John Travolta Opens
Church of Scientology Mission
in Historic Downtown Ocala, Florida
On Sunday, May 29, Scientologists, friends and neighbors filled 1st Avenue, joining actor and Ocala resident John Travolta and Ocala Mayor Randy Ewers at the dedication and grand opening ceremonies of the Church of Scientology Mission of Ocala, Florida.
Mr. Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, spearheaded establishment of the new Church in their adopted hometown. Located adjacent to the historic town square, the Mission of Ocala will offer Scientology beginning services to the community.
At the ribbon-cutting, Mr. Travolta acknowledged the City of Ocala and expressed the significance of the day for him:
“I would really love to thank the citizens of Ocala. When I was a little boy I had this idea that one day when I grew up I would have a home, an airplane in the backyard and a runway and little did I know that it would be in Ocala, Florida.
“The biggest gift I can give you in return is this Mission. Everything you’ll find behind those doors, the Life Improvement Courses, the knowledge and the magic behind those doors, has helped me survive and I can’t tell you the miracles you’ll find there.”
The Mission building was originally part of the Hood Block, home to Ocala’s first Opera House. The structure was built following the great Ocala fire of Thanksgiving Day 1883 and features the fire-resistive brickwork that earned Ocala the title “The Brick City.”
During the past year, the building’s exterior has undergone extensive restoration. The interior features an arched sun motif throughout, reflecting greater Ocala’s historic designation as “Kingdom of the Sun.”
Also participating in the grand opening was Ocala Mayor Randy Ewers, who spoke of the new Church’s place in the community:
“When I see residents help their neighbors out and take care of those around them, it makes me feel very proud, because they are participating in their community. The Travolta family has definitely been an example of this by being active participants in our community. I look forward to this Mission of Scientology Ocala contributing to our community as well. I respect what you have achieved in this community, increasing drug education among our citizens, raising awareness about moral education, and assisting our firefighters to overcome the side effects from exposure to toxic substances in their lifesaving work. Your generosity has been in the spirit of giving, and in the spirit of Ocala. For that, I thank you.”
Ocala Police Major Dennis Yonce described his experience with the Church-sponsored anti-drug campaign:
“For years I have been looking for something better, something more effective to combat the drug problem in our community. Two years ago I discovered your award-winning anti-drug public service announcements. Just listening and watching them struck home to me. I could see that the messages about the truth about drugs brings truth to anyone who watches, but most importantly to our kids.”
Recently retired fire chief Dan Gentry spoke of his personal experience and life-changing results with the detoxification program sponsored by the Travoltas:
“In the summer of 2010 I found the detoxification program based on the discoveries and technologies of Mr. L. Ron Hubbard. By then I only had half a kidney remaining and I could not maintain a normal life with my condition. My doctors felt that the detox program could help me and I decided, along with 14 other Ocala and Marion County firefighters, to do the program. During the program I kept close coordination with my doctors.
“Well, what can I say? After a short period of time they told me, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s working! Keep doing it!’”
Visitors to the newest Scientology Mission enter directly into the Public Information Center, which includes multimedia presentations of the basic beliefs and practices of Dianetics and Scientology and the life and legacy of the religion’s Founder, L. Ron Hubbard. In all, the Center offers more than 100 documentary films.
The Mission is specially set up to provide beginning Scientology services, including the popular Life Improvement Courses through which anyone may find workable solutions to common challenges of everyday life—such as how to improve relationships, setting goals and increasing personal motivation, improving marriage and family life, successfully raising children, personal integrity and honesty, and many others.
The new Mission also offers daily seminars on a wide range of topics, including personal efficiency. The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar, held every weekend, is based on L. Ron Hubbard’s watershed work Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, the best-selling book that reveals the source of one’s nightmares, unreasonable fears and irrational behavior—the reactive mind—and how to conquer it.
The Mission additionally offers spiritual counseling, known as auditing (from Latin audire, to listen), and the Purification Program, a closely supervised regimen enabling an individual to rid the body of the harmful effects of drugs, toxins and other chemicals that lodge in the body and impede spiritual progress.
The Church of Scientology Mission of Ocala is located at 50 SE 1st Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34471. Mission staff can be reached at (352) 390-8535 or info@scientologyocala.org. The Mission is open 1 p.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week.
The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 and the religion has expanded to more than 9,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 165 countries.