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Honoring St. Anthony’s Father Czok
Nov 23, 2011
by Michael Cesarczyk
Last week, Greenpoint honored one of its most faithful servants.
Last Sunday, November 13th, over 300 people attended a formal retirement party for Pastor Robert W. Czok of St. Anthony’s Church. After years of devoted service to the community, Fr. Czok retired on the first of the month.

Baptized at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and raised in Greenpoint, the Polish-American Czok became pastor of St. Anthony in 1999. From that time, he worked tirelessly to maintain his church and never missed a community meeting. He also became a friend and protector of the neighborhood’s homeless.

Around five years ago, volunteers Eryka Volker and Janusz Pukijaniec had their Astoria-based shelter, Partnership for the Homeless, closed down by the city’s Department for Homeless Services. Facing a bitterly frigid winter and still in possession of supplies, Volker put out an ad in Polish newspaper Kurier Plus and called every establishment she could, but was turned down. “We tried every place, every church,” said Volker. “We only wanted an emergency shelter to help the homeless during the coldest winter nights.”

Eventually they called Fr. Czok, who not only agreed to let them use the church basement, but also visited the homeless every time they came to make sure they received proper care. “He wanted everyone in Greenpoint to have an equal share of services,” said Volker. “Once he got up at two in the morning just to see if everyone was safe.” Fr. Czok has also supported homeless Polish immigrants in getting their lives back on track. On Thanksgiving, with the support of the Polish Consulate, the shelter will be sending their tenth Polish individual back to Poland to be reunited with his family.

When Greenpointers had a heated debate about the possibility of an assessment shelter on McGuiness Boulevard, Fr. Czok encouraged his community to discuss the issue rationally and reminded his parish of their social responsibilities. In the January 8th edition of Pastor’s Corner, his church bulletin, he wrote, “The community needs to be informed to make its views known. In the meantime, we all ought to do what we can to alleviate the suffering of the homeless already in our area.”

Fr. Czok’s work has not gone unnoticed. In 2009, he was given the Gold Medal Award by the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski. At the retirement party, the visibly moved priest was presented with a letter of recognition by Polish Consul Piotr Janicki and a painting donated by Ania Winiarska. Among those who attended were Polish Consul Monica Clark, current St. Anthony pastor Fr. Sojan Antony, Neil Sheehan, the Executive Vice President of the Outreach Project Brooklyn and representatives of the St. Vincent De Paul Society – Homeless SOS, including Eryka Volker, who gave a heartfelt speech in appreciation of Fr. Czok. “He never wants to talk about it, but today I would like everyone to know that many lives in this community were saved because of Fr Czok’s tenacity and humanity. He offered a shelter for all people regardless of color. Thank you Fr. Czok for being an example and an inspiration.”