5,000 Attend Inglewood Scientology Church Opening

November 17, 2011 By scientologyb Leave a Comment

INGLEWOOD — The city’s newest — and by far the grandest — church, is open for business.

On Nov. 5, 5,000 Scientologists, guests and city officials converged at 315 S. Market St. for the dedication of the Church of Scientology.

The site of a former retail jewelry store, the 45,000-square-foot building has undergone a $5 million refit. It is one of 60 — there have been five new buildings open in the greater Los Angeles area since 2010 — new churches the organization is building around the world.

The controversial organization — which some have likened to a cult — teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature.

Through a method of spiritual rehabilitation known as “auditing,” practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects.

Those welcoming the new Church, included Councilman Ralph Franklin, Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks, Los Angeles NAACP President Leon Jenkins, Skipp Townsend, executive director of the gang intervention group 2nd Call and the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired head of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles and currently a professor of religious studies at USC.

The dedication ceremony was officiated by David Miscavige, chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.

“This new Church of Scientology is quite literally imbued with contributions and global spirit of Scientologists from more than 100 nations,” Miscavige said.

“In that respect, it reflects the greater shape of Scientology — both body and soul. Moreover, it reflects the attributes of greatness all religions traditionally sought to inspire, including decency, nobility, compassion and charity.”

Meanwhile, Franklin spoke of his gratitude that the new church would help revitalize the downtown Market Street corridor.

“I for one am very excited about your move to your new home,” Franklin said. “Thank you for being our anchor to Market Street. You are helping revitalize downtown and offering a platform from which we can make a segue into our great future.”

He added: “I have faith that your presence will be a catalyst for this city’s renaissance. And so it is with great pleasure that on behalf of all of us here in the city of Inglewood I say congratulations on your new home.”

As it happened, the media were not actually invited to Saturday’s event, but Erin Banks, of the Church of Scientology International, and Patricia Harris, the Inglewood Church’s director of public affairs, gave The Wave a guided tour of the facilities Monday.

Banks took a reporter through the three-story building — adorned with many  examples of African art — beginning with the welcome reception and public information center, the chapel, the Dianetics and Scientology Bookstore, the Purification Center, the Scientology Course Room and the Office of L. Ron Hubbard.

According to Banks, all the churches have an office dedicated to the Scientology founder as a mark of respect and tribute to stay true to his writings and teaching.

She also pointed to key programs that the church sponsors, like the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and United for Human Rights.

“The church is here for the community and to help people,” she said.

“Parishioners from all over the world helped to put this here and we’re really proud that we did that. I encourage people to just come in and found out for themselves. Check it out, our doors are always open, it doesn’t matter whether your Christian, Baptist or Muslim.”

 

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Church of Scientology moves to Inglewood

November 15, 2011 By scientologyb Leave a Comment

Article republished from the Daily Breeze

By Melissa Evans, Staff Writer


In a stretch of downtown Inglewood dotted with shuttered shops and discount stores sits a gleaming new anomaly: a 45,000-square-foot edifice that will serve as the Church of Scientology’s South Bay hub.

The church, founded by the late L. Ron Hubbard, bought the vacant building in 2007, fought with the city over whether it could open on South Market Street, and recently showed off the renovated, high-tech center to 5,000 Scientologists, community members and local politicians.

“We are looking forward to being part of this community,” Erin Banks, a spokeswoman for the church, said during a recent tour.

It is now the third Scientology church to open in the Greater Los Angeles area, with the other facilities on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and in Pasadena. Also this month, the church opened its first community center, housed in a 1930s-era art deco landmark on Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles.

Both of the new locations were restored and completely renovated. By most measures, the Inglewood facility is not a traditional church.

The building, a former jewelry store that sat vacant for 12 years, includes meeting rooms, offices, a sauna used for religious purposes, a basement bookstore featuring Hubbard’s vast works – most available in audio and video format – and a 1,855-square-foot chapel.

Upon entering, visitors are ushered into a spacious education area with a cafe, pleasant decor and about a dozen flat-screen

monitors and video consoles, each with their own cushioned seating bench, offering information on the church’s work around the globe, its public service projects, history, tenets and brief biographies of members in various professions across the country.

The church also has embarked on a similar public relations effort to media and others, sending regular emails about Scientologists and how they use the religious program in their work and family.

The church often has been associated with Hollywood celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley and John Travolta, and has been the subject of controversy over the years. But Banks said the primary goal of the educational materials is “to make (Scientology) real for people. We want to show how this works in people’s lives, in their families and how they put this to use at work.”

The church describes itself as “a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.”

The philosophy and practices of the faith are based on Hubbard’s 1950 book, “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.” The Inglewood center includes a display and timeline of Hubbard’s life, along with a replica of his office.

The program involves addressing irrational fears and trauma from the past through “auditing” sessions with trained facilitators who measure points of stress with a device called an e-meter. The goal is to delve into the subconscious and become clear of reactive inclinations, addressing eight dynamics beginning with self and ending with the Supreme Being.

The program also includes classes on everyday skills such as communication, marriage, ethics, family and self-fulfillment. The sauna and exercise area is used to rid the body of physical toxins such as smog, medications, drugs and alcohol.

The church has been criticized for the price of its programs, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year, depending on how often they are utilized. Classes and community programs, however, cost as little as $50, Banks said.

Asked why the church chose to locate in a low-income area, Banks said it will serve Scientologists in all parts of the South Bay, and intends to help improve the area.

Frizell Clegg, director of community affairs, added that Hubbard had a special mission to reach the black community, which he hopes to empower through his self-improvement programs.

“He saw a lot of potential in this community,” said Clegg, who is black.

Raised a Baptist, Clegg said he joined the church about 40 years ago after strolling by a storefront Scientology center and taking a personality test. The man who administered the test knew that Clegg lied on the test – a fact that impressed him.

“He knew I wasn’t being honest,” he said. “But he really took interest in me. I never forgot that.”

The church, in particular, touts its Drug-Free World program, a global humanitarian effort aimed at troubled youth. The new community center in South Los Angeles – former home of Hattam’s Market and later Pepperdine University’s administration offices – will offer a number of other programs for young people, including tutoring and ethics classes.

Police officials and city leaders, including Inglewood Councilman Ralph Franklin, attended the grand opening of the church and touted its programs and presence in downtown.

Franklin acknowledged, however, that the city questioned whether the church fit into the scheme of its downtown vision. The city’s Planning Commission rejected the project in 2010, citing issues such as lack of parking and inconsistency with the business and retail mix of the area.

But a year ago, the City Council unanimously reversed that decision.

“After meeting with them, it was determined that they do have a strong market there,” Franklin said. “Downtown Inglewood is the hub of the city, and it would be an opportunity for them to reach out and address the ills of the city, and help with people’s mindset.”

The church actually outbid the city itself to buy the vacant building in 2007. Inglewood officials had hoped to attract a retail anchor or mixed-use housing development for the site.

But given the down economy, officials said they were pleased to have a tenant make improvements to the building. The church is tax-exempt as a religious entity, but will pay sales tax on books it sells to the public.

Former Mayor and Councilman Danny Tabor, who was on the council when it approved the project, said the city also was obligated to approve the project because of federal laws that ensure religious groups aren’t discriminated against in land-use decisions.

After a decadeslong battle with the Internal Revenue Service, the Church of Scientology and its affiliated corporations were granted tax-exempt status as a religious group in 1993.

“It is an attractive building,” Tabor said. “We are hoping their investment will stimulate other investments in the downtown area.”

The church will be open seven days a week, from 9:30a.m. to 10 p.m. on week days, and will be staffed by 175 church members, paid staff members and volunteers.

“We think this is a great location for people to come in off the street, get information, use our facilities,” Banks said. “We want to become part of this community.”

melissa.evans@dailybreeze.com

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Church of Scientology Celebrates the Opening of an Entirely New Church in Inglewood and Community Center in South Los Angeles

November 8, 2011 By scientologyb Leave a Comment
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA • NOVEMBER 5, 2011 |


5,000 Scientologists, guests and city officials gathered Saturday November 5, for the dedication of an entirely new Church of Scientology and Church of Scientology Community Center. The Church stands in the heart of downtown, at 315 South Market Street, and reflects the growth of a new Scientology congregation amongst these communities. The neighboring Community Center stands just a few minutes away in South Los Angeles, at 8039 South Vermont Avenue. Together this Church and Community Center provide for all Scientology religious services as well as its many humanitarian initiatives and social betterment programs for the benefit of Inglewood and South Los Angeles.

The new Inglewood Church of Scientology on South Market Street houses a Public Information Center presenting the beliefs and practices of the Scientology religion as well as the life and legacy of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. The Information Center further provides an overview of the many Church-sponsored humanitarian programs. These programs include a worldwide human rights initiative, an equally far-ranging drug education and prevention campaign, global networks of literacy and learning centers and the Scientology Volunteer Minister program now comprising the largest independent relief force on Earth. The Information Center’s multimedia displays include nearly 500 documentary films.

The new Community Center on Vermont Avenue is housed in an historic art deco landmark that dates from the early 1930s and which the Church has meticulously restored. It features a 380-seat event hall, the L. Ron Hubbard Community Auditorium, designed for community events and as a meeting ground for residents of all denominations. In that respect, it is a venue dedicated to community-wide initiatives in the spirit of the Founder’s vision of all church denominations working together to achieve the common dream of all religions. The Center further features numerous classrooms and seminar facilities for a full range of civic programs, including a complete literacy and tutoring center.

Marking the significance of the occasion, Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, officiated at the ceremony. In pointing to what this day represents, Mr. Miscavige stated:

“This new Church of Scientology is quite literally imbued with the contributions and global spirit of Scientologists from more than a hundred nations. In that respect, it reflects the greater shape of Scientology—both body and soul. Moreover, it reflects the attributes of greatness all religions traditionally sought to inspire, including decency, nobility, compassion and charity. And that’s also the spirit in which we provide our new Community Center, open for use by one and all, for the benefit of all its residents.”

Welcoming the new Church were Inglewood City Councilmember, Ralph Franklin; Inglewood Chief of Police, Jacqueline Seabrooks; President of NAACP Los Angeles, Leon Jenkins; Executive Director of the gang intervention group 2nd Call, Skipp Townsend; and Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired head of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles and now Professor of Religious Studies at USC.

City Councilmember Ralph Franklin welcomed the new Church: “I for one am very excited about your move to your new home. Thank you for being our anchor to Market Street. You are helping revitalize downtown and offering us a platform from which we can make a segue into our greater future. I have faith that your presence will be the catalyst for this city’s renaissance. And so it is with great pleasure that on behalf of all of us here in the City of Inglewood I say congratulations on your new home and welcome to the family.”

Chief of Police Jacqueline Seabrooks spoke of the solutions offered by the Church’s anti-drug initiative: “I have been aware of your Drug-Free World program and know that this program has been supported by various entities here in Inglewood and in the larger environment. I must say that I am impressed by your dedicated initiative to ensure ‘The Truth About Drugs’ message is made available to everyone. Your volunteers are an active force, distributing educational materials and holding drug education seminars. Your colorful, information booklets are popular and effective. Because I have a strong background in education, I admire what you’ve done and what you continue to do to bring the drug abuse issue into the educational arena.”

Los Angeles NAACP President Leon Jenkins recognized the effectiveness of the Church’s human rights programs: “The Church of Scientology is taking an instrumental role in the change we need because what your Church does is address the individual. You know that everybody is different. That’s why your human rights program speaks to every one of us. And one by one you are helping to bring about a just society that can live in harmony together. The Church sets a standard for others in religion and in human rights. I think there are quite some groups that could take a lesson or two from you all. My hat is off to you for that.”

Executive Director of 2nd Call, Skipp Townsend, acknowledged the empowerment that comes from the Church’s programs: “We are grateful that the Church of Scientology is here and provides a stream of resources to the City of Inglewood. Your church is an open door to those individuals who seek betterment in the community. The beauty of it is that the Church has both developed a community and opened the doors to the community. That’s not just development, that’s empowerment. You empower the people. And I am sure the Church will continue the empowerment process by leaving the door open, so they can come in and get the resources and benefits you have to offer.”

Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired head of the First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles and now Professor of Religious Studies at USC, expressed highest regard for Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology: “My friends, this new Church is an opportunity to make change. I encourage you, the community, to take full advantage. L. Ron Hubbard was a genius of a man who could say, ‘Here’s the problem, here’s the solution, and here are the details of how you achieve that solution.’ Well here is a mansion that has been constructed by L. Ron Hubbard, an architect of the soul and a designer of dreams. Our challenge is to make use of what we have been given. I am so very thankful for what you bring us today. God bless you all.”

_________________

Church of Scientology Ideal Orgs realize the fulfillment of Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s vision for the religion. Ideal Orgs not only provide the ideal facilities to service Scientologists on their spiritual ascent, but they are also designed to serve as a home for the entire community and a meeting ground of cooperative effort to uplift citizens of all denominations.

The Church of Scientology of Inglewood is the third Ideal Org to open in the Greater Los Angeles area since 2010. Other Ideal Churches of Scientology opened in 2011 include:

For a complete list of new Churches of Scientology, visit Scientology.org.

_________________

The Scientology religion was founded by author

and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 and the religion has expanded to more than 9,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 165 countries.

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