Phoenix Looks Forward to Easing Restrictions: Prevention Can Help Keep it That Way

A pandemic knows no boundaries, so the Church of Scientology reaches out everywhere to help people stay well.

The rolling seven-day average for newly reported COVID-19 cases in Arizona declined Friday to 537, the lowest since June. And the message from the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services last week was: Phoenix—get ready to open. But she warned, “It is important that we continue to wear masks when in public, physically distance, and stay home when sick.” 

As cities and countries around the world have seen, new cases can surge, resulting in renewed regulations. This is one reason Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Phoenix continue to promote prevention.

“What do you do when your neighborhoods are in need of information they can depend on?” said Ginny Leason, Director of Public Affairs of the Phoenix Church of Scientology. “One of the principles we apply as Scientologists is that knowledge is key to gaining control over any negative situation.”

 

In May, the Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center shipped thousands of copies of three booklets to the Phoenix Church: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation. These are all available to read or download free of charge on the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center of the Scientology website.

The Phoenix Volunteer Ministers placed these into the hands of local residents and in stores, restaurants, and police and fire departments around the city. Displays of the booklets invited visitors to “please take one.”

“These booklets provide valuable guidelines at a time when conflicting information is abundant and people are looking for answers on what to do,” said Leason.

“At one discount store, the manager asked us to put booklets at each checkout counter,” said a Volunteer Minister who took part in the project. “She said she usually doesn’t let people leave things, but her customers really need this information. Another store was excited about getting the booklets, and cleaned off the whole countertop so we could put our displays there. He appreciated having the information too.”

“The manager of a restaurant put the booklets at each table and said she wanted to include them in every to-go order. She was also happy to have the booklets in Spanish,” said another volunteer. “At one business, they had just been discussing what they could do about the pandemic when we pulled in and offered our booklets. They immediately began handing them out to customers. I gave one to a nurse. She appreciated having all the smart facts in writing in a booklet that people can learn from.” 

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Phoenix holds the distinction of being the birthplace of the Scientology religion. It was here in the early 1950s that Founder L. Ron Hubbard made the breakthrough discoveries of the human spirit that gave rise to the Scientology religion. The Church has served a growing congregation in the city since 1974, and moved to its expansive new headquarters on the southeast corner of 44th Street and Indianola Avenue in 2012. 

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the largest international independent relief forces. A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”