PRESS RELEASES
GARDEN RING, MOSCOW, RUSSIA •
At a round table at the Church of Scientology Moscow May 29 Church staff introduced legislators, community and civic leaders to the life and work of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard through the pages of a new 16-volume biographical encyclopedia.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA •
Thousands of Bay Area Scientologists gathered on Saturday, June 9, to celebrate the rededication of the Church of Scientology Stevens Creek in San Jose.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA •
Scientologist and artist Gracia Bennish, creating a better world.
In a unique meld of art and activism, Gracia Bennish leaves her mark in unexpected places.
A true citizen of the world, Bennish, who lives with husband Garry in Clearwater, Florida, was born and raised in Detroit, has lived in the United States, Australia, Europe and Mexico, and has worked or volunteered in Haiti, Baghdad, Myanmar, Africa, Thailand, Cuba and Colombia.
LONDON, ENGLAND •
Visitors to London for the June 3 Thames Jubilee Pageant honoring the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee found hospitality, refreshments and respite from the driving rain and unseasonably cold temperatures at the daylong open house at the 146 Queen Victoria Street home of the Church of Scientology London.
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA •
On Saturday, June 2, city and state dignitaries joined thousands of Scientologists in downtown Santa Ana to dedicate the new Church of Scientology of Orange County.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Bridge Publications, publisher of the religious works of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, has been awarded top honors in the Manufacturing Leadership 100 Awards of 2012.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Scientologist Alf Garbutt was named Chiropractor of the Year in 2010 by the American Chiropractic Association Rehabilitation Council. He also has won a total of 18 martial arts world championships to date and in 2011 won a record-breaking seven gold medals in a single world championship competition.
Discipline is one of his secrets, and using that discipline to learn and do.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
When Zahid Qureshi was introduced to Scientology, it made perfect sense to him. It appealed to his practical nature while satisfying his thirst for the spiritual.
Born and raised in Pakistan, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, Qureshi came to America in 1970 to do postgraduate work at MIT. But by 1986, a failed marriage and a dead-end job had robbed life of the promise it once held for him.
HAITI •
Scientology Volunteer Minister Ayal Lindeman is carrying out his 6th humanitarian mission to Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake. Since arriving May 14, he has trained more than 1,100 community health personnel, families and first-responders in simple skills that save lives.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Alison Osborn considers herself truly lucky, with an ideal marriage and a career she loves.
SOLOMON ISLANDS •
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers South Pacific Goodwill Tour has completed a series of seminars on Study Technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Delivering to teachers and students from 31 schools in Guadalcanal, the volunteers addressed education as the key issue to improve conditions for the island.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA •
Scientologist Julieta Santagostino is director of the Florida chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World.
Fashion designer Julieta Santagostino, 28, is the driving force behind the Florida chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Her profile is one of more than 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos on the Scientology website at www.scientology.org.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Freedom Magazine Special Report Wins DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award of Excellence
Known for its investigative reporting in the public interest, Freedom Magazine, the human rights journal of the Church of Scientology, has been awarded a Religion Communicators Council (RCC) DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award of Excellence for its 2011 Special Report, The New Yorker: What a Load of Balderdash.
INTERNATIONAL •
The Adventure of Dianetics began 62 years ago today.
On May 9, 1950, a movement was launched with these words by L. Ron Hubbard: “Dianetics is an adventure. It is an exploration into Terra Incognita, the human mind, that vast and hitherto unknown realm half an inch back of our foreheads.” He further invited readers to “Treat it as an adventure. And may you never be the same again.” Millions have done just that.
VITA LEVU, FIJI ISLANDS •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers, mobilized in the wake of recent floods, are providing relief and helping in the cleanup operation in Vita Levu, the main island of Fiji.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates the flooding of early April 2012, the worst in decades, caused $71.3 million in damage. And although the waters have receded, entire villages were submerged in floodwaters and the damage continues to impact the lives of thousands.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE •
The Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Nashville celebrated the third anniversary in its new home, a restored historical landmark at 8th Avenue South.
The Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Nashville held a festive celebration for parishioners and distinguished guests at the historic Fall School Building at 8th Avenue South, Nashville, which has served as its new home since its grand opening on April 25, 2009.
WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND •
Scientologists Run to Promote Drug-Free Living in England
A team of runners carried out a week-long 130-mile (209 km) multi-marathon through southern England to promote drug education and prevention as a primary solution to drug abuse.
The UK Drug-Free Multi-Marathon began April 14 on the steps of Lambeth Town Hall in the south of London. Over the next seven days they ran to East Grinstead in Sussex and on to Uckfield, Brighton, Crawley, Reigate and Croydon, ending back in Westminster in the heart of London.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA •
The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) honored the Church of Scientology with two DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards of Excellence at the Council’s 2012 convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
HONIARA, GUADALCANAL PROVINCE, SOLOMON ISLANDS •
The official launch of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour in Honiara, capital of Guadalcanal Province of the Solomon Islands, signals the launch of a month of free seminars on the 19 subjects of the Scientology Handbook.
KANANGA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO •
Thousands lined the streets and filled Stadium de L’Espoir (Stadium of Hope) in Kananga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to welcome the team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers who arrived this week from Uganda, Québec and Brussels to implement Volunteer Minister training for 2,000 Congolese