The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Invites Nashville to Green It Up

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee is inviting friends and neighbors to a community cleanup for World Environment Day in June.

In 2016, The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee (TWTH-TN) invited environmental activists and leaders to a roundtable discussion in observance of World Environment Day under the heading “It’s Your City – Green It Up.” This year, TWTH-TN is taking this message to the streets and organizing a cleanup for the day.

The “Green It Up” cleanup will take place on June 3^rd at 10am. Volunteers will meet in the community hall of the Church of Scientology for cleanup supplies, then after the cleanup at 12pm, all volunteers will be treated to lunch at the church where they will be able to learn more about different ways they can improve the environment. TWTH-TN is inviting environmental organizations to have a booth during the lunch hour.

The Way to Happiness Association wants this event to bring people together who care about the environment so they can connect and can do bigger things. TWTH was formed around the book The Way To Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. The Way to Happiness has twenty-one precepts based on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others. One of these precepts is “Safeguard and Improve the Environment,” which takes to heart the care for the planet.

World Environment Day occurs each year on June 5th and is celebrated by the United Nations. According to unep.org, World Environment Day “…has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the ‘people’s day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.”

For more information on “Green It Up,” or if you would like to participate, send an email to twthnashville@gmail.com. 

Nashville Amnesty Group Receives Help from Neighbors to the South

Amnesty International is preparing for a statewide human rights conference at the end of September 2013, and is receiving support from the Southern Regional Office based in Atlanta, GA.

This week the Southern Regional Office for Amnesty International traveled to Tennessee to provide assistance to the Nashville chapter in planning a statewide conference for the end of September.

“This will be the first statewide conference for Amnesty in Tennessee,” says Julie Brinker, co-organizer of the Nashville chapter of Amnesty International. Brinker has been working to promote and educate others on human rights since 2004 when she joined Youth for Human Rights, a program supported by the Church of Scientology.  With nearly ten years of work under her belt, she is a veteran in educating others on their basic human rights, and now she is working to extend that education further through Amnesty International’s conference.

Brinker couldn’t contain her enthusiasm, “All are welcome to attend – if you’re part of Amnesty International already, interested in joining, interested in human rights, or just want to know more – you should be there!”

The conference is set for September 21, 11am – 3pm in the Belmont United Methodist Church Community Center. 

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights.  It is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion, and funded mainly by membership and public donations.  Amnesty International’s vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

For information on how to get involved with the local chapter of Amnesty International, write to amnestynashville@gmail.com.

Church of Scientology Introduces Human Rights Education for Friendship Day

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.”

A newly released brochure, Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights, Making Human Rights a Global Reality, details human rights work done by the Church of Scientology to assist politicians, governments, community activists, schools and religious groups across the world. The brochure further details how communities are using the United for Human Rights program to educate young and old alike on basic rights to which everyone is entitled.

Nashville Church of Scientology Pastor, Rev. Brian Fesler says, “Education is the first step.  People have to know their rights and know that ‘human rights’ as a topic even exists before they can do anything effective about it.”  That is why the Church is hosting a forum in honor of Friendship Day where human rights will be discussed and action steps taken.

The Church is hosting leaders from across Tennessee for a discussion about how to create religious tolerance throughout the state.

“Intolerance and discrimination are a problem in Tennessee, and it will take all of us working together to bring about change,” says Rev. Fesler.

Specific instances of religious intolerance have been directed toward the Muslim community in areas such as Murfreesboro and Columbia, Tennessee.  The group visiting the Church on Friendship Day is working on a project called “Our Muslim Neighbor,” which was created in an effort to combat bigotry toward that community.

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities, according to un.org. It is in this spirit that the group will gather and discuss ways to create peace and unity.

The Church of Scientology supports United for Human Rights, the world’s largest nongovernmental human rights educational campaign. For more information about United for Human Rights or programs supported by the Church of Scientology, visit www.scientology.org.