The Church of Scientology of Port Elizabeth has completed the purchase of one of the city’s historic landmarks—the United Building on the corner of St Mary’s Terrace and Govan Mbeki Avenue. It will contribute to the area not only by way of the planned restoration and renovation project but also through increased community activities that will now be possible.

The United Building on the corner of St Mary’s Terrace and Govan Mbeki Avenue in Port Elizabeth will be the new regional headquarters for the Scientology religion.

The building will be the regional headquarters for the religion.

This announcement comes on the heals of a recent milestone for Scientology in South Africa: the Commissioner of Revenue recognized the church as a public benefit organization and granted it tax-exemption.

The church has also recently acquired new property in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

Artist’s renderings of the exterior of the building, once renovations are completed.

“We see our investment in Nelson Mandela Bay as a contribution to the uplifting of the area,” said Paul Sondergaard, public affairs director for the religion in South Africa. Sondergaard went on to say that the Church will restore the property to its former glory to add to the heritage of Port Elizabeth. He emphasized that the new building will make it possible to greatly expand the church’s anti-drug and human rights campaigns and provide more assistance to the region through its Scientology Volunteer Ministers—an international help and disaster relief program with a membership of over 100,000 worldwide.

“L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Scientology religion, once wrote, ‘From Southern Africa will spring the next great civilization,’” said Sondergaard, “The Church of Scientology of Port Elizabeth is working with other committed members of our community to bring this about.”

Kyalami Castle now belongs to the Church of Scientology.

“For all African Scientologists, this is a dream finally come true,” said Paul Sondergaard, national Director of the Public Affairs Office. “It means a lot to the future expansion of the Church in Africa.”

The 64,000 square foot castle on 22 acres of land will be providing religious services to people from throughout the Continent. It is the latest acquisition in a long series of 66 buildings the Church has purchased internationally over the past 5 years to accommodate the Church’s expansion.

“But the Kyalami Castle is the best yet,” says Sondergaard, “and a fitting tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Church in Southern Africa.”

Other buildings have been purchased in South Africa over the past year including for the the seven-story St. Georges Center in the heart of Cape Town City for the Church of Scientology of Cape Town, buildings in Morningside for the Church of Scientology of Durban, a new home for the Church of Scientology of Pretoria on Church Street in that city, and a stunning building on the recently renovated Goven Mbeki Avenue for the Church of Scientology of Port Elizabeth. In Johannesburg, the Church has become a prominent feature in the Kensington, Bedforview area, having taken over the old Kensington Golf Club house, which it subsequently expanded and fully renovated.

For those who have questions about the Church, a new video channel has been launched on its official website (www.Scientology.org). The Scientology Video Channel provides a comprehensive overview of the basic beliefs and practices of the religion while answering the question “What is Scientology?” and provides information on the many humanitarian programs sponsored by the Church—programs addressing drug abuse, illiteracy, human rights and disaster relief.

L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, once wrote: “From Southern Africa will spring the next great civilization on this planet….” and African Scientologists feel the acquisition of this new Advanced Organization is a significant step in the accomplishment of this dream.

The Church of Scientology was first established in the United States in 1954, and the first African Church opened in Johannesburg in 1957.

[cited from ScientologyToday]

Observing Los Angeles

Originally uploaded by jetteroheller

Looking down over the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles and Bridge Publications, toward downtown Los Angeles. Taken from Griffith Observatory.

The sky in L.A. has reverted to much of its pre-bushfires smog, as opposed to the thick, smoky haze that had been sitting over the whole city when the fires were at their worst.

Our Scientology Volunteer Ministers were incredibly active with the firefighters on this, as usual, with just about every VM in the San Diego / Los Angeles area participating.

Looking down at the Church of Scientology International Building - zoomed in

Originally uploaded by jetteroheller

The Church of Scientology International, mother church for the Scientology Religion, purchased the Hollywood Guaranty Building in 1988. The building was then restored to its original 1920’s look, and remains an historic landmark of Hollywood.

Housed in the Church of Scientology International building are the key ecclesiastical management bodies of the Church, including Scientology Missions International, which supports Scientology missions in all parts of the world, and the International Scientology Volunteer Minister corps, which provides disaster response actions throughout the world and training for anyone in any group.

The Church of Scientology, Mission of Wichita, Kansas

Originally uploaded by jetteroheller

I did a drive-by of the Church of Scientology, mission of Wichita, Kansas when I was in Wichita for other business. Beautiful place! I got a tour when I went there, and they had big plans for handling the illiteracy problem in Wichita.

Founding Church of Scientology, Washington D.C., on a Snowy Day

Originally uploaded by jetteroheller

The Founding Church of Scientology in Washington D.C., opened up by Mr. David Miscavige in 1995.

On this particular day, DC had only gotten around 5 inches of snow. However, as I think there’s only 2 snowplows in the entire DC-Baltimore metropolitan area, it was enough snow to shut just about everything down to the point where not even Starbucks was open!

Founding Church of Scientology Washington, D.C.

Originally uploaded by tallylibrarian

Here’s a nice photo of the sign of the Founding Church of Scientology in Washignton, D.C. — originally opened in 1954, but re-opened in its present premises by Mr. David Miscavige in 1995.

Town accepts role as Scientology’s mecca - CNN.com

The Church of Scientology in Clearwater, FL was just featured on the CNN home page today, with a great photo of the new building going up in downtown Clearwater.  The Tampa-Clearwater area is now one of the larger concentrations of Scientologists in the world, with the thriving Church of Scientology of Tampa, St. Petersburg Scientology Life Improvement Center, and Plant City Scientology Life Improvement Center. 

Clearwater is also the location where Mr. David Miscavige delivered his historic speech on the release of the Scientology Basics.

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Tags: scientology, clearwater, mecca, david miscavige, tampa

Scientology’s headquarters in Spain

Originally uploaded by John A. Debay

This is an interesting shot I saw of the Church of Scientology in Madrid, Spain. Usually I see these looking like the one on the Spain Scientology site, not like this one here - an entirely different angle.

This is the church that had it’s opening done by Mr. Tom Cruise, as well as Mr. David Miscavige - with much fanfare and excitement, resulting in that church later growing massively and reaching what’s known as “Saint Hill Size“.

All of the hubub about Tom Cruise en Deutschland with his making of the movie Valkyrie has generated waves of people trying to find out what Scientology is.  Odd, seeing as though the film has nothing whatever to do with Scientology, but it doesn’t matter — Mr. Cruise and the religion are inextricably related, and as such people will have questions whenever his name is mentioned.

In Berlin, to meet the demand for knowledge of Scientology, the massive Church of Scientology which was opened in January of this year is now selling German Scientology books on the Internet.  These are the new Scientology Basics by L. Ron Hubbard, released by Mr. David Miscavige in July of this year.

For a beginners’s introduction to Scientology, the best book to start with is Problems of Work (Die Probleme der Arbeit, en Deutsch).  Other titles are available as well, including Dianetics (Dianetik),  and Scientology: Fundamentals of Thought (Scientology: Die Grundlagen des Denkens). 

Each are also available with Extension Courses  you can do in that Church.

These are also avaliable in other German Churches as well, such as the Church of Scientology in Munich.

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Tags: scientology, deutchland, germany, tom cruise, book, david miscavige

Parishioners and staff have been working hand in hand to create the new Church of Scientology of Quebec .  The new church building is in old town in the center of town, with two faces - one on the traditional old town, walking street side, and the other on a more contemporary city street. 

• Scientology in Canada
• Scientology Quebec
• Ideal Scientology Orgs
• This is Scientology - by Mr. David Miscavige

technorati tags:scientology, quebec, canada, ideal, org

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Yet another one from the parade of stunning new Churches of Scientology being constructed around the world, is this one in Sunderland, England.  The Scientology Church in Sunderland, which is now relocating to nearby Newcastle, is expanding is community responsibilities and its size and scope is increasing commensurately. 

With the Church of Scientology London recently being built up as an Ideal Church of Scientology for the UK, other Scientology Churches around the UK are following suit.   Sunderland in particular, as per an answers.com article on such, was once famously hailed as the “Greatest Shipbuilding Town in the World”^[40] , ships were built on the Wear from at least 1346 onwards and by the mid-eighteenth century
Sunderland was one of the chief ship-building towns in the country.

However, the city definitely needs a pick-up and an infusion of administrative technology, as the heavy industry has not kept pace with population, and unemployment has garnered the city with the distinction of being the most “deprived city in northern England”.  This is something any Church of Scientology is well-equipped to handle, and with administrative know-how and management by statistics, as well as the simple Scientology lessons of Communication, this city can turn right around.

technorati tags:scientology, england, sunderland, ideal, org

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An absolutely stunning new Church of Scientology is soon to grace Valencia, Venezuela, where the largest Scientology Church in South America has been experiencing such continuous expansion that they need a new space.

The Valencia Church was proclaimed in 2004 as having achieved what’s known as “Saint Hill Size”, which is where a Scientology church reaches the size and scope of influence of the Scientology Church in England where founder L. Ron Hubbard directly managed the organization in the mid-1960’s.

This distinction was explained in importance by the Mayor of Buffalo, when an Ideal Church of Scientology opened in his city - a grand opening also attended by Scientology leader, Mr. David Miscavige.

Through dedicated work with the community, including groundbreaking campaigns with The Way to Happiness to quell local violence, the Church in Venezuela has more than deserved a new building and will shortly have even that filled to capacity.

References:

• Church of Scientology of Buffalo
• Mayor Anthony Masiello’s speech at the Buffalo Grand Opening, explaining “Saint Hill Size”
  
• Buffalo’s Grand Opening Spech by Mr. David Miscavige
• Ideal Scientology Org Photos
  

technorati tags:scientology, church, saint, hill size, david miscavige, valencia, venezuela

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This was the blog post that put this particular blog on the map.  Back in September of last year, I posted on the new Church of Scientology of Seattle in Washington State, saying that they’d soon have a new building.   That post then ended up on the netscape.com homepage, and next thing I knew I was having to move my blog over to WordPress from Eponym, due to overstepping my bandwidth quota.

Well, here’s another rendering of what will be the stunning new Scientology church in Seattle - one that’s soon to be under construction.

technorati tags:scientology, church, seattle

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New Churches of Scientology are now coming up left, right and centre, with new and rather impressive buildings being planned and built in cities around the world.  An example of this is the new Church of Scientology in Pasadena, California. 

Scientologists call these buildings “Ideal Orgs” or Ideal Scientology Organizations.  This is from an essay L. Ron Hubbard wrote called “The Ideal Org” (which anyone can read from the Scientology Management Series volumes) - an essay outlining all of the functions and actions an Ideal Church of Scientology would be doing, and the responsibility that Church would be taking for its general area.   

These Churches of Scientology (like the Church of Scientology of London, picture above) have many features that enable them to take on such a responsibility.  The first of which are a massive set of displays that explain in audiovisual presentations what exactly Scientology is, and what it is that Scientologists learn and do.   It’s probably the most key thing there is in such a church, as most people know exactly what Christianity is — so such a display isn’t needed at a standard cathedral.  However, just from people I’ve talked to, there are a ton of people with basic question on what Scientology is — something that is answered terribly by random searches on the Internet at this time. 

So, if you want a straight, full answer on what Scientology is, one should definitely step into one of these new Churches.  A list of where they now are is on the Scientology Today website, and in my references section below. 

Additionally, Ideal Scientology churches provide space and facilities for groups to meet, for training sessions to occur on how to be a Scientology Volunteer Minister or to deliver Scientology Marriage Counseling, and so forth.  With ideal premises comes the ability to help the community in the ways that the community needs most — drug education programs, morality programs, etc. 

So, if you have the opportunity, stop in to one of these Churches and see for yourself what Scientology is about. 

References:

Map of Scientology Volunteer Minister Activity in Blacksburg, VA

Originally uploaded by scientologyvm.

A whole Scientology VM team is already on the ground in Blacksburg to help the grief-stricken students and faculty after Monday’s shooting. Many more are needed, however.

A team of 25 VMs are at the University. Another 15 to 20 are about to leave to join them. But 100 VMs are needed on the ground within the next 24 hours.

This tragedy has overwhelmed the students and faculty of the school and the local residents. And the families of the victims are in urgent need of our help.

Scientology VM’s have been asked by the Salvation Army staff, who are manning the official relief center on campus, to provide 24-hour help for the next two days in the form of grief counseling and trauma relief for the parents and families of the victims.

To meet the need and demand for our help 100 VMs are needed immediately. If you can help, call Abby in NY at (212) 757-9615 or cell (646) 235-9994 or Kayleen in DC at (202)797-9826. You can also call the DC Scientology VM Hotline at 1-800-435-7498. You will need take care of your flight and living expenses. Local Scientologists will arrange your accommodations.

Solomon Islands Tsunami — Minister whose church was washed away

Originally uploaded by scientologyvm.

The Minister in the Solomons whose church was washed away by the tsunami on April 2nd. Behind him lies a path the leads to the camp on top of the hill where people are staying.

Taken by the Scientology VM Disaster Response Team which is there now, assisting the people to get back on their feet.

tsunami

Originally uploaded by tutuvatu.

A tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake just off the coast of the Solomon Islands is mobilizing Scientology Volunteer Ministers from the Australia - New Zealand - Oceania area to help in disaster relief efforts.

Donations are needed for this, and are being accepted on the Scientology VM site.

From an article on the recent tsunami:

Gizo resident Judith Kennedy said water “right up to your head” swept through the town.

“All the houses near the sea were flattened,” she told The Associated Press by telephone. “The downtown area is a very big mess from the tsunami and the earthquake,” she added. “A lot of houses have collapsed. The whole town is still shaking” from aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude-8.0 and struck at 7:39 a.m. about 6 miles beneath the sea floor, 217 miles northwest of the capital, Honiara.

The Pacific region from Australia to Hawaii went on high alert for several hours after the quake struck between the islands of Bougainville and New Georgia.

Gizo, a regional center, is just 25 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter.

Anyone who’s ever wanted to train as a Scientology Volunteer Minister is now encouraged to go to the Scientology VM site and let them know you want to help.

The Main Scientology Centre in Africa

Originally uploaded by scientologytoday.

The Church of Scientology of Africa, located in the Kensington neighbourhood of Johannesburg in South Africa, is one of the most gorgeous Churches of Scientology - located on a campus setting as opposed to the more usual downtown location of most Churches.

The Church has also been working with the Foundation for a Drug Free world to help alleviate the various drug problems with marijuana usage that plague South Africa. They’ve been active in many other areas as well - literacy, criminal reform, etc.

Scientology London Academy

Originally uploaded by scientologytoday.

I came across several beautiful photos of the Scientology building in London, so had to share.

This one shows the Academy of the London Scientology organisation, where students train on various Scientology courses to learn the skill of being a Scientology counselor. A wide variety of courses are delivered here, from ones dealing with the specific skills and know-how of Scientology techniques themselves, to courses to better deal with one’s work and work problems, as well as how to communicate with others.

It was the intention when Mr. David Miscavige opened the Scientology London building in October of 2006 that anyone in London could come in and avail themselves of this. Now, with a splendid academy like this, this is possible!