The Church of Scientology Welcomes 2016, Looks Back to an Unprecedented Year of Expansion

Featured Contributor Linda Wieland recaps the Church of Scientology’s New Year Celebration.

The year 2015 was a triumphant year of accomplishment for the Church of Scientology. In keeping with a yearly tradition, Scientologists gathered in a New Year’s celebration gala at the legendary Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles commemorating the achievements of 2015, via the detailed review of the Church’s global expansion and progress in its humanitarian and social betterment efforts.

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, delivered an exuberant and inspired address that matched the positive atmosphere that permeated the New Year’s event when he said:

“We’ve arrived at the close of an all but mythic year. Not only a year equivalent to a thousand years of triumph, not only a year surpassing any since the first tick of time, but a year to remind us that time is quite easily compressed, especially when you’re working at warp speed.”

Mr. Miscavige took the audience though an exhilarating recap of the previous year, amplified by the historic announcement of a new Golden Age for the higher states of spiritual awareness in Scientology. Additionally, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s original Advanced Course filmed lectures have been fully restored, while advanced materials used in the upper echelons of the Scientology Bridge to Total Freedom are now available in 17 languages. With the release of these advanced materials, Scientologists are now progressing through each succeeding step of the Bridge five times faster than before.

Additionally, Mr. Miscavige led a review of the many new Churches, organizations, and facilities that opened in 2015, with more than 40 dedicated in the past 12 months alone, fully representing the Ideal Church of Scientology Organizations (Orgs) and Church-supported social betterment and humanitarian programs. These include:

• The April 25 launch of a first Ideal Church of Scientology in Basel, Switzerland, at the crossroads of Switzerland, France and Germany.
• The July 5 dedication of the majestic Ideal Church of Scientology of Bogotá, Colombia.
• Then one week later, on July 11, the opening of a Scientology Information Center at the Church’s spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, along with six model facilities to make Church-supported humanitarian programs readily available to the Tampa Bay community.
• The following week was the July 18 grand opening of the new Ideal Continental Liaison Office for the United Kingdom.
• Just three weeks later, the August 8 launch of the Ideal Church of Scientology Tokyo in Shinjuku—the heart of the city.
• The October 3 and October 10 openings of the Fountain and Golden Crest religious retreats, just steps from the Ideal Advanced Organization of Los Angeles.
• And the October 18 dedication of the Ideal Saint Hill, site of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s breakthrough discoveries in the 1960s that opened the upper reaches of the Scientology Bridge to Total Freedom.

Narconon, a Scientology-supported drug rehabilitation program, also expanded greatly in the past year, made possible by generous contributions from members of the International Association of Scientologists (IAS):

• The September 5 launch of Narconon Europe continental drug rehabilitation and training center on Denmark’s idyllic Lake Arresø.
• The inauguration of a Narconon drug rehab and training center for the United Kingdom also on September 5, on a country estate in Maynards Green, East Sussex, England.
• The September 12 opening of the Continental Narconon of Latin America in Villa Victoria, Mexico, providing drug rehabilitation and training to specialists for Narconon centers throughout the 21 nations of Latin America.
• And the dedication the following day, September 13, of a magnificent new hilltop Narconon center in Ojai, California, with drug and alcohol rehabilitation services for artists and leaders in society.

Mr. David Miscavige also informed the excited gathering of Scientologists about the great advances and achievements made possible by the application of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology:

• Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE)—where secular and charitable programs utilize technologies expressly designed to address disasters afflicting society including drug abuse, illiteracy and crime. In Denver, Colorado, The Way to Happiness series of 21 precepts for leading a moral life spearheaded a zero percent recidivism rate among program graduates. Rampant illiteracy in the Czech Republic was turned completely around by L. Ron Hubbard’s acclaimed Study Technology. And Narconon Suncoast, just minutes from downtown Clearwater, Florida, joined an expanding network of centers as a beacon of hope for the drug-addicted.
• World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE)—Members’ success stories impeccably illuminated Mr. Hubbard’s administrative fundamentals as well as their consistent capacity to maximize success in any area of human endeavor. These included the world’s foremost banjo manufacturer’s elevation of the instrument beyond its Southern roots to universal popularity. The year also spotlighted a motion-control pacesetter that revolutionized motion picture cinematography, with game-changing rigs that also extended its reach beyond cinema to sports telecasts and international events; and a Japanese consulting company that applied the technology to help 650 new businesses succeed in a market where startups traditionally fail.
• International Hubbard Ecclesiastical League of Pastors (IHELP) and Scientology Missions International (SMI)—As a testament to the technology of life itself, three success stories in 2015 painted a majestic picture of the expansive scope of Scientology in uplifting human beings across every strata of society. They included Purification Rundown delivery in a dozen cities to reverse the disastrous effects of radiation and pollution across the Siberian steppes; tackling social decay in the streets of Guatemala City; and the opening of the first Ideal Scientology Mission of Spain in Valencia, blazing a trail to freedom for the people of that city.

2015 Power Field Staff Members from 32 nations—each responsible for helping others take more than 100 steps up the Scientology Bridge to Total Freedom.

Dedicated Power Field Staff Members were honored as the New Year’s celebration went on, hailing from 32 nations. These individuals were acknowledged for helping Scientologists up the Scientology Bridge.

The joyful occasion culminated with Mr. Miscavige introducing the world’s largest Ideal Org (Church) in the cultural capital of Milan, Italy, inaugurated on October 31, 2015. The Milan Ideal Org is over 100,000 square feet on a 1.5-acre estate. The momentous inauguration capped a tremendous year of growth for the Church of Scientology and set the stage for 2016 and what will no doubt be another year of awe-inspiring progress for Scientology and its social betterment and humanitarian programs.

Resources

• Church of Scientology
• “Scientology Welcomes 2016”

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