej Chibowski, had no difficulty in explaining what “Bogu” means to him. “What people notice in your group is a great authenticity of expression. And this is what counts today. It’s not a put-on, a play, but it’s honesty. This is most important,” he commented.
“You cannot get everything from God the way you want it, but how much can we give to Him and to other people through all our handicaps? In this lies your greatness, your contribution, so keep on going,” he concluded.
