Church of Scientology Nashville Spreads Smiles

The Churches of Scientology Disaster Response are known for helping communities during times of emergency, and this has not stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Church’s Volunteer Minister Corps are usually seen wearing bright yellow shirts sporting the unique Scientology Eight-Pointed Cross. This is a unique time wherein Americans are hunkering down in their homes and only go out for essential needs. Therefore, it was important for the church to do help, but in more of a virtual way to help slow the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to lift people up.

First, the Church of Scientology Nashville shared visual resources created by Scientology Media Productions directly on its Facebook page to help enlighten and inform church parishioners and the general public on How to Keep Yourself and Others Well.  This video has been shared on Scientology.org/StayWell as well as the Scientology YouTube Channel where it now has over 1 million views. It’s been shared on social media, and now the Church of Scientology Nashville has added it as a temporary Page Cover to help bring the message even further.

But that’s not all. Just this week, Scientology Media Productions with the help of church parishioners from around the world created a music video titled “Spread a Smile” featuring Chick Corea, Mark Isham, Stanley Clarke, Kate Ceberano, Kerri Kasem, and even the Jive Aces, among many others, all performing from their homes.

The music video is uplifting and encouraging, shining a light during dark times, according to the feedback of community members and parishioners. “I was literally feeling blue this morning and then I saw this and it changed everything,” said Elisabeth from Nashville.

The video ends with the message and hashtag #StayWell.

“This video was beautifully made and makes me smile every time I watch it,” says Julie Brinker, Director of Community Affairs for the Church of Scientology Nashville. “As soon as I saw it, I made sure to share it directly on our local church Facebook page and send to my friends. We’re all in this together.”

The Church has resources available online at Scientology.org/StayWell with information and tips including how to properly put on a mask and how to properly sanitize. “By following the guidelines and precautions in this booklet, you can help prevent the spread of illness and maintain a healthy environment.”

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

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Announces Interfaith Musical Event for 2018

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) has just announced that it will be holding an interfaith musical event in early 2018.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations. Members of the RCC come from many different religions and backgrounds including Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i Faith, Islam and Scientology, among others.

The Nashville Chapter has just announced that it is planning an interfaith musical event for early 2018.  It promises to bring together people of many different faiths for an event of musical and religious harmony.

Rev. Brian Fesler, president of the Nashville chapter and pastor of the Church of Scientology, says, “It has been a professional and personal mission of mine for some time to bring together people of different religious backgrounds for an awe-inspiring musical production. I couldn’t be more excited that we have now set a date and are beginning to bring key players together for this.”

The event will be called “The Spirit of Harmony: An Interfaith Showcase.” Rev. Fesler says the group will be reaching out to any and all religious people to participate, and he hopes to have a very diverse mix.

“We are reaching out as a chapter,” says Rev. Fesler, “this musical production will highlight a wonderful medium of communication which ties into the very fabric of our city.” For more information, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter. 

Nashville Church of Scientology Holds ‘Swing Into Health’ Concert

The Nashville Church of Scientology recently held a community concert in observance of World Health Day, called ‘Swing Into Health.’

When a jump-jive swing band comes rolling through Nashville right around World Health Day, it only makes sense that a concert related to healthy living is in order. And that’s exactly what happened during the second week of April when the Jive Aces visited the Church of Scientology for a community concert. Aptly titled “Swing Into Health,” the concert brought people together for a fun evening where they were able to engage with organizations promoting healthy lifestyles such as being drug-free, doing community gardening and finding affordable healthcare.

The Church of Scientology supports the Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW), which has as its mission to educate people about the dangerous effects of drugs so they understand and can make informed choices on the subject. The local chapter, Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT) hosted the concert to observe World Health Day. 

Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Nashville Church of Scientology, says, “There is a need in our communities to educate everyone on how to be healthy—this includes staying away from illegal drugs, and there are many other aspects to health that people should know. By educating people in a fun, upbeat way, they could be more inclined to make healthier choices.”

The Jive Aces, who headlined the concert, are a six piece swing band that has been together for over a decade. The group has performed at thousands of festivals, theatres and events throughout the UK, Europe and USA, as well as Japan, Israel, South Africa, Morocco and the Caribbean, 30 countries in all. The Jive Aces are renowned for their high energy Jump Jive music (the exciting sound where Swing meets Rock ‘n Roll) and spectacular stage show.

According to jiveaces.com, “Having become the first ever band to reach the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent in 2012 following up with a performance for Her Majesty The Queen as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and performances for both the Olympic and Paralympic celebrations, The Jive Aces have truly established themselves as the UK's top Jive & Swing band.”

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

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. 

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. 

Artlightenment Founder Robyn Morshead to Receive 2015 Aesthetics and Dreams Award

While the Artlightenment Festival began as an artist’s dream to help other artists and promote the art of existence, it is now inspiring countless others in the Music City, and for this reason, the founder of the art show and film festival will be receiving the 2015 Aesthetics and Dreams Award from the Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Nashville.

Artlightenment will hold its 7^th annual festival this year. Robyn Morshead, the festival’s founder and an artist and filmmaker herself, gears the event toward the advancement of every artist and filmmaker who participates or attends.

The festival will run the second weekend of November, from the 12^th - 14^th. As has become custom, there will be a film festival on Thursday and Friday, with the art show formally opening on Saturday at noon. An artist reception will take place Saturday night immediately followed by the awards ceremony and a fashion show.

Morshead will be receiving the Aesthetics and Dreams Award during a private celebration at the end of June for her dedication to helping other artists shine and inspiring a movement which is uplifting Nashville through the arts.

The Artlightenment festival takes place November 12 – 14 at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Nashville, 1130 8th Ave S, and all are welcome. Prospective participants may submit their film or artwork online at artlightenment.com.

Seminar About the Mind Interests Artists at Nashville Church of Scientology

Owen York is an artist with a special mission: “My dream is to bring art back from the dead, by bringing the artist back to life.” This past weekend, he delivered a seminar on the mind to fellow artists. 

The Founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, began his research into the mind when he was in his teen years. Through his travels and discoveries, he compiled the best-selling self-help book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and published it in 1950. Since that time, people from all walks of life have discovered the tools within and used them to help better their lives. Owen York is a Nashville fine artist who believes these tools are of great importance to artists and wants to help others improve their lives.

This past weekend, York delivered his seminar “What You Need to Know About the Mind As an Artist” to a crowd at the Nashville Church of Scientology.  “Artists uplift society,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the church. “Our founder knew that artists influence others and that this could be positive or negative. If artists have are doing well spiritually, they can uplift people and the society will flourish.”

York’s artistic style speaks for itself. His originals, commissions and portraitures have sold nationwide and internationally. He specializes in acrylics & watercolors and his influences include Impressionism, Rock & Roll and commercial Illustration. He has a degree in Illustration from the American Academy of Art in Chicago.

At the seminar, York discussed how to reach one's full potential as an artist, why artists are different from other people, and why it is imperative for artists to know how the mind works.

According to his website, owenyork.com, he has been involved in the arts “literally since Day 1.” As a child, he was recognized for his visual arts abilities, but was also a skilled writer & musician, playing the piano & saxophone and winning contests for young authors. At a young age, he was invited into a special program for the gifted, limited to a handful of those who excelled in the arts. He has also worked as an actor for TV, commercial, film & radio for stations including The History Channel, HSN and The Weather Channel. Despite these adventures in the various arts, York is a fine artist at heart.

To find out more about the Church of Scientology’s seminars, call 615-687-4600. For more information about Owen York or his artwork, visit owenyork.com.

The Way to Happiness Plans Summer of Events

“In early summer, kids are just getting out of school and want to have some fun,” says Chris Hays who coordinates the Way to Happiness locally, “but near the end of summer, they need some activities and some good direction as they are heading back to school. That’s why we have lined up events for August this year.”

The first event the Way to Happiness (TWTH) will participate in is National Night Out Against Crime, an event created by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW).

NATW is, according to its website, “a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and promotion of various crime prevention programs including neighborhood watch groups, law enforcement agencies, state and regional crime prevention associations, businesses, civic groups, and individuals, devoted to safer communities.”

In Nashville, National Night Out is celebrated in neighborhoods across the city. The Way to Happiness will participate by distributing informational booklets. “We distribute booklets that contain a moral guide to better living,” says Hays.

The Way to Happiness booklets have been distributed around the world since 1981 when it was written.  It is has been found that where the booklets are distributed, crime rates drop.

TWTH has also made plans for a community-wide distribution in late August.  Group members will team up with friends to pass out the booklet to every household in select Nashville neighborhoods. Hays is excited about this project, “We are so excited to make this happen. We aim to serve entire neighborhoods with this program!”

For more information about The Way to Happiness, visit thewaytohappiness.org or email twthnashville@gmail.com to learn about local activities.