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Church of Scientology Melbourne?the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross

Church of Scientology Melbourne—the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross











Church of Scientology Melbourne—the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross


Melbourne, Australia (Vocus/PRWEB) January 31, 2011

Thousands of Scientologists, dignitaries and guests from across the nation celebrated a milestone—the opening of the first Ideal Scientology Church in Australia.

Auntie Joy Murphy Wandin, senior elder of the Wurundjeri people, opened the dedication with the traditional “Welcome to Country” ceremony, welcoming Scientologists to the lands of her ancestors.

Scientologist, Melbourne native and award-winning singer and songwriter Kate Ceberano performed a moving rendition of her original composition “This Song is You,” written in honour of the occasion and the heritage of the city and all that Australia holds dear.

In tribute to the significance of the occasion Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, travelled to Melbourne from the United States to officiate at the dedication. He acknowledged the long parade of accomplishments by Australian Scientologists that culminated in the new Church.

“It is my honour to join you this evening and commemorate a moment that will live on in history for a long time to come. Not that you haven’t loomed large in history before, not that you haven’t triumphed over great adversity in years gone by, not that you didn’t stand firm for the dignity of Man, and not that you didn’t indeed uphold the God-given rights of all religions all over this world.

“But having triumphed today in the name of our religion, you just flipped this planet all the way around so that Melbourne now sits on top of the globe. And that’s what it means to build an Ideal Org beneath the Southern Cross.”

Mr. Miscavige also spoke of Melbourne’s hallowed place in Scientology history, noting that Founder L. Ron Hubbard himself came to Melbourne in November 1959 to deliver a series of lectures to its founding Scientology community. As Mr. Miscavige explained: “Those November 1959 lectures marked a turn in the path and a rise in the road, from which the whole panorama of human potential came into focus.”

“Whence, the highest levels of Scientology and the whole vista of spiritual enlightenment and freedom.”

“So you wonder where you stand in the history and legacy of LRH and our religion as a whole? None of it would exist were it not for what began right here—and that’s both the heritage and legacy, which is indelibly woven through the brickwork of your new Ideal Org of Melbourne.”

Acknowledging the Church for its many contributions to the community were Melbourne Lord Mayor the Honourable Robert Doyle, Moonee Valley City Councillor Paul Giuliano, Shadow Minister for Tourism and Major Events, the Honourable Justin Madden, Sociologist Professor Gary Bouma and former Indigenous Person of the Year Uncle Bob Randall.

Praising the Church’s active role in community life, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle told those assembled: “Today marks an historic occasion for Scientology. The building you see before you is the first of its type in Australasia, and the re-birth of an historic Melbourne building. This is a unique space. I hope benefits flow in partnerships, community connection and goodwill. I invite you to celebrate this opening in the heart of our exciting, welcoming and diverse Melbourne.”

Moonee Valley City Councillor Paul Giuliano welcomed the congregation to his metropolitan Melbourne community where the Church is located: “I know that I speak for many when I say thank you so very much for restoring this beloved landmark to its former glory. I cannot think of a better custodian than the Church of Scientology.”

The occasion was a reunion for teacher, football icon and Victoria Shadow Minister Justin Madden, who attended the Catholic University within the walls of what is now the new Scientology Church. He commended the Church for its historic preservation as well as its literacy and drug education initiatives: “Unselfishly, you work to provide ways and means to uplift our society. You have set the standard for the community with your restoration of this building and with your social programs—an example I will point to for others to follow. Your new Church is as Melbourne as Melbourne gets.”

Human rights activist Bob Randall, whose award-winning documentary, Kanyini, exposed the plight of the Aboriginal “stolen generations,” thanked the Church and its Scientology Volunteer Ministers program for its commitment to the indigenous people of Australia: “Scientology Volunteer Ministers have come to my country and given us hope that we can deal with these problems and we will make a difference in the near future. The Volunteer Ministers I’ve met have become my friends. The fellowship between us has been fun and I look forward to continuing that relationship to continue on to the present into the future. On behalf of me and my people, I thank you.”

Melbourne has long held importance for the Scientology religion. Within months of L. Ron Hubbard authoring Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950, the first Dianetics group in Australia was formed here and in 1955 the first Scientology Church in Australia opened in this city.

Australia similarly long held a place near to L. Ron Hubbard’s heart, beginning with his service “Down Under” as a United States Naval Officer through the first days of World War II. Principally stationed in Brisbane, but also operating from Melbourne, then Lieutenant Hubbard was charged with organising relief efforts for Allied troops trapped in the Philippines. He also proudly served with Australian gunnery units for the defence of Brisbane.

As Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard returned to Australia in 1959 to deliver two historic lecture series: The Melbourne Congress and the 1st Melbourne Advanced Clinical Course. Remembered today for his delineation of the highest spans of the Scientology Bridge, Mr. Hubbard’s Australian lectures will forever hold a cherished place in the religion.

Today, the Melbourne Scientology Church is the first Ideal Church of Scientology Organisation in Australia, realising Mr. Hubbard’s vision for what Scientology can provide for its congregation and community.

The Church now stands on the site of the 19th century estate of Robert McCracken, leading businessman and founder of the legendary Essendon Bombers football team. After the turn of the 20th century, this building became the home of Mercy Teachers’ College, later part of the Catholic University. The original name of the estate is “Ailsa” for Ailsa Craig, an island off the west coast of Scotland from where the McCracken family sailed more than 150 years ago.

Melbourne’s Public Information Centre offers more than 450 informational films illustrating Scientology beliefs, the life and legacy of Founder L. Ron Hubbard, and the full array of Church-sponsored social betterment and community outreach programs.

The Chapel seats hundreds, the library contains all Church Scripture. Course rooms and counselling rooms accommodate Scientologists from throughout Victoria. Seminar rooms, film rooms and Life Improvement Course Rooms make effective solutions to the most pressing challenges people face today easily available to Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike. Workspaces for volunteers stand open and ready for use by parishioners and the community.

Under the guidance of Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, 23 Ideal Churches have been dedicated and opened since 2003, including those in world cultural capitals—The National Church of South Africa in Johannesburg; the National Church of Scientology of Spain in Madrid; the Church of Scientology of New York, just off Times Square; the Church of Scientology of London, located in the epicentre of the city; the Church of Scientology of Italy in Rome; the Church of Scientology of Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House on “Church Row”; the National Church of Scientology Mexico, in Mexico City; and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate. Another 60 Ideal Churches are in design, planning or construction phases.

The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in the United States in 1954 and has today expanded to more than 9,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 165 countries.

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How Wars Endanger American Freedom | John V. Denson

Lecture by John V. Denson discussing how America’s interventionist foreign policies dangerously expands central government power and usurps individual rights on the home front. Presented at the Brown Bag Seminar, sponsored by the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Recorded February 15, 1995. mises.org…

Complete video at: fora.tv Why is WikiLeaks releasing documents from the US government, when there is no shortage of corruption elsewhere in the world? Editor-in-chief Julian Assange regards it as an issue of trust, explaining that he considers it the website’s responsibility to publish any classified information likely to have a significant impact — regardless of diplomatic origins. For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv —– Following the leak by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks of almost 400000 secret US army field reports from the Iraq war between 2004 and 2009, tune in to hear Julian Assange at the Frontline Club in conversation with one of the most famous whistle blowers in history, Daniel Ellsberg, who was responsible for the leak of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, best known for his involvement with Wikileaks, a whistleblower website. Daniel Ellsberg is a political commentator and activist. A former US military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg sparked a national controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

PROJECT CAMELOT: FUTURETALK WITH RICH DOLAN – Color-corrected version

Come and see Rich Dolan speak live at the Project Camelot Productions Awake and Aware 2011 conference set in Irvine California on 23, 24 and 25 September 2011. www.awakeandaware2011.com –♥– This is a discussion with scholar and researcher, Rich Dolan, author of Volumes I & II “UFOs and The National Security State” and of the newly released, “AD After Disclosure”. When we say the Future is Now, this discussion zones in on just that and how the future we are rapidly moving into is manifesting and must be dealt with openly and with care. A frankly open talk about the hard questions that come along as a result of what we know, what isn’t generally out there and how what we don’t know is impacting the populace behind the scenes in ways they haven’t even begun to suspect. We discuss how people like us are the bridge between those involved in culture of Secrecy and the masses. Absolutely required viewing for any person who considers themselves Awake & Aware in any sense of that concept. Kerry Cassidy Los Angeles, CA 91377 Click here for Rich Dolan’s website www.keyholepublishing.com PROJECT CAMELOT: projectcamelot.org http

Nice Freedom Of Religion photos

Check out these Freedom of Religion images:

American Thoreau
Freedom of Religion
Image by Think-N-Evolve
"I am as desirous of being a good neighbor as I am of being a bad subject."

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."

"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear. Atheism may comparatively be popular with God himself."

"Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand."

"It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves."

"The savage in man is never quite eradicated."

"Any fool can make a rule
And any fool will mind it."

"I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically."

"If a thousand [citizens] were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible."

"To speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it. After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience? — in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable? Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice."

"All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote."

"He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to them useless and selfish; but he who gives himself partially to them is pronounced a benefactor and philanthropist."

"Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"

I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad."

"Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one."

"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison… the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor."

"Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow-men. A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen."

"My life has been the poem I would have writ,
But I could not both live and utter it."

"I hear many condemn these men because they were so few. When were the good and the brave ever in a majority? Would you have had him wait till that time came? — till you and I came over to him? The very fact that he had no rabble or troop of hirelings about him would alone distinguish him from ordinary heroes. His company was small indeed, because few could be found worthy to pass muster. Each one who there laid down his life for the poor and oppressed was a picked man, culled out of many thousands, if not millions; apparently a man of principle, of rare courage, and devoted humanity; ready to sacrifice his life at any moment for the benefit of his fellow-man."

"I do not wish to kill nor to be killed, but I can foresee circumstances in which both these things would be by me unavoidable. We preserve the so-called peace of our community by deeds of petty violence every day. Look at the policeman’s billy and handcuffs! Look at the jail! Look at the gallows! Look at the chaplain of the regiment! We are hoping only to live safely on the outskirts of this provisional army. So we defend ourselves and our hen-roosts, and maintain slavery. I know that the mass of my countrymen think that the only righteous use that can be made of Sharp’s rifles and revolvers is to fight duels with them, when we are insulted by other nations, or to hunt Indians, or shoot fugitive slaves with them, or the like. I think that for once the Sharp’s rifles and the revolvers were employed in a righteous cause. The tools were in the hands of one who could use them."

Quote Source -> secure.wikimedia.org/wikiquote/en/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

Ron Paul Responds to TSA: Introduces ‘American Traveler Dignity Act’

Nov. 17, 2010 – Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14) introduces the American Traveler Dignity Act in response to regulatory measures taken by the TSA to implement potentially dangerous X-Ray screening procedures or invasive “pat-downs” by TSA officials. Campaign for Liberty has released a written statement opposing this regulatory overreach by the TSA. Follow this link for Campaign for Liberty’s written statement: www.campaignforliberty.com Follow this link for the text of Ron Paul’s bill, the American Traveler Dignity Act paul.house.gov

Area 51 is the most mysterious “top-secret military test facility” in the world. New technologies vital to United States national security are developed here. Insiders claim that even recovered spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin are studied and test flown at Area 51. In a three-year investigation, a German film crew dove deeply into the secrets of “Dreamland” and Area 51, interviewing top scientists and security personnel who worked inside Area 51 and claim to have seen what can only now be described as alien spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin. This program presents the facts about these amazing discoveries and includes stunning film footage of the remarkable flight maneuvers of these mysterious alien spacecraft secretly recorded during test flights at Area 51. UFOs – Secrets Of The Black World – Now on DVD, 135 Min. Cat# U432 – Go to www.UFOTV.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5