Anniversary of the new Church of Scientology Dallas, Texas

The Church of Scientology of Dallas recently opened its new home to parishioners, dignitaries and their guests, with Texas cowboy fanfare and an invitation to all to find out for themselves the answer to the often-asked question, “What is Scientology?”

On a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon in April 2009, the Church of Scientology, in the Las Colinas community of the city of Irving, welcomed more than a thousand dignitaries and visitors to the grand opening of its new Church of Scientology.

To dedicate the Church, Mr. David Miscavige took the stage to place the day in a still greater historical context:

"The fact is that all we have accomplished in our formative years was the dream that we could one day expand to such a degree that our organizations would rise to the level of the technology itself, that they would embody what appears in L. Ron Hubbard’s technology and policy. Well, that goal is now within our reach. The momentum is building for a future more glorious than ever imagined.

"And while Texas is known for expansive dreams and a spirit of independence, let her now fulfill those dreams with total spiritual freedom. And so it is today we give her the gift of our new Church, which we offer as her home and by which we extend the gift of immortality."

And as the ribbon came down, Scientologists and friends, old and new, entered the new home of Scientology in Texas.

“We are very happy about our move to Irving,” said Dallas Church President Mr. Arlo Ihrig. “This central location makes it possible for us to reach out to more communities and to extend our help across a broader range of demographics in Dallas county and beyond.” The Church of Scientology of Dallas supervises Scientology activities for northern Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

The new Church of Scientology of Dallas represents more than four decades of growth of Scientology in Texas since the first Church of Scientology was founded there in 1967.

The new Church of Scientology of Dallas is a reflection of the world scope of Scientology today, which comprises nearly 8,000 churches, missions and groups across 164 nations. Each is dedicated to achieving the Aims of Scientology, as expressed by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard: “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.”

The Church of Scientology of Dallas welcomes visitors seven days a week from 9:00 am to 10:30 pm and provides walk-in or scheduled tours at any time. For more information on the Church and its programs call (214) 524-5300 or visit its web site at www.scientology-dallas.org or the official Scientology web site.

Who is David Miscavige? - A Biography

David Miscavige at The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles - Grand Opening

David Miscavige's Biography was updated with an article about his presence at the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles Grand Opening on 24 April 2010.

Who is David Miscavige? - A Biography

David Miscavige speaks at Grand Opening of the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles

World’s first Church of Scientology, formed in 1954, now joins a global roster of Ideal Churches of Scientology, poised to serve its growing congregation and the community for the coming decades.

LOS ANGELES—With a fanfare of trumpets and balloons floating aloft, 6,000 parishioners and guests cheered as the ribbon was cut, opening the new Church of Scientology of Los Angeles on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, officiated at the ceremony dedicating the new Church, joined by parishioners and Los Angeles-area officials.

The ceremony marked the conclusion of the fullscale redesign and construction of the Church’s 64,571-square-foot property at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and L. Ron Hubbard Way, now fully reconfigured as an ideal Church of Scientology which also serves as a training center for Church executives and staff from around the world.

Describing the significance of the occasion, Mr. Miscavige said: “Today marks a milestone step in our planetary crusade to bring on our help on a truly global scale—so that one day there is no crime, no war, no insanity, a world in which Man is free to rise to greater heights.”

In describing the significance of the city of Los Angeles to Scientologists, Mr. Miscavige said: “It’s the city where the Church of Scientology was first incorporated in 1954. While even more than that, it’s the city with the largest concentration of Scientologists on Earth.”

Also commemorating the occasion was Ms. Karen Bass, Speaker Emeritus of the California State Assembly: “As a public servant, I try to do everything in my power to give a voice to the voiceless, and to guarantee that no one goes unheard. But through human rights education, we empower everyone to lift their voice and to be heard. The Church of Scientology I know has made a difference, because your Creed is a universal creed and one that speaks to all people everywhere.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged the actions of the Church and its members: “You have been consistently reliable in helping me to achieve my goal for a safer Los Angeles County. In particular, your drug education means everything to the safety of our schools and neighborhoods. That is why we trained a corps of our own deputies in the use of your unbeatable program, so I want to thank each and every one of you for everything you do in helping me do my job—because today, crime in Los Angeles is at its lowest in 40 years.”

Los Angeles City Council member Paul Koretz spoke of the Church’s place in the rebirth of Hollywood: “Those of us in the City long had a dream for Hollywood. It was for a Phoenix to rise from the ashes, after decades of decline. We needed to transform Hollywood with a cultural revitalization, one that would then ripple out across all of LA. What we are witnessing here is the essence of that Hollywood transformation. Because if ever today there is an example of making this the city of our dreams, it is the Church of Scientology.”

“This striking Church and the complex extending south behind us were once the imposing Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, crafted 80 years ago in the height of the Art Deco period of American architecture. In renovating this landmark, you have gone beyond all of our expectations for what the new Hollywood can be.”

Drawing from those Art Deco roots of 1920s Los Angeles, the fully reconstructed Church evokes the architectural revolution that contributed to putting the home city of the first Church of Scientology on the planetary cultural map.

In addition to an expansive Chapel are many unique elements including an extensive public information area of 20 multimedia displays, a library, seminar rooms, film rooms, volunteer workspaces for its many social and community programs and projects, as well as course rooms that seat over 480, with 35 rooms especially appointed for the religion’s one-on-one spiritual counseling.

Formerly a functional building annexed to the 1928 Art Deco Cedars of Lebanon Hospital buildings designed by Claud Beelman, the massive reconstruction began in November 2009 and encompasses new walls, all new ceilings and finishes, as well as furniture constructed in-house at the Church’s state-of-the-art custom mill with imported wood and marble from Italy.

The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles was incorporated in 1954 as the first Scientology Church in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area is the seat of the religion’s Mother Church, Church of Scientology International, and Bridge Publications who publish and disseminate Mr. Hubbard’s books and recorded lectures for all of North America. Worldwide, there are more than 8,500 Scientology Churches, Missions and affiliated groups in 165 countries.

Los Angeles is the fourth new Church of Scientology opened in 2010 and the ninth in the past year. The Brussels branch of Churches of Scientology for Europe was opened January 23. The Church of Scientology of Quebec was dedicated January 30, the first new major Church to open in Canada, and the Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre of Las Vegas opened February 6. In October 2009, two major Churches were opened: the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, DC, and the Church of Scientology of Rome. In April 2009, Scientology Churches in Nashville, Dallas, and Malmo, Sweden, were opened.

These Churches join the roster of new Churches of Scientology in the world’s cultural capitals, including the National Church of Scientology of Spain in Madrid’s Neighborhood of Letters; the Church of Scientology of New York, just off Times Square; the Church of Scientology of San Francisco in the original historic Transamerica Building; the Church of Scientology of London, located in the epicenter of the city; and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate. Another 10 new Churches of Scientology are scheduled for completion before the end of 2010.

Who is David Miscavige? - A Biography

Las Vegas: New Scientology church offers public information center to explain Scientology

With its dedication of the new Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre Las Vegas last month, the Church of Scientology International is poised to assume a higher profile in Southern Nevada than it has during its 40-year-long presence here.

Tommy Davis, spokesman for the Church of Scientology International, notes the Las Vegas center is the eighth new church the denomination has opened in the past 12 months, and that more than a dozen others are scheduled to open this year.

The churches are part of Scientology ecclesiastical leader David Miscavige’s goal of establishing “very public, open churches” where those who aren’t familiar with Scientology may learn about it, Davis says.

“It’s just really going out there and saying: ‘Here we are. This is what we believe. Come in and see for yourself and make your own decision,’ ” he says.

The new church, at 2761 Emerson Ave. — formerly the home of Congregation Ner Tamid — now serves as Scientology’s Southern Nevada home. Church spokeswoman Jessica Feshbach estimates that the local church has “a couple thousand members.”

The Las Vegas facility also is designated as a “celebrity center,” the church’s name for facilities that are designed to serve the needs of performers and artists through specialized classes and such amenities as private entrances. Celebrity centers are, the church says, a product of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s high regard for artists and the role they play in society.

For nonmembers, the church’s most prominent feature is a public information center that features audiovisual displays, films and other aids that tell of the church, its history and beliefs, and its work in such areas as promoting human rights and combating substance abuse.

The 40,000-square-foot church also houses a chapel where Sunday services and such activities as weddings are held. Feshbach says Sunday sermons typically revolve around Hubbard’s writings, lectures, and audiotaped and videotaped messages .

There is a facility for “purification rundowns,” which are vitamin, exercise and sauna regimens members take to rid their bodies of toxins and drugs which, Hubbard believed, impede mental and spiritual growth.

And, there are study rooms where members take classes to learn about Hubbard’s work.

Davis says the cost of courses — which cover such topics as child-raising, communication and personal values and integrity — typically range from $50 to several hundred dollars, depending on a course’s intensity and length.

The center also is equipped with counseling rooms, where members participate in a process called auditing, a form of spiritual counseling. During auditing, members seek to uncover unconscious memories that, Scientologists believe, prevent a person from realizing his or her full potential.

Such memories are uncovered using a device called an E-meter. It is, Davis says, “a fundamental principle of our religion, which is largely a scientific concept, that thoughts have actual mass or weight.” The E-meter, in conjunction with an auditor’s questioning, reveal physiological reactions “just below their level of awareness” that, with the help of a counselor, a person may eliminate.

However, it’s also a key tenet of Scientology that “nobody is telling you, ever, what’s wrong with you,” Davis adds. “You’re being assisted in discovering for yourself what is troubling you.”

“The entire concept, if you want to talk about fundamental religious belief, is we believe that the individual is an eternal spiritual being whose capabilities are infinite but not fully realized,” Davis says.

The facility also contains a library that is open for use by the public.

Davis says there are no charges for people to attend Sunday services, use the library or partake of other such services. The church doesn’t require that people officially become a member to utilize its offerings.

“There isn’t a conversion process in Scientology — ‘Oh, now you’re converted,’ ” he explains. “If you want to call yourself a Scientologist, more power to you. You can choose to join the International Association of Scientology and be a card-carrying member if you want, but that’s not a requisite to participating in our services, it’s not a requisite to participate in auditing or training, or to go to Sunday services. Anybody is welcome. The whole idea is to have the tools.” (Las Vegas Review Journal)

David Miscavige:Scientology Expansion

Each year in June, top Scientologists from around the world assemble aboard the Sea Org Motor Vessel Freewinds religious retreat for the “OT Summit.” It comprises a week of briefings, seminars and strategic planning sessions presided over by Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, Mr. David Miscavige.

In this way, Mr. Miscavige keeps parishioners fully abreast of Church accomplishments, current planning and goals for the coming year and beyond. He provides them with the “big picture” of Scientology expansion and the future of the religion, including their part in the acquisition, renovation and staffing of new Churches, the utilization of new training courses and restored L. Ron Hubbard scriptural materials. He further provides updates on Church humanitarian and social betterment initiatives, including drug education, human rights, volunteer disaster relief, literacy and education.>>