Honoring those who help in time of need
SYDNEY, Australia /CitizenWire/ -- The Church of Scientology Advanced Organization in Sydney, Australia, hosted the "Thanking Festival" of the Australian Multicultural Arts & Values (AMAV) that honored 48 community groups for their outstanding service to the community.
In addition to the awards presentation, guests learned to apply first aid skills such as CPR and the care of injuries. And the lead Volunteer Minister of the Church of Scientology of Sydney demonstrated a simple Scientology assist - one of a series of techniques developed by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to help people recover from the stress and trauma so often present in times of disaster.
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers were among those awarded for their response in the wake of last year's devastating floods that damaged some 80 percent of the homes and businesses of the New South Wales town of Eugowra. In addition to weeks salvaging belongings, digging homes and businesses out of the mud and restoring order to local farms, they also helped residents overcome the emotional and spiritual effects of the disaster. The work of these volunteers is featured in a video in an interactive timeline on the Scientology website.
"When the Volunteer Ministers came," says one Eugowra resident, "it was a calming influence" as they cleared away "the most horrendous debris ... working day and night virtually." "They saw something that needed doing and they did something about it," said another. "It made all the difference to me," said yet another person helped by the volunteers. "Made me feel like I had friends and support."
The bright yellow T-shirts and jackets of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are a welcome and familiar sight in times of disaster. Firefighters battling the annual bushfires that devastate the country appreciate their personal care. The Volunteer Ministers provide water and food and a place to relax between shifts. And firefighters often comment that Scientology assists make it possible for them to continue their work despite arduous conditions and lack of sleep.
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service developed in mid-1970s by Mr. Hubbard, who wrote: "If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance."
Their motto is no matter the circumstances, "Something can be done about it."
The work of the Volunteer Ministers of Sydney is featured in an episode of the original series Destination Scientology on the Scientology Network. And the story of how the religion harnessed the full power of its global network of facilities and volunteers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with the largest humanitarian mobilization in the Church's history is documented in the new feature-length film, Operation: Do Something About It.
Both films are available on the Scientology Network on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse, at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms. Since launching with an introduction by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige in March 2018, the Scientology Network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories in 17 languages.
LEARN MORE:
https://www.scientology-sydney.org
https://www.scientology.org/22-23/#volunteer-ministers-australia-floods
https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/
https://www.scientology.org/courses/assists/overview.html
MULTIMEDIA:
https://www.scientology.org/22-23/#volunteer-ministers-australia-floods
https://www.scientology.tv/documentaries/operation-do-something-about-it.html
Learn More: https://www.scientology.org/
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