Religion and Churches News - Page 5

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 7, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — According to a Harris Poll survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, pizza is America’s favorite food. So, in honor of National Pizza Day, celebrated each year on February 9th, you are invited to enjoy a slice with your favorite topping while the Scientology Network serves up an episode of Meet a Scientologist, featuring Jim Johnson, who turned pizza into a way of life.

SOSHANGUVE, South Africa and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 7, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — “I couldn’t just stand by idly while the many children in my community lost hope in education,” says Juliette Mfomadi, principal of Kamogelo Daycare in Soshanguve, South Africa. Deeply concerned about the dropout rate and struggling pupils in her community, she searched for solutions and found the learner support program offered by the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 6, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In an era of increased polarization, rising hate crimes, and social and economic challenges affecting all segments of society, religious leaders gathered at the Church of Scientology to review how religions can work together to improve the quality of life for their congregations and the greater community.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 3, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Many men and women who emigrate from Mexico to America do so not only for the promise of a better life for themselves and their children. They leave to help support families left behind with the dream of one day reuniting under better circumstances either at home or in their adopted country. But in many cases, this means families are separated for decades.

PARIS, France, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 1, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Despite one of the most restrictive drug policies in Europe, France has the highest use of cocaine and second-highest use of cannabis in Europe according to a March 2023 report by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT). But in Paris, drug-prevention volunteers of the Church of Scientology believe drug education can radically change this trend for the better. They are ramping up their Dites Non à la Drogue (Say No to Drugs) campaign to help youth create a better future for themselves.

TAMPA, Fla., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 31, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and Florida is the third-busiest hub for child sex trafficking in the United States. Tampa-based activist Christopher King, United for Human Rights Florida Executive Director and Founder of the nonprofit The Gentlemen’s Course, works to protect youth from being trafficked. How he came to take on this mission is documented in an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., and MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 30, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In a city obsessed with sport, what could be a better location for a Church of Scientology than the original home of the first Aussie rules football team and the site of the first game that team ever played? That is exactly where the Ideal Church of Scientology was dedicated by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige on January 29, 2011.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., and SEATTLE, Wash., Jan. 29, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Sean Burke’s passion is helping others. A lifelong volunteer and a Scientologist since 1987, during the pandemic he worked with a nonprofit formed by top ICU doctors, sharing information on how to properly treat COVID in the hospital and at home. But this year, he decided to focus on another pandemic: The spiraling drug crisis that is affecting youth throughout America.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 27, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Marc Bromberg, a Nonagenarian Scientologist, was 9 when France surrendered to the German forces in June 1940, and 10 when he and his mother were separated from his father. Two years ago, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, in an article in the European Times, Bromberg shared his memories of life under Nazi occupation all those many years ago.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 25, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — When Scoutmaster Marcos Antonio Correia Santos Jr. Googled the question “Is there a way to happiness?” the answer not only changed his own life, it led to a new international movement within Scouting. At the celebration of the 39th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists, Chief Marcos’ story was presented as a stellar example of the impact of The Way to Happiness, the common-sense guide to better living written by L. Ron Hubbard.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 24, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The mangled frame of a silver sedan gleams under the overhead lights in a local body shop, a testament to human capacity for error. Replacing crumpled fenders and shattered windshields is a body shop’s stock in trade, but the owners know these broken cars aren’t just metal and plastic. So when volunteers from Bridge Publications approached body shop owners and managers about displaying sets of The Truth About Drugs from the drug education initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, it not only piqued their interest, it gave them a way to save lives.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. and BUGARAMA, Rwanda, Jan. 23, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Rwanda evokes images of a tragic past marked by ethnic violence. But educator and human rights activist Ladislas Yassin Nkundabanyanga is determined to ensure a peaceful future for the country. He partners with Youth for Human Rights, an educational initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, to protect future generations and create a better life for all.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 22, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It was just under a year ago on February 6, that a 7.8-magnitude earthquake slashed through southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the earthquake displaced or disrupted the lives of 15.73 million people in Syria and Turkey including 2.5 million children. Scientology Volunteer Minister disaster response specialists from Tel Aviv mobilized immediately and were soon joined by VMs from Pakistan, India and the United States.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 20, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — On the bright South African New Year’s Day in 2019, when Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige dedicated the Scientology Advanced Organization and continental headquarters for Africa at Castle Kyalami, “COVID” was an obscure term known only to scientists and public health workers. But it soon entered the world’s vocabulary when the first cases of the virus appeared. COVID-19 arrived in South Africa in March 2020 and the country went into lockdown.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 18, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — With inflation driving up food prices and some 30 percent of Los Angeles County families now experiencing food insecurity, Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles dedicate their Saturday mornings to helping fellow Angelenos cope.

COMMERCE, Calif., Jan. 17, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Not only is the East Los Angeles crime rate higher than the U.S. average, the crimes are often drug-related. To help local vendors and residents cope with this problem, volunteers from Bridge Publications Inc., publisher of the nonfiction works of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, reached out to area food trucks and food stands this week to further extend their drug prevention campaign to the community.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., and BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan. 17, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A Brussels-based drug education and prevention initiative supported by the Church of Scientology is optimistic that drug education can still prevail despite current drug trends. According to the president of Dites Non à La Drogue (Say No to Drugs), Julie Delvaux, the importance and effectiveness of drug prevention has been grossly underestimated.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., and TOKYO, Japan, Jan. 16, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Each year, the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) presents the Freedom Medal to humanitarians whose work materially forwards the Aims of Scientology. These aims, as set forth by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, are: “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where Man is free to rise to greater heights.”

PARIS, France, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 13, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It was in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot on December 10, 1948, that the General Assembly of the fledgling United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Youth for Human Rights, an initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, has as its mission to inspire people to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace by educating them on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

TOKYO, Japan, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 13, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It was no ordinary New Year’s Day for those living in Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture. They would ordinarily spend the day with a prayer for the new year at a temple or by visiting family. This year, on New Year’s Day, faults that lay dormant for more than 3,000 years suddenly triggered a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. More than 200 died and tens of thousands were displaced. Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Tokyo, joined by others from as far away as Pakistan, responded to bring help to Wajima, one of the cities hardest hit by the disaster.

COMMERCE, Calif., Jan. 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Volunteers from Bridge Publications Inc., publishers of L. Ron Hubbard’s nonfiction works, have launched their drug education and prevention campaign for 2024. They are visiting shops and parks and sharing the drug education booklets of the Truth About Drugs campaign with anyone wishing to help take effective action against drug abuse and addiction.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. and BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jan. 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the local chapter of Youth for Human Rights and the Church of Scientology of Budapest organized and hosted a conference to explore the history of human rights and where we go from here.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 10, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Church of Scientology of New Mexico Volunteer Ministers teamed up with the City of Albuquerque Department of Parks and Recreation to clean up and re-mulch a portion of Robinson Park in the downtown core of Albuquerque. The Volunteer Ministers began early Friday morning following a winter storm that blew through the city the day before.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 9, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Church of Scientology Los Angeles Winter Festival on L. Ron Hubbard Way started the new year right with a day filled with fun for the entire family. Despite the 60-degree temperature and clear skies, there was plenty of snow for the slide and the occasional snowball.

BERLIN, Germany, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 8, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Church of Scientology of Berlin held an art exhibition and poetry reading as a living example of Article 19: Freedom of Expression.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. and ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 6, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It was as though the town had been singled out by the ancient Greek Fates. No sooner had they recovered from a devastating flood that all but destroyed the city when the flood waters rose again and inundated the region. Learning the city was without power or clean water after Storm Daniel, the worst storm to hit the region in at least 80 years, Scientology Volunteers Ministers loaded a truck with drinking water, and navigating damaged roads, arrived in the town some 200 miles away with supplies, drinking water and a team of disaster-trained volunteers.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 4, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — As we review Scientology accomplishments of the past year, the awarding of the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) Freedom Medal always looms large. Each year, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige presents this award to persons whose stellar accomplishments have materially advanced the purpose of the IAS.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 3, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — True to the creed of the Church of Scientology, which begins with the belief “That all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights,” the Church supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and sponsors programs to raise awareness of these rights: United for Human Rights and its program for young people Youth for Human Rights. 2023 was the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, and Scientology-sponsored initiatives brought understanding of these rights to “small places, close to home.”

CLEARWATER, Fla. and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 30, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic is a race to save lives. And the message could not be more timely, according to Julieta Santagostino, president of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World Florida, a drug education and prevention initiative supported by the Church of Scientology. “Drugs affect everybody,” she says in an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network.

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 29, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Ten years ago, in December 2013, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige dedicated the Church of Scientology of Kaohsiung. Notwithstanding the joy that accompanies the opening of any new Church of Scientology, this affected not only the people of the city and country, its impact went far beyond.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 28, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Dozens of members of the East Hollywood Oaxacan community walked down L. Ron Hubbard Way this week, dressed in traditional garb, in the third annual La Posada hosted by the Church of Scientology Los Angeles. La Posada, meaning “The Inn” in Spanish, is a religious tradition dating to the 16th century.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 26, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a nonprofit charitable mental health watchdog organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology, is determined to see to the immediate and full implementation of the UN and WHO direction to end psychiatric human rights abuse.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 23, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It was 70-something degrees and clear skies on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But there was a layer of real snow on the ground around Santa’s cabin at L. Ron Hubbard’s Winter Wonderland. This holiday village is a tradition that began in 1983, when author, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard first provided a 60-foot Christmas tree as a gift to the people of Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 22, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The UN’s theme for this year’s World Volunteer Day was ‘the power of collective action.’ And nowhere was that message exemplified more than the collective action of Scientology Volunteer Ministers everywhere in their response to the pandemic.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 21, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — December 10 marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document. In celebration of this milestone, the Church of Scientology of Ventura held a human rights open house and conference featuring guest speaker Regina Hatcher-Crawford, president of Ventura County NAACP. The theme of the presentation was freedom and equality for all.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 20, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — On behalf of U.S. Congressman Luis Correa, his community liaison Ms. Gabriella Lemus presented the Church of Scientology with a certificate of special recognition from the United States House of Representatives in honor of the 40th anniversary of L. Ron Hubbard’s Winter Wonderland.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 19, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Drug abuse and spiking overdose deaths. Failed marriages and broken families. Bullying, corruption and crime. Dead-end careers or jobs that don’t pay the bills or dish out a constant diet of stress. Are these and other issues, conditions and problems simply a fact of life? Or is there a way to take action and change them? Voices for Humanity, an award-winning original series on the Scientology Network, documents how diverse individuals are changing conditions like these and making a difference in their own and others’ lives.

ROME, Italy, Dec. 18, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Church of Scientology of Rome, in coordination with the Association of Arts, Culture and Human Rights, organized a celebration and awards ceremony in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 16, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The holidays should be a time of joy. But challenges, problems and disappointments can cast a pall on the season. The Church of Scientology encourages anyone facing issues that threaten their happiness to take heart. Because, no matter the challenges, Something Can Be Done About It.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 13, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Operation: Do Something About It, the feature-length film that premiered on the Scientology Network this week, documents the work of Scientology Volunteer Ministers across the globe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One of their highest priorities was to help congregations of diverse faiths, ordered closed in the early days of the pandemic, reopen safely to serve their congregations.