Church of Scientology International Pays Tribute to Scientology Volunteer Ministers

Tens of thousands of Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Australia to England, Russia to the US and dozens of countries in between attended events welcoming in the New Year while celebrating their most accomplished 12 months to date.

“Never have we helped so many people in so many circumstances as in 2005,” said Edward Parkin, the Vice President for Cultural Affairs Church of Scientology International. “Our Volunteer Ministers have delivered 2.8 million hours of one-on-one help in the last 12 months alone. This started right after the Asian tsunami; then at the bomb sites in London; through hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana and Mississippi, all in addition to helping people in every corner of the globe.”

Scientology Volunteer Ministers, with their trademark yellow shirts are made up of people of all ages, professions and backgrounds. They now number 60,000.

“Disaster relief is only one sphere of action. Our aim is to bring compassion, decency and mutual respect in all parts of the world through the practical tools of Scientology,” said Parkin.

To that end the Church has launched Volunteer Minister Goodwill tours with large yellow tents, which introduce people to these simple yet effective techniques to improve their conditions in life. Volunteer Ministers provide short courses such as how to repair a broken marriage, how to learn, how to organize and manage, how to handle stress and many other skills vital to modern day living. These Goodwill tours are currently in Botswana, India, the Baltic countries and South America, while arrangements are being made to add more in South Asia, the South Pacific Islands and Siberia via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The value of these services has been recognized by politicians, police, the military, other relief agencies, civic authorities and most importantly the man in the street. In the words of one mayor whose city had been hit by a disaster, “They have been an invaluable source of information, organizational skills, resources and patience in a time of great difficulty and need here in our city.”

From another perspective, one Volunteer Minister opined, “the pleasure I get from seeing the relief on the face of someone I have just helped over their pain, shock or trauma, is priceless.”

“There is so much needed in the world today by so many that their contribution is very welcome” Parkin stated, “the world needs a hand and we have the technologies of L. Ron Hubbard so that something can be done about it.”

The Churches of Scientology now include over 6,000 groups, missions and Churches in over 156 countries.