On Saturday, July 30, 2011, the Church of Scientology of Pasadena hosted “Reversing Hunger—A Forum on the Most Basic Human Right.” The event was the latest in a series of community services and activities the Church has initiated, supported or sponsored over the past year since its July 2010 grand opening.

Pasadena Scientologists manned a drug-education and prevention booth at Villa Park last August to help make the city’s annual “National Night Out” a success.

In September, members of the Pasadena Church were key players in organizing and staging the 10th annual “Say No to Drugs” Race at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, held in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s “Take-Back” initiative, which focuses on curbing prescription drug abuse. Runners and fans alike returned home with copies of the Truth About Drugs series of drug-education booklets, distributed by volunteers from the Church’s “Say No to Drugs” group.

The environmentally conscious Church made news on Earth Day in April when local media reported, “It seemed fitting indeed that an Earth Day bicycle tour of Pasadena should end at the Church of Scientology of Pasadena’s 58,084-square-foot, newly certified LEEDS [Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design] energy efficient headquarters building on South Raymond Avenue.”

In May, the City of Pasadena’s Historic Preservation Commission, the California State Assembly and the California State Senate recognized the Church for its achievements in historical preservation.

Over the past 12 months, hundreds of local residents have enrolled on Life Improvement Courses offered by the Church, short courses that help the individual address everyday life issues such as relationship difficulties, coping with work or financial stress, raising children, and dealing with drug abuse, study problems and challenges to personal integrity.

The Church of Scientology of Pasadena is open to the public Monday through Friday 9 a.m.—10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.—6 p.m. Visitors are welcome to tour the Church’s extensive first-floor Public Information Center containing multimedia displays illustrating Scientology beliefs, the life and legacy of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard and the full array of Church-sponsored social betterment and community outreach programs.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) from Australia and the United States are coming together in Brisbane to aid the victims of flooding in the north eastern part of the country.

In late December 2010 and early January 2011, three quarters of the state of Queensland was inundated by rainfall so heavy it occurs only once in every 100 years. The resultant floods have caused an estimated 1 billion Australian dollars in damage.

Not all areas of Queensland’s capital, Brisbane, were affected by the flooding but in the low-lying areas the water reached to the rooftops of homes and cleanup is expected to take some time.

The Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Cambell Newman, said that the Brisbane Municipal Council, “…has been humbled by the response we have received from people wanting to help. My message to everyone however is this clean-up is a marathon, not a race.”

The Volunteer Ministers who surveyed the flood’s aftermath are prepared to help as long as necessary as they begin handling the piles of debris and water-soaked belongings that dot the landscape. In addition to conducting cleanup operations, the VMs are providing succor in the form of food, drink and counselling to both victims and relief-effort volunteers.

For more than three decades, Scientology Volunteer Ministers, have responded to calls for assistance. Whether at the scene of major disasters or simply in helping family members get back into communication with each other, Volunteer Ministers operate by the motto given the organization by Founder L. Ron Hubbard: “Something Can Be Done About It.”

Church of Scientology Washington State

On July 24, 2010, over sixteen hundred Scientologists and their guests packed the street in front of 300 West Harrison in Seattle for the opening of the new Church of Scientology of Washington, a milestone for the congregation formed 54 years ago.

Duwamish Tribal Chairman Cecile Hansen, a descendant of Chief Seattle after whom the city was named, opened the event with a centuries-old ceremony, welcoming the Church to its new home.

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, officiated, acknowledging the Scientologists who spearheaded the drive to build the new Church.

Stressing the significance of the occasion, Mr. Miscavige said: “Just this year alone, we have opened six new Ideal Churches on three continents. While in months to come you’ll see ribbons parting as far away as Tel Aviv, Melbourne and Moscow, and as close to home as Twin Cities, Sacramento and Portland—to cite but a few of the more than 60 new Churches now looming on the near horizon.

“So, yes, you are part of a movement that qualifies as ‘history in the making.’ Moreover, it is a movement that is all-embracive, all-inclusive and all about ensuring no one falls between the cracks. Because when you possess a technology capable of restoring the infinite goodness in every human being, then every life becomes immeasurably precious.”

Acknowledging the Church for its many contributions to the community were Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders, Washington State Representative Maralyn Chase, Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce President Dave Peterson, Seattle Neighborhood District Coordinator Christa Dumpys, and FEMA volunteer liaison Jo Ann Oram.

Justice Sanders spoke of working with the Church in the field of human rights, a partnership spanning nearly 35 years. “There is nothing more important in life than being true to yourself,” he said, “and standing up for what you believe. That is freedom, and that is what makes life worth living. And that, to me, is what you represent. … The Church of Scientology is truly a leader when it comes to fighting for the civil rights of those subject to abuse by the so-called mental health laws and those that enforce them. And I respect your struggle to abolish coercive practices in the field of mental health and to restore human dignity and freedom to all people. I am proud of our accomplishments over the years, and I am especially proud for your significant accomplishment of opening this beautiful new Church.”

President of the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, Dave Peterson, gave these words in acknowledgment of the Church’s history of service to its community: “Your Church of Scientology has never failed to step up… . Together, we have a proud tradition in Seattle, one in which the Church of Scientology can rightfully claim its due reward… I am also proud to say that the Chamber and the Church have co-sponsored many projects for the benefit of the greater community. And in every case, you never just stand by and think about improvements. You do them. We at the Chamber know we can always turn to the Church of Scientology—and you will never let us down.”

Long active as volunteers in community betterment initiatives, local Scientologists received the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award in April of 2010. Seattle-area Scientologists serve in the Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and as certified associate chaplains of the Seattle Police Department’s Community Chaplaincy Program. The Scientology Environmental Task Force, partnering with the Seattle Parks & Recreation Department, Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Public Utilities to Keep Seattle Beautiful, sponsors the oldest Adopt-A-Street program in the city. Scientologists have also volunteered with Food Lifeline since 2002 and, since 1993, the Church’s community drug education program has helped thousands of Seattle young people steer clear of substance abuse.

The State of Washington holds a significant place in the life of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. In 1923, he joined Tacoma Troop 31 Black Eagle Patrol and the following year, at 13, became the youngest Eagle Scout in America. In 1926, he spent his sophomore year at Seattle’s Queen Anne High School on Galer Street, before embarking on the first of several voyages to a then rarely visited Asia.

During the 1930s, in his Port Orchard writer’s retreat overlooking Puget Sound, Mr. Hubbard authored several acclaimed stories and novels for what is remembered today as the Great American Pulp Fiction Movement. It was also in Port Orchard that he scripted the Warner Brothers classic Dive Bomber.

It was also from Seattle where Mr. Hubbard set sail on the famed “Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition” to field-test a then novel system on which all future radio navigation was based.

Most importantly, it was in neighboring Port Orchard, in 1938, that Mr. Hubbard authored what is remembered as the philosophic foundation of Dianetics and Scientology. A now legendary work entitled “Excalibur,” here was the first examination of key universal principles common to all life forms and underlying all behavior.

The new Church of Scientology of Washington is located just blocks from Seattle Center and the Space Needle. The ground floor features an extensive Public Information Center with multimedia displays presenting and illustrating Scientology beliefs, the life and legacy of L. Ron Hubbard and the full array of social betterment and community outreach programs. These interactive displays provide a concise but panoramic view of the religion to visitors, students and others desiring to learn more about Scientology.

To even better serve the community, the Church has further established a Scientology Life Improvement Center adjacent to the century-old Pike Place Market Historic District, “The Soul of Seattle.” This center provides Scientology introductory courses.

The Church of Scientology of Washington State is the seventh new Scientology Church to open in 2010, while five new Churches are scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

July 12, 2010

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_{By Leon Lagerstam,}

Since the dawning of Dianetics, Peoria Scientology Mission director George Seidler has been a believer.

Mr. Seidler, describing himself as a 21-year-old in an 87-year-old body, is a bit of a celebrity in Scientology circles, although he admits members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta have more recognizable names.

According to www.scientology.org, Scientology is a religion that ”offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.”

The book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health,  written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1950, details how to follow the “path.”

Mr. Seidler is the longest serving director of a Scientology Mission, almost sharing the 50th anniversary date of when L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics book first was published—May 9, 1950.

“I got in two months later,” Mr. Seidler said. “The first Dianetics session I had totally changed my life forever, in every way.”

He moved to Peoria later in 1950 to join his father’s Illinois News Service Business—wholesale distributors of newspapers, magazines and paperback books to retail outlets across the state—and to be a professional auditor for a Dianetics group which had recruited him to be its leader.

“Auditors” are those who apply Dianetics technology to another person. It comes from the Latin word “audire,” which means “to listen.”

Mr. Seidler took over his father’s Peoria business in 1954. In 1963, he opened The Book Emporium, which offered the largest and widest selection of magazines and paperback books available, and started carrying hardback books, greeting cards and gifts. It developed into a chain of 18 Book Emporiums and Seidler’s Hallmarks.

A Book Emporium branch at Kennedy Square Shopping Center, 4129 N. Kennedy Drive, East Moline, carried all Dianetics and Scientology books, Mr. Seidler said.

“I retired from the business, but not Scientology, my real love, in 1998,” he said.

The Peoria Mission, at 3402 N. Prospect Road, is the closest for Quad-Citians to explore, as several have over the years, Mr. Seidler said.

Locals also could visit a mission in Champaign-Urbana, or “if they are bold enough to travel to the big city of Chicago, we can connect them to a volunteer who will explain Dianetics and Scientology to them,” public relations representative Rebecca Cusano said.

The Peoria and Champaign-Urbana missions cater mainly to people new to Scientology and who want to learn more about it, Ms. Cusano said.

“People at missions are Scientology professionals who can certainly answer a lot of questions people may have and offer facility tours and other services,” she said.

The Peoria Mission holds weekend Dianetics seminars that show introductory DVDs and hold auditing sessions, Mr. Seidler said.

“It’s hard to put an exact number of how many people have been in touch with us,” Ms. Cusano said. “But it’s in the thousands or several thousands,” when counting the people who search Scientology websites for information or to order free introductory materials.

Ms. Cusano’s Scientology involvement dates back to 1993, when “situations in my life developed, which I needed assistance to handle, and I was lucky enough to have someone tell me about Scientology and how it could make my life better,” she said.

“It changed my life completely,” Ms. Cusano said. “I became more outgoing, developed a higher order of communication skills, and became more responsible.”

Mr. Seidler said before his first Dianetics session, ”I hated everyone and was sure everyone hated me. I didn’t have the slightest desire to become an auditor. I only cared about myself and was totally self-centered.

“After that first session, I became totally extroverted, loved everyone and thought everyone loved me. And I decided to become one of the top auditors in the world, with a tremendous desire to help others.”

Mr. Seidler and Ms. Cusano have reached the highest level of Spiritual enlightenment available through Scientology, and feel strongly in giving back to the world for what Mr. Hubbard did for them.

“People ask: ‘Do we worship L. Ron Hubbard and believe he is a God?’” Mr. Seidler said. “The answer is no. But he is highly respected and admired. Ron was a genius and one of the most talented, accomplished men who ever lived. His accomplishments are legion, unparalleled in history.”

Mr. Seidler recalls Mr. Hubbard as a very caring person who was easily approachable.

“He always greeted you with a smile and made you feel important. He always knew the exact right thing to say to make you feel good.”

Unlike what some people tend to think, Scientology is not out to convert people willy-nilly, he said.

“It’s a religion for all denominations,” Mr. Seidler said. “One of the big rules in Scientology is that we never tell people to leave their religion. We encourage them to use our principles to make their religion better.

“We tell them that there is no such thing as an authority here,” Mr. Seidler said. “We don’t ask them to believe or accept anything they’re uncomfortable with. We only ask them to study the technology and make up their own minds about what will work for them.”

Scientology also offers a number of “social-betterment campaigns” not tied to religion, Ms. Cusano said.

Projects include a drug-free campaign and a website, drugfreeworld.org,  she said. Another human-rights campaign promotes a nonreligious moral known as The Way to Happiness. It lists 21 ways to live a happier life.

Mr. Seidler also cautions people from developing wrong impressions about Scientology when celebrity members act strangely.

“The important thing to remember when these celebrities are involved is that their behavior is in their individuality, not Scientology,” he said. “On the other side of that column, though, it’s helpful when these celebrities talk about Scientology and the gains and benefits they have achieved because of it. For example, John Travolta has said he would have never achieved the fame he has without the gains he received from it.”

Contact information and Scientology tidbits

For information about Dianetics, and Scientology:

As soon as they learned flooding was expected and shelters were being set up, the Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre of Nashville called up their Scientology Volunteer Ministers. The VMs started providing relief even before the major flooding began and have continued ever since. They are working as part of Hands On Nashville—the city’s official volunteer corps.

The first few days, VMs helped at disaster relief centers, and with evacuations. Several shelters were set up in schools and the Volunteer Ministers helped man and organize them. All 1,500 guests of the Opryland Hotel had to be evacuated—the courtyard was completely submerged and floodwater rose to 10 feet inside the hotel. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers worked at the school where the Opryland guests were brought, and helped them find their luggage and book flights out of the city.

It can be pretty confusing when a disaster strikes. The Volunteer Ministers helped organize the shelters, assigning volunteers to various functions and directing those needing different services to where they needed to go. People from all over town showed up to help, so one of the Volunteer Ministers sent out a team to locate homes where assistance was needed. The team then text-messaged the details back to the shelters, so volunteers could be dispatched to specific homes to provide whatever help was needed.

Some of the Volunteer Ministers went to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds where the speedway had been flooded out. The National Guard was stationed there and the Volunteer Ministers took over one of the water distribution centers, and handed out drinking water all day long.

As soon as the water started to recede the Volunteer Ministers began the arduous job of helping neighbors dig out from the mud and sift through mounds of soggy paper, ruined furniture and waterlogged personal possessions. In one house, the flooding tore in with so much force, it whipped a grand piano off the floor and left it upside down when the water ran off.

It can be pretty rough to have your whole house and all your possessions destroyed overnight—not something you plan for. So, sometimes when a Volunteer Minister arrives at someone’s home they find people stressed out. When that happens, or if they find someone traumatized, they provide a service all Volunteer Ministers are trained on, called Assists. Assists are techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard and one of their benefits is they help people overcome spiritual and emotional trauma. Our Volunteer Ministers website has a free course where anyone can learn these techniques.

With the amount of damage that occurred throughout Nashville, the Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre of Nashville plans to continue its Volunteer Minister services for the coming months, and is also offering free disaster relief training. To enroll on the course or learn more about the program visit the Church at 1130 8th Ave South, Nashville or call 615-687-4600.

More about Scientology Volunteer Ministers Disaster Relief efforts at blog.volunteerministers.org!

Sharon Tay of the KCAL news team introduces the piece, saying: “The Church of Scientology is opening up tonight.

There’s a newly rebuilt Church center in Hollywood where Scientology was founded and KCAL’s Dave Malkoff was invited to look around and ask questions.”

St. Petersburg, FL—More than 1,200 Tampa Bay residents of all ages walked quarter-mile laps around Straub Park in St. Petersburg Saturday, March 6, to raise human rights awareness.  Ms. Linda Drazkowski, Founder and President of the Human Rights Group Inc., Scientologist, mother of two and Clearwater resident, created the Human Rights Walkathon four years ago, and has chaired it every year since.  The fourth annual Human Rights Walkathon, produced by the Human Rights Group in partnership with Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking and the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope, featured performances by hip hop artist MC Lyte, recording artist David Pomeranz, and the Dundu Dole Urban Ballet.  Speakers included Mrs. Anna Rodriguez, founder of the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking; Mr. James Evans, founder of the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope; Rev. Alfreddie Johnson, founder of the World Literacy Crusade; and Dustin McGahee, president of Youth for Human Rights Florida.

The day before the walkathon, an article in the Fort Meyers, Florida, News-Press pointed out the vital role education plays in protecting human rights.  A 15-year-old Guatemalan girl living less than 150 miles south of St. Petersburg,  in Immokalee, might still be enslaved and forced into sex, pornography and field labor today had it not been for the alertness of a Florida woman who suspected she was the victim of human trafficking and reported it to authorities.

Some 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year.  “People who know and understand human rights will not only stand up for their own rights but also for the rights of others,” said Drazkowski.

To raise awareness of this and other crucial human rights issues, the Human Rights Group uses educational booklets, DVDs and an educators’ guide created by Youth For Human Rights International in collaboration with the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International.

For more information on these programs and materials, visit United for Human Rights at www.humanrights.com.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer issued a written order late Friday that dismissed the wage claims portion of Claire Headley’s lawsuit. The church had denied all the allegations and has called the plaintiff a liar motivated by greed.

So-called Sea Org members work long hours, live and eat communally and sign a pledge that symbolizes a 1 billion-year commitment to Scientology.

Fischer sided with Scientology in her five-page ruling, saying the evidence showed that Headley was chosen for her work based on religious criteria and performed religious duties.