|
||||||
  
        
|
|
SCIENTOLOGY VOLUNTEER MINISTERS HELPING FIREFIGHTERS COPE WITH AUSTRALIAN BLAZE
Volunteer Ministers—parishioners specifically trained to quickly and effectively deal with spiritual trauma as well as providing practical assistance—mobilized immediately after the fires started in Australia. Their first action was to cook breakfast for 400 firefighters in a community hall relief station near Sydney. Since then, the Volunteer Ministers have received authorization from the regional fire commander to deliver food to the fire crews in the field and assist with transport during shift changes.
Scientology Volunteer Ministers who assisted at Ground Zero in New York after September 11 won high praise from firemen, police, medical personnel and city officials for their contribution to the rescue efforts. The New York Times reported that the Scientologists were retained at Ground Zero after some other volunteer organizations had been asked to leave.
In response to surveys showing that the attacks of September 11 left many people confused and uncertain how to respond to a pervasive but non-specific threat to their safety and the safety of those close to them, the Church launched a $1.8 million program to promote the Volunteer Ministers’ credo—“Something CAN Be Done About It”—and a 1-800 number to call for assistance from a trained volunteer. The campaign will include 1,000 billboards in New York City and in 11 other U.S. cities,—Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Jose and Tampa. Most of the billboards will remain up for at least a year. The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was developed in 1976 by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, to enable individuals from all walks of life to provide practical assistance to help people deal with problems they encounter in their lives. More information on the Volunteer Minister program is available at www.volunteerministers.org or www.scientology.org. Assistance from a Volunteer Minister may be requested by calling 1-800-HELP-4-YU (1-800-435-7498).
|
Scientology Volunteer Ministers are no strangers to helping in disasters. The Volunteer Ministers were at Ground Zero in New York helping rescue workers deal with shock, exhaustion and pain. They are again on the front lines bringing the same assistance to some of the 20,000 firefighters in Australia battling the brush fires raging in the Sydney area.
After emergency operations were established, the Volunteer Ministers started aiding the firefighters with “assists”, simple procedures that help an individual recover from shock, grief, pain, exhaustion. “We help the firemen bring their attention back to their present environment which helps them recover rapidly from the physical toll of the intense and exhausting work,” says Volunteer Minister spokesperson Gina Comaccio. “They are working 12-hour shifts in boiling heat, and the assists bring them enormous relief.”
“Helping others in times of need has always been the role of religion,” said Church of Scientology International Vice President Janet Weiland. “Since September 11, nearly 6,000 Scientologists have enrolled in the Volunteer Minister training program, and the first 1,000 have graduated and are now out in their communities with veteran Volunteer Ministers offering practical help—such as in the Australian fires where the need is great. Volunteer Ministers are networked through the Internet, which makes it possible to respond rapidly to emergencies as well as to assist with regular ministerial needs in their own communities.”
