Concert for Peace Organized by Tennessee United for Human Rights is ‘Blow Away’

Tennessee United for Human Rights recently celebrated the International Day of Peace with a concert in East Nashville. Held at the Pavilion East on Fatherland Street, the show featured several musicians and singer/songwriters performing songs of love, peace and unity.

“‘Partnerships for Peace-Dignity for All’ is the UN theme this year, and that’s what this concert is all about--human relations and individual dignity,” said Brian Fesler, coordinator of Tennessee United for Human Rights.  

Concert attendees enjoyed Americana singer/songwriter Jon Statham, while children did art projects, got their faces painted and played in a bouncy house. Veterans for Peace alongside Tennessee United for Human Rights volunteers passed out information and had concert attendees sign petitions to government asking for the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Following Statham was Joseph Bell, the front man of the critically acclaimed “Who’s Bad” Michael Jackson Tribute Tour, and Bianca Moon, an Emmy-nominated songwriter, recognized for her song “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Dove Award Nominee and Gospel Pop Artist T-Ran Gilbert performed original songs including his hits “Need You Now,” and “Breathe.” Then religious leaders took the stage for a World Prayer for Peace.

Closing out the night, American songwriting icon Melanie performed to tumultuous applause and a captivated audience. Melanie is best known for her hit songs “Brand New Key” and “What Have they Done to My Song, Ma?” She was also an original performer at Woodstock and an ambassador for the United Nations in the 1970s.  At the end of the night, everyone was led by Melanie to light a candle for peace.

For more information, visit TennesseeHumanRights.org.

Community Comes Together in the Name of Peace at Nashville Church of Scientology

The Nashville Church of Scientology joined Churches of Scientology on six continents and hundreds of like-minded groups around the world in promoting International Day of Peace and its message, “Partnership for Peace—Dignity for All.”

The Nashville Church of Scientology hosted an International Day of Peace Open House and Forum September 21, a day set aside by the United Nations for “strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.”

Rev. Brian Fesler, senior pastor of the Nashville Church, welcomed everyone, “Thank you all for coming--just by your presence at this event, you are showing a deep commitment to human rights and peace.”

The theme of this year’s International Day of Peace is “Partnerships for Peace—Dignity for All,” and the Church was honored to host a forum on human trafficking in partnership with community, civic and religious leaders.

The forum was titled “Exposing the Hidden World of Human Trafficking” and brought together a panel of local and international human rights advocates who fight this problem on a daily basis.

Panel members included Clemmie Greenlee, Founder of the Nashville Peacemakers who spoke to the many victims of human trafficking; Melody Fowler-Green, Director of the Metro Human Relations Commission who spoke to slave labor in the 21st century; Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade spoke to the work of the DA’s office; Allasone Lita G., CEO and Founder of All Is One spoke about hope for a new generation; and Gabrielle Thompson, Executive Director of Free for Life International spoke about how to restore lives across the globe.

Rev. Fesler presented an overview of the Church-supported United for Human Rights initiative. He played the public service announcement for Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 4, “No Slavery,” and article 1, “We are all born free and equal,” and described the United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights education curricula and the results Church volunteers have achieved through making these materials broadly available. “Working together, we can make a difference,” said Fesler.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document. To learn more, visit www.Scientology.org/humanrights.

United for Human Rights Holds Concert for Peace

“How important are human rights? Long before the phrase “human rights” came into existence, men and women fought and died for basic human freedoms,” according to humanrights.com. Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. So it is that an international organization is bringing human rights to life through a series of events, audiovisual presentations, forums, concerts and more.

United for Human Rights is a non-profit organization, formed on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to provide human rights resources and educational materials to all sectors of society. Its Tennessee chapter is creating a series of events to mark “Peace Day” in Nashville, Tennessee on September 21st.

The main event is a concert for peace in East Nashville at the Pavilion East on Fatherland Street. It begins at 4:00 pm with Americana singer/songwriter Jon Statham taking the stage. That is also the time that several children’s activities start up including free face painting, art projects and a bouncy house for small children. Non-profit booths will open at this time and will pass out peace-related messages.

At 4:30 pm, Joseph Bell, the front man of the critically acclaimed Who’s Bad Michael Jackson Tribute Tour will perform, followed by Bianca Moon at 5:00 pm. Moon is an Emmy-nominated songwriter, recognized for her song The Bold and the Beautiful.

At 5:30 pm, Dove Award Nominee and Gospel Pop Artist T-Ran Gilbert will perform original songs. Then at 6:00 pm, human rights education hour begins, first with a ten-minute documentary on the history of human rights followed by thirty public service messages that depict each point of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Immediately after this educational piece, religious leaders from the area will join Father Joseph Breen on stage as he delivers a World Prayer for Peace.

During human rights education hour, free BBQ sliders will be given out.

At 7:00 pm, American songwriting icon Melanie performs. Melanie is best known for her hit songs “Brand New Key” and “What Have they Done to My Song, Ma?” She was also an original performer at Woodstock.  To close out the show, all guests will be encouraged to light a candle for peace with Melanie.

For more information about the Peace Day concert, visit peacedayconcert.org. 

Church of Scientology to Host Eye-Opening Panel Discussion on Human Trafficking

According to EndSlaveryTN.org, there are 94 children trafficked in Tennessee every month. Human rights advocates agree this must end, but it starts with educating the general population that it is happening.

To that end, the Church of Scientology will host the community for a panel discussion on this topic on September 21st which is also the International Day of Peace. According to internationaldayofpeace.org, the United Nations General Assembly declared September 21 as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

Organizations coming together for this event include Free for Life International, the Nashville Peacemakers, Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and more.

The panel discussion will center around the theme “Exposing the Hidden World of Human Trafficking.” It will bring together people that work day in and day out on eradicating the problem, including panelists Clemmie Greenlee, Founder of the Nashville Peacemakers; Melody Fowler-Green, Director of the Metro Human Relations Commission; Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade; Allasone Lita G., CEO and Founder of All Is One; and Gabrielle Thompson, Executive Director of Free for Life International. 

Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology says, “The purpose of this discussion is to educate people about the issue in the context of human rights. No man, woman or child should ever have to endure such a situation. We want to make people aware, show what they can do to help end this problem.”

For more information, visit nashvillehumanrights.org.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Discusses Faith, Politics

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) was formed in the 1920s to promote “excellence in the communication of religious faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups,” according to the RCC website.  Now the group has begun meeting bi-monthly to discuss hot topics in the media and how they can relate.

RCC is the oldest interfaith communications organization in the United States. In Nashville, the RCC Chapter has adjusted the style of meetings to maintain the organization’s historic integrity while adjusting to 21st century ideals.

The meeting began with a welcome from the chapter president, Rev. Brian Fesler who pastors the Nashville Church of Scientology. He opened with a message of the role of the religious communicator in the world and how it’s important to spread the good news of people of faith, to outweigh the negative influence of mainstream media.

The group then voted on the hot news item to discuss and launched into meaningful talks on how clergy should or should not be involved in the political process, citing a recent editorial in the Tennessean by a local pastor discussing his views on the same.

This new meeting series is called “Building Bridges over Bagels,” drawing attention to making strong and lasting ties between people of faith while breaking bread together.  According to Fesler, the concept for these meetings is “to bring diverse people together to dialogue about hot topics and how we can unite to bring more inspiration and good news to the world.” It is organized for RCC members and guests, but is open to anyone in the community who may be interested.

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

Planning for Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day is Underway

The planning committee for the Tennessee celebration of International Human Rights Day is preparing for the 2015 event.

Each year, Tennesseans gather to celebrate the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations on Dec 10, originally signed in 1948. “Human Rights Day means acknowledging the leaders of the past while encouraging others to take up the torch for the future,” says planning committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology.

The celebration centers around the Human Rights Lifetime Achievement awards and the Rising Advocate Award.  Last year awardees in this category were Father Joseph Breen, formerly of St. Edward Church who is known widely for his work to strike down the 2009 “English Only” proposition in Nashville; and First Baptist Church Capitol Hill which has long served as a beacon for the civil rights movement.

“Rising Advocate” awards were given to individuals who are relatively new to the field of human rights and show great promise for the future.  They went to Eben Cathey with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and Daynise Joseph, formerly with Organized Neighbors of Edgehill.

The Committee also revealed a new award: the Outstanding Service for Human Rights Award. Recipients of this honor included Yuri Cunza with the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Avi Poster who has championed immigrant rights for years.

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 in the planning may contact the organizer through www.nashvillehumanrights.org. 

Artlightenment Festival Announces 2015 Theme

Artlightenment takes place in November at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Nashville and organizers have just announced theme for the 2015 event.

The Artlightenment festival is an annual tradition in Music City which combines all modern forms of the arts into one explosive event in November. 2015 will see the seventh year of the festival which continues to grow and change while inviting even greater participation from the area.

Organizers of the 2015 event have just announced the theme Music City Mystique: Behind the Art. It will take place from the art opening on November 7^th through the awards ceremony and fashion show on November 14^th.  The film festival will be Nov 12-14^th, and the complete schedule can be seen at artlightenment.com.

According to the Artlightenment website, the festival was created from 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.