Nashville Church of Scientology Honors Volunteers on World Humanitarian Day

The World Humanitarian Day open house at the Nashville Church of Scientology acknowledged volunteers and inspired others to take action, exemplifying the spirit of the day.

The Nashville Church of Scientology held an open house for World Humanitarian Day to acknowledge volunteers, while also lifting up others to help people in times of need.

Three volunteers were recognized for their work over the past year. The first awarded was in the youth category and had clocked the most volunteer service hours among her peers. The second awarded had been active volunteering week in and week out on programs to rehabilitate and help those who have been released from jail and are looking to turn their life around. The third awardee spent the better part of a month full time helping in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey which devastated Texas last year.

“Helping others is an incredible virtue, and one that should be recognized more often,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Nashville Church of Scientology.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Minister program is a religious social service created in the mid 1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard who said, "The Volunteer Minister helps 'on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.'"

To make this technology broadly available, the Church has a Volunteer Minister tent that is set up at fairs and other community events to offer help freely to anyone. The Church also provides free online training at the Volunteer Ministers website. Anyone of any culture or creed may train as a Volunteer Minister and use these tools to help their families and communities.

The Volunteer Minister program was expressly intended for use by Scientologists and non- Scientologists alike. Transcending all ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries, the Volunteer Ministers program is there for anyone in need of help. Volunteer Minister training is available free of charge through the Scientology Volunteer Minister website to anyone who wishes to help others, at www.volunteerministers.org.

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Spreads Positivity on Night Out Against Crime

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee participated in National Night Out Against Crime by distributing the booklets at a neighborhood event.

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday to help put an end to rampant crime.

"True joy and happiness are valuable," begins the common sense guide, The Way to Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. Since then, the book has sparked a movement and has been reprinted and passed hand to hand to a wide variety of cultures and peoples. In Tennessee, The Way to Happiness Association works with communities and neighborhoods to spread the booklet to as many people as possible. Organizers say that when the booklet is passed from hand to hand, it is like oil spread upon a raging sea, the calm flows outward and outward.

The Tennessee Association launched its campaign to distribute the booklet in 2009. Since that time, the group has visited local health fairs, festivals and community gatherings.

National Night Out is meant to stop crime before it starts. It was designed to heighten awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to natw.org.

This year marks the 36th annual event to combat drug use and prevent crime. Neighborhoods frequently celebrate with a mix of food, dancing, information booths and crime forums to help promote safer living.

The Way to Happiness booklet details 21 precepts predicated on the fact that one's survival depends on the survival of others. 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." The Way to Happiness aims at giving people back a sense of what is right and wrong in a way that is easy to understand. In the three decades since it was authored, some 80 million copies of the book passed hand to hand.

For more information, visit twthtn.org.

Drug-Free Tennessee Working Against Crime on National Night Out

Drug-Free Tennessee participates each year in National Night Out Against Crime by distributing the Truth About Drugs booklets at neighborhood events.

Drug-Free Tennessee is committed to making neighborhoods drug and crime-free. So it was that volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for National Night Out Against Crime to help put an end to rampant crime and drug violations.

National Night Out is meant to stop crime before it starts. It was designed to heighten awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to natw.org.

This year marks the 36th annual event to combat drug use and prevent crime, and the 10^th year that Drug-Free Tennessee has participated in the Nashville festivities. Neighborhoods frequently celebrate with a mix of food, dancing, information booths and crime forums to help promote safer living.

Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee, says, “Youth today make decisions about drugs at a younger age. We need to get them reliable information so they can make educated choices and lead healthier lives.”

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets with information on how drugs affect the body and mind, what a dealer might say, and common street names to young people know how to avoid them. The materials are available free of charge, and can be obtained through drugfreeworld.org.

For more information on National Night Out, visit natw.org.  For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee or to order materials, visit drugfreetn.org. 

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Talks Religion Reporting

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) meets monthly to talk about topics of interest and hear from professionals in religious communications.  

How does religion take the spotlight in this fast-paced world of in-your-face news media? That is what a group of religious communications professionals learned about Tuesday from the Religion Reporter of the Tennessean newspaper.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations. The Nashville Chapter just met to hear about the best practices to get their news in the mainstream in such a way that their story can be heard.

Rev. Brian Fesler, president of the Nashville chapter and pastor of the Church of Scientology, says, “We only get what we shine a light on. If we see more in the news about spiritual values and accurate religious reporting, we will have a better world.”

The meeting took place at United Methodist Communications on 12^th Ave South.

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. The RCC, founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development. The RCC provides opportunities for communicators to learn from each other. Together, RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter. 

Church of Scientology Brings Diverse Crowd Together for Friendship Day

The Nashville celebration of International Friendship Day took place on July 31^st at the Church of Scientology with the theme “Many People, One Community.”

The Nashville Church of Scientology hosted its fourth annual Friendship Day open house at the end of July, with participation from many religious communities that have a home in Nashville. The theme of the day was “Many People, One Community,” and the event celebrated ways people can be friends through virtues such as being worthy of trust and respecting others’ religious beliefs.

The International Day of Friendship was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 in the belief that “friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.”

“The whole point of our open house is to bring a diverse group of people together and demonstrate the power of friendship,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology. “Most of life’s problems come from our basic misunderstanding of each other—a misunderstanding of intentions.  Getting along with one another starts with getting to know each other.”

The Church of Scientology partnered in this effort with The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee, which provides a community betterment program based on the book The Way to Happiness by L. Ron Hubbard. The initiative is predicated on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others—and that without the survival of others, neither joy nor happiness is attainable. Several precepts in the book promote dialogue and friendship, among them “Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others,” “Be Worthy of Trust,” and “Try to Treat Others As You Would Want Them to Treat You.” These points were used as the basis for dialogue among the audience in attendance at the event, which were led by respected community leaders.

“By bringing people together for an open dialogue, we’ve been able to create new and lasting friendships among people who otherwise might never interact,” says Fesler, “It is inspiring to see so much happen in just a short amount of time.”

For more information on the Church of Scientology, its programs or upcoming events, visit scientology-ccnashville.org.