Thursday, September 29, 2016

Human Rights Day Planning Committee Now Accepting Nominations for Awardees

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place on December 6th from 5-7pm in Nashville, Tennessee. The planning committee for the event is now accepting nominations for the prestigious human rights awards.

Tennesseans will gather on December 6th to celebrate the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations, originally signed in 1948.

“Human Rights Day gives the community a chance to acknowledge advocates and leaders while also learning more about what human rights really mean for all people,” says planning committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, who also pastors the Church of Scientology in Nashville.

The celebration centers around the three Human Rights awards: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement. Fesler says that the committee has just opened the floor for nominations for this year’s awardees. Prospective names can be submitted at nashvillehumanrights.org/nominations.


The event will also have a panel discussion on child trafficking and various exhibits from human rights organizations. All information regarding the event can be found at the website nashvillehumanrights.org, and Fesler encouraged anyone interested to visit the website to find out how to get involved. 

Citizens Commission on Human Rights Distributes Information to Music Lovers

Mental health watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights distributed materials to music lovers attending a major two-day festival.

Mental health abuse doesn’t discriminate. Many different types of people have suffered it at the hands of psychiatrists they thought they could trust. So the Nashville Chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has been on an all-out effort to reach everyone with the facts.

Most recently, volunteers had a booth at the Pilgrimage Music and Arts Festival. The Pilgrimage Music and Arts Festival is a rootsy two-day event held just south of Nashville that is now in its second year, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.  The Tennessean says it is “shaping up to be one of the South’s premier festivals.”

CCHR was at the festival distributing information about the common and well-documented side effects of psychiatric drugs, which include mania, psychosis, hallucinations, depersonalization, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke and sudden death.


CCHR is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health industry watchdog whose mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health.  It works to ensure patient and consumer protections are enacted and upheld as there is rampant abuse in the field of mental health.  In this role, CCHR has helped to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive mental health practices since it was formed five decades ago. For more information on CCHR, visit cchrnashville.org. 

Spreading The Way to Happiness to the People of Honduras

Retired army veteran Jason Martin recently visited La Ceiba, Honduras, where he was able to distribute copies of The Way to Happiness to those in need.


Retired army veteran Jason Martin traveled from Nashville, Tenn., to Honduras as part of a missionary team. What started as a trip to complete construction on a house for missionaries, doctors and advisors soon turned into something even more meaningful. “I decided as part of that, I wanted to share The Way to Happiness with the locals who live in very poverty-stricken circumstances.”

Martin distributed sixty copies of The Way to Happiness booklet to those who could read, then took things a step further by setting up a small group for those who could not read to have the precepts read to them by others. The group would then discuss the precepts with one another so all would achieve full understanding of what was contained therein.

The Way to Happiness was written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s, and since then has sparked a global movement. It has been passed hand to hand to a wide variety of cultures and peoples.


According to thewaytohappiness.org, “This code of conduct can be followed by anyone, of any race, color or creed and works to restore the bonds that unite humankind.” In the three decades since it was authored, 100 million copies of the booklet have been passed hand to hand. For more information about The Way to Happiness, visit thewaytohappiness.org. 

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Tennessee United for Human Rights Holds Panel Discussion on Domestic Violence for Peace Day

The Tennessee chapter of United for Human Rights (TNUHR) held a dynamic panel discussion on International Peace Day this year.

How is domestic violence a violation of basic human rights? And what do people need to know to protect their rights and the rights of those they love? These topics were covered during the Tennessee United for Human Rights (TNUHR) Peace Day celebration for 2016.

TNUHR is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing education and awareness about human rights to everyone. In 2009, United for Human Rights released a video history of human rights which begins with a series of diverse people on the street being asked a simple question—What are human rights? The answers were astonishing. Most people couldn’t name more than one or two of their human rights, and many people didn’t even know how to define human rights.

According to the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, “People who do not know their rights are more vulnerable to having them abused and often lack the language and conceptual framework to effectively advocate for them.”

For this reason, TNUHR brought together experts and community leaders to discuss an issue that is hidden from view all too often: domestic violence. Under the theme: “Know Your Rights and Survive—Overcoming Domestic Violence,” five panelists came together representing the various stages a victim will go through as they seek help from their batterer. Panel members represented the YWCA’s Weaver Shelter, Metro Nashville Police Department’s Domestic Violence Division, Legal Aid Society, General Sessions Court, and the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.

The event was held in the community hall of the Nashville Church of Scientology and had a diverse crowd present to hear what they might do to help victims of domestic violence. One attendee noted, “The energy in the room was incredible—all of these people together talking about how we can help. This is needed to get people together to bring an end to the problem.”

For more information about Tennessee United for Human Rights, visit tnuhr.org.

Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day Will Bring Attention to Child Trafficking

The planning committee for the Tennessee celebration of International Human Rights Day has confirmed the theme for the event to raise awareness of child trafficking in the state.


The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day occurs on or around December 10 each year, as that is the recognized date for Human Rights Day, as declared by the United Nations. The planning committee for the celebration has just released the theme for the event: Hidden in our Midst—Child Trafficking in Tennessee. This provocative and eye-opening theme will be the focus of the panel discussion and other elements of the event according to planning committee chair, Rev. Brian Fesler who is also pastor of the Church of Scientology.

“Human Rights Day is always a time for human rights leaders to come together and inspire the next generation,” he says, “and this year we will shine a light on an atrocity that people need to know about and help address.”  Expert speakers will enlighten and educate the audience on the extent of the problem and solutions in Tennessee.

Other components to the event include the presentation of awards to human rights champions in three categories: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement. The committee will begin accepting nominations for the 2016 event sometime in early October.

The committee is comprised of human rights organizations and nonprofits, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, United Nations Association, Amnesty International, Tennessee United for Human Rights, the Church of Scientology and others who work together each year to plan the event.

This year’s celebration will take place on December 6, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the First Amendment Center. For more information or to get involved, visit tnuhr.org.



Monday, September 19, 2016

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Talks Positive Politics

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council holds bi-monthly meetings to discuss hot topics and have deep discussions on what is happening in the world today.

An interfaith communications organization, the Religion Communicators Council, has chapters across the United States. In Nashville, the group meets every other month for its series “Building Bridges Over Bagels.” Organizers say this concept is all about strengthening ties between people of different faiths and breaking bread together.

In September, the group met for breakfast at Weigh Down Ministries, the church offices for the Remnant Fellowship Church in Franklin, TN.  According to its website, remnantfellowship.org, it is “an international community of people who are finding renewed hope, profound love and deep purpose by putting the undiluted teachings of Jesus Christ into practice… This Church has its roots founded in the Bible-based teachings of Gwen Shamblin through Weigh Down Ministries, who has a 30-plus years long-and-counting track record of helping people change their lives in every positive and productive way.” Past meeting locations have included the Church of Scientology, Baha’i Faith Community Center and Islamic Center of Tennessee.

During the meeting, the President of Nashville’s RCC chapter, Rev. Brian Fesler, had attendees discuss this year’s presidential candidates, however, required them to find something good to say about each. They next discussed how to spread these good messages further out into the community by setting a good example.

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. For more information about the RCC or their next meeting, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day Set for December 6

The planning committee for the Tennessee celebration of International Human Rights Day has set a date for the 2016 event.

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day occurs on or around December 10 each year, as that is the recognized date for Human Rights Day, as declared by the United Nations.

“Human Rights Day is a time for human rights leaders to come together and inspire the next generation,” says planning committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology.

The celebration centers around the presentation of awards to human rights champions in three categories: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement. Past recipients of these prestigious honors have included the Rev. Bill Barnes, Rev. James “Tex” Thomas, Kwame Lillard, Rosetta Miller Perry, Father Joseph Breen, Gatluak Thach, First Baptist Capitol Hill, and many more. The full list can be seen online at tnuhr.org.

A committee of human rights organizations and nonprofits, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, United Nations Association, Amnesty International, Tennessee United for Human Rights, the Church of Scientology and others, work together each year to plan the event.

This year’s celebration will take place on December 6, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the First Amendment Center.


The committee plans to feature many different human rights organizations, especially the Tennessee governmental and non-profit agencies that have commitments to the thirty rights as laid out in the UDHR. Organizations who wish to participate may contact the organizer through www.tnuhr.org. 

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Drug-Free Tennessee is Sending out a Red Ribbon Invitational

Drug-Free Tennessee holds a variety of events throughout the year to benefit the community through education and awareness.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, 80% of crimes in the state have some drug-related nexus. Additionally, Tennessee's uninsured coupled with a high rate of prescribed painkillers are contributing factors behind the state's rise in heroin addiction and overdoses, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

To protect people from the disastrous effects of drugs, Drug-Free Tennessee is meeting with community leaders to educate and provide resources during Red Ribbon Week. Organizers are calling the meetings a “Red Ribbon Invitational” to help promote the Red Ribbon campaign.

Red Ribbon Week occurs during the last week of October each year and is a time to educate people and help prevent drug abuse. The Red Ribbon Campaign was started when drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying Red Ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America, according to redribbon.org.

Drug-Free Tennessee distributes copies of The Truth About Drugs, a booklet that helps people understand what drugs are and how they affect the user. Drug-Free Tennessee is a chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, an international non-profit organization. Its materials demonstrate the dangers of drugs through factual information and interviews with former addicts giving personal perspectives on each of the substances covered.


For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee, visit drugfreetn.org.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Citizens Commission on Human Rights Announces Seminar in October

Mental health watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights will be holding a lunch and learn to help educate the community in honor of Mental Health Day in October.

The Nashville Chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights has just announced that it will be holding a lunch and learn to help educate the community on the rights of children and their parents related to mental health in honor of World Mental Health Day in October.

Common and well-documented side effects of psychiatric drugs include mania, psychosis, hallucinations, depersonalization, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke and sudden death. Not only that, but the US Food and Drug Administration admits that probably only one to ten percent of all the adverse drug effects are actually reported by patients or physicians.

Because of these facts and more, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) Nashville Chapter wants to help educate people, especially parents, on their rights. According to a statement, the lunch and learn will bring in experts on health and wellness who will provide positive alternatives to psychiatric treatment. People attending will also be able to learn their mental health rights. The lunch and learn is scheduled for October 11, 2016 and will be held in the community hall of the Nashville Church of Scientology, 1130 8th Ave South. For more information, email media@cchrnashville.org.


CCHR is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health industry watchdog whose mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health.  It works to ensure patient and consumer protections are enacted and upheld as there is rampant abuse in the field of mental health.  In this role, CCHR has helped to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive mental health practices since it was formed five decades ago. For more information on CCHR, visit cchrnashville.org. 

Artlightenment Festival Announces 2016 Theme

Artlightenment takes place in November at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Nashville and organizers have just announced theme for the 2016 event.

Nashville is a city for the arts. While it goes by the name Music City, there is a wide variety of art beyond music that residents partake in: theatre, dance, design, fashion, sculpting, painting, and more. And for the past seven years, these art forms have all come to light in one explosive event: the annual Artlightenment film and art festival.

Artlightenment 2016 will see its eighth year of the festival which continues to grow and change while inviting even greater participation from the community. Organizers of the event have just announced the theme for this year, “America: Its Cultures and Influences.” It will take place from the art opening on November 5th through the awards ceremony and fashion show on November 12th.  The film festival will be Nov 10-12th, and the complete schedule can be seen at www.artlightenment.com.

According to the Artlightenment website, the festival was created from founder Robyn Morshead’s dream to help artists by giving them a festival dedicated to no other cause than the art itself. “This is a festival about them, the artists, and what they have to say,” says Morshead.


The Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre Nashville is the festival host each year, in accordance with Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s vision to help all artists. All are invited. For more information, visit artlightenment.com.