Church of Scientology Nashville Helps Communities Stay Well as the City Reopens

The Churches of Scientology Disaster Response are known for helping communities during times of emergency.

The Church of Scientology’s Volunteer Ministers have taken part in an initiative designed to back up the city’s reopening. They distributed over 15,000 “Stay Well” booklets to local stores, restaurants, grocery stores, clinics, hospitals and homes.

Based on the principle that an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure, they dressed in their signature yellow jackets and caps and additional protective gear and loaded up with sets of three booklets: 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.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers are making these booklets available across Nashville, and in communities around the world in 21 languages. The booklets are packaged in custom-designed boxes that fold into counter displays and invite people to “please take one.”

Nashville and Tennessee were not the worst hit by the pandemic, but still have more than 35,000 cases in Tennessee, and 8,600 in the Nashville area and counting. “We’re stepping up to take this pandemic down,” said one of the Volunteer Ministers. “People have been so grateful for the booklets.”

Each booklet has a QR code on the back that goes to the How to Stay Well Prevention Center on the Scientology website, which makes these and other prevention materials available, free of charge. The booklets can be read on the website or downloaded. More than a dozen brief videos illustrate the key information, making it easy to understand what a virus is, how it spreads, and the actions anyone can take to protect themselves and their families. 

Worldwide distribution of these booklets began in May in communities around Scientology Churches and Missions across the globe. The Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center made this possible by printing and shipping 5 million copies of Stay Well booklets.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the largest and most visible international independent relief forces. The 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.”

For more information or to learn more, visit Scientology.org/StayWell.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Plans Next Daybreak Discussion

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

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 meets monthly at rotating locations to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

The most recent meeting was a tour of Dismas House, where formerly incarcerated men are able to live and transition back to civilian life.

The July meeting will be a daybreak discussion and will take place at the Cookery, a local restaurant which in addition to serving coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and catering to the public, has a greater purpose. According to its website, “in The Cookery kitchen, formerly homeless students are trained and equipped in culinary techniques and food safety in order to prepare them for employment in Nashville’s food industry.” All revenue from The Cookery goes to cover all café expenses and back into Lambscroft Ministries programs to serve Nashville’s homeless.

During the meeting, RCC members participated in the inaugural meeting for DayBreak Discussions, a new meeting format for Nashville RCC which brings together members along with the broader community for organic conversations about worldly topics.

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. The next Nashville Chapter meeting will be Feb. 4^th, 2020 at 11:30 am at United Methodist Communications, and will feature Jamie Dunham, Chief Brand Strategist for Brand Wise. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights Supports Parental Rights

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Nashville (CCHR Nashville) continues to work to spread information to parents on their basic rights so they can help their children.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights Nashville Chapter (CCHR Nashville) is working to educate parents on their basic rights as they relate to their children’s mental health and well-being. On its website, cchrnashville.org, there is a tab specifically for Parents, under which comes educational resources, helpful forms and more.  

CCHR has long been an advocate for human rights, especially as relates to patients’ rights in the field of mental health. Per the international CCHR website, cchr.org, “CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful.”

Rev. Brian Fesler, who serves on the board of CCHR Nashville, said, “CCHR volunteers are getting the word out, but there is so much work to be done. People are getting hurt every day at the hands of psychiatrists.”

CCHR is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health watchdog. Its mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. CCHR receives reports about abuses in the field of mental health and is especially interested in situations where persons experienced abuse or damage due to a false diagnosis or unwanted and harmful psychiatric treatments, such as psychiatric drugs, electroshock (ECT) and electronic or magnetic brain stimulation (TMS). CCHR is often able to assist with filing complaints, and can work with a person’s attorney to further investigate the case. To contact CCHR Nashville for more information, visit cchrnashville.org.  

The Way to Happiness Association Reminds Everyone to Spread Kindness

The Way to Happiness Association reminds all of Tennessee to spread kindness to one another.

The Way to Happiness Association wants to remind people that we are all in this together, no matter what. The Way to Happiness Association was formed around the book The Way to Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.

The Way to Happiness is filled with twenty-one precepts based on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others. The book begins with a message under the heading Why I Gave You This Book: “Your survival is important to me.”

When copies of this book are widely distributed in communities, crime rates plummet. According to TheWaytoHappiness.org, “We live in a world of increasing immorality and rising criminality. Anyone who has had to rely upon the good will and honesty of others—police, insurance companies, merchants or banks, in particular—have experienced the harm resulting from the lowering levels of morality. The Way to Happiness was written to fill this moral vacuum in society.”

“The best thing to do right now is remember that we are all one community of people and simple acts of kindness go a long way to helping our fellows,” says a volunteer for TWTH-TN. “Let’s take this time to be kind, spread smiles and warmth to one another and remember that we are all human.”

For more information on The Way to Happiness Association, visit twthtn.org.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Tours Dismas House

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

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 meets monthly at rotating locations to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

In early June, RCC Nashville members held their first in person gathering since the COVID outbreak with a tour of Dismas House, which has the mission to “foster community awareness and understanding of the challenges and obstacles formerly incarcerated men face upon reentry by providing a system for personal transformation and growth as they transition back into society,” according to its website. Dismas House operates under the slogan “Dismas is Family,” and welcomes each person into their space as a new member of the Dismas Family, helping all who are under their care so they can make a return to society after incarceration.

“Dismas is doing wonderful things for the community and we were so excited to visit and see their beautiful new facility in person,” says Julie Brinker, Communications Coordinator for the RCC Nashville chapter.

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. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.

Tennessee United For Human Rights Lifts Up All People

Tennessee United for Human Rights wants to lift up all people to bring about change and justice in the world.

“Without freedom to be who you are, freedom itself cannot exist,” says Julie Brinker, Spokesperson for Tennessee United for Human Rights.

TnUHR was formed as a nonprofit public benefit corporation in 2015 to educate Tennesseans on the basic principles and foundations of human rights. It is the local chapter of United for Human Rights, an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its membership is comprised of individuals, educators and groups throughout the world who actively forward the knowledge and protection of human rights by and for all mankind.

During uncertain times where rights are ignored or violated, it is even more important for people to seek out education so they can defend themselves, according to TnUHR. The organization is offering free resources online to educate people on basic human rights using award-winning audio visual messages and downloadable materials.

United for Human Rights was founded on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first such document ever ratified by the community of nations. Then as now, continued worldwide human rights abuses violate the spirit, intent and articles of this charter. United for Human Rights is committed to advancing human rights through education. An understanding of the 30 rights enshrined in the document is the first step to bringing about their broad implementation.

For more information on basic human rights, visit TnUHR.org.