Scientology Opens Prominent New Church in Berlin
The Church of Scientology of Berlin opened its new home today in Charlottenburg to over 5000 Church members (including Academy Award nominated actress Anne Archer and Jazz legend Chick Corea), government officials and community leaders, with an invitation to all Berliners to come in and find out for themselves about Scientology.
"Our doors are open to everyone," said the Berlin Church's president, Sabine Weber. "We want you to find out for yourself who we really are. We want you to find out for yourself what we really do."
To make this possible, the ground floor of the 4,000-square-meter, 6-story glass and steel structure which is located at Otto-Suhr-Allee and Cauer Street in the Charlottenburg District, contains an extensive walk-through audio-visual public information center on Scientology beliefs, practices and activities in Berlin and around the world. Displays present the life and accomplishments of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard and the internationally acclaimed programs that combat drug abuse, illiteracy, criminality, immorality and human rights violations.
The new Church in Berlin is a reflection of the world scope of Scientology, which, as of 2007, comprises more than 7,500 Churches, Missions and groups across 163 nations. Each is dedicated to achieving the Aims of Scientology—including a world without war, without insanity and without criminality, where the able may prosper and all are free to rise to greater heights. Internationally, 1,500 new Churches, Missions and groups opened in the past year, and growth in the past five years has exceeded the previous five decades combined.
For Berlin members, the Charlottenburg building not only multiplies all facilities for training and counseling in the religion, it enables the Church to bring Scientology's international social reform and betterment programs on a much larger scale to the city.
Ms. Weber described the dedication of Scientologists to make human rights a reality with a global campaign to raise public awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; to steer youth from drugs with the Church's "Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life" drug education program in 53 nations; to decrease civil commotion and crime through distribution of the common-sense moral code, The Way to Happiness; and to bring help to disaster relief efforts through the tens of thousands of Scientology Volunteer Ministers world over.
Guest speakers welcoming the Church to its new home in Berlin included Mr. Bernhard Stitz, a 30-year police officer; Professor Jurgen Redhardt, Professor emeritus at Giessen University; Dr. Hubertus Mynarek, theologian and sociologist; and Mr. Almog Burstin, of Israel, who is a founding member of the European Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance.
Thousands of Scientologists and friends from Germany and across Europe visited the new Church on its opening day.
Other new Scientology Churches recently opened in London, Madrid, New York, San Francisco and Johannesburg. Similar new Churches are under construction in Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Australia and Taiwan.
The Church of Scientology of Berlin welcomes visitors and offers tours seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information on the Church and its programs call (0049)30-3 64 07 60.