Church of Scientology National Affairs Office celebrates its 10th anniversary

National Affairs Office marks milestone anniversary of working to solve problems facing society, such as human rights abuses, drugs, disasters and crime.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, December 20, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office¹ a celebration was held at its Dupont Circle headquarters in the historic Fraser Mansion to honor the event and remember what has been achieved.

The National Affairs Office was established in response to the unprecedented worldwide growth of the Church and demand for Church-sponsored programs. These programs include worldwide human rights initiatives; equally far-ranging drug education, prevention and rehabilitation programs; a wide-reaching criminal reform program; a global network of literacy and learning centers; a moral education movement restoring the brotherhood of Man; and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program, the world’s largest independent relief force providing emergency response at major disaster sites for more than a decade.

When Mr. David Miscavige², the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, opened the office in Washington, DC, in 2012 , he charged the staff with the duty to help.

In his opening address Mr. Miscavige said, “It’s my honor and privilege ... to not only inaugurate this new National Office, but to simultaneously celebrate all this nation rests upon, including:

“Individual Freedom
“Religious Liberty, and
“A pursuit of the American Dream.

“And just as this nation was founded upon the principles of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, well, so too those principles are woven into the very fabric of our Scripture.”

At that opening event, Mr. Miscavige went on to say, “Here is an Office designed to give back to a US Government that has steadfastly guaranteed our religious rights – the very freedom that allows us to do what we are doing today.

“And, with that, we extend our reach by invoking what we hold to be the greatest of all rights, the one right which must be invoked if one is to fight for the freedom of others – the right to HELP.”

He ended by saying, “And all of it… not to convert, not to proselytize, but to do our part in uplifting this civilization as mandated in our Creeds and Codes. Thus our doors are open to everyone, no matter the political affiliation, no matter the denomination.

“Because, in short, our help is yours.”

The National Affairs Office was happy to host guests in person to celebrate the anniversary in its Fraser Mansion.

At this celebration, Ms. Beth Akiyama³, the Executive Director of the National Affairs Office briefly spoke about the actions and achievements of the last ten years.

Harkening back to the opening speech from Mr. Miscavage delivered ten years ago, Ms. Akiyama gave a taste of some of the actions that the National Affairs Office has been doing to deliver the help promised at its Grand Opening.

She explained, “In the field of human rights, we have worked with Youth for Human Rights International to broadly promote the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and have taught thousands of people in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area their rights and how to help others defend their rights. We have held national conferences on Capitol Hill, done walks for human rights and many other actions to draw attention to this vital document. If you didn’t know – you actually have 30 rights under the UN Declaration, which will be in its 75th anniversary year in 2023.” Ms. Akiyama is a former board member of Youth for Human Rights International. .

“As one of those rights is No Slavery, we have worked in coalitions with other groups and helped get 14 federal bills passed regarding human trafficking which has given survivors of trafficking more say in prosecutions of their abuses, more resources for recovery, and many more resources to help prevent our most vulnerable kids from being trafficked.

“We have worked with the DC Black History Celebration Committee to create events to highlight the importance of Black history, including events with embassies to celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“While you hear about natural disasters in the United States, few people are aware that a group exists -- the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters or VOAD for short – that is the coordinating body that helps to get the right help to the right areas at the right time.

“Reverend Sue Taylor, our Public Relations Director, is the Chairperson of the DC VOAD and regularly works with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, FEMA, and a long list of other groups in helping those affected by disasters.

“Reverend Taylor also heads up the national office of the Churches of Scientology Disaster Response, which coordinates with officials on every major disaster in the United States, so our Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers can respond properly to disasters, bringing effective help to do whatever is needed -- no job is too big or too small for the Volunteer Ministers. Disasters we have responded to include hurricanes in Texas and Florida, tornados in Kentucky, forest fires in California, and innumerable smaller disasters around the country.

“One of the worst personal disasters is drug addiction. To help prevent that, we have participated in numerous police and US Attorney’s Office events and summer booths and fairs – spreading the message about the harmful effects of certain drugs. To do as much as possible to educate and save lives, our Drug-Free World campaign has been all over the city and the region. As the Faith Liaison for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World in DC, our staff member Thalia Ghiglia has also done many presentations concerning fentanyl and other drugs.

“DC has an estimated 2,000 – 2,500 offenders returning to the District from prison and roughly 17,000 cycle through the DC Department of Corrections each year. To help support their transition back into the community and to help stop the cycle of recidivism, we support a local non-profit called Criminon New Life DC. Criminon provides rehabilitative and life skills services to people incarcerated in the DC Jail. There are many returning citizens who have credited their participation in the Criminon program with their success in leading a new life post incarceration.

“We actively participate in local and federal coalitions advocating for positive reforms to the criminal justice systems, such as supporting the passage of the federal First Step Act.

“Over 50 years ago, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) was founded by the Church of Scientology. In our last 10 years here, our office has forwarded CCHR’s mission here in DC with the federal government. That mission being to investigate, expose and eradicate human rights violations in the field of mental health.

“We have also worked with hundreds in the religious community to stand up for those suffering religious discrimination and violence in other countries due to their religious beliefs. After all, every religion is a minority some place in the world and each deserves support and help when needed.

“Then during the Pandemic, when regulations were first coming out and everyone was figuring out what to do – our international management researched and published a series of booklets on how to stay well and helpful information on prevention. Here in DC, we got this distributed free to all the DC police stations, fire stations, and all the hospitals in DC took booklets and used them to give to patients.”

After this quick rundown of activities over the last ten years, guests enjoyed dinner and an enormous dessert buffet. With over 150 people attending, the guests consistently praised the diversity and eclectic mix of people attending, including Congressional aides, NGOs working on human rights, defenders of religious freedom internationally, and government officials. The mix of guests highlighted the 10 years of working in a wide variety of areas.

The Church of Scientology National Affairs Office represents the Church in the nation's capital and works with many organizations to improve human rights, criminal justice, and religious freedom internationally.

For more information on the religion of Scientology and its many locations around the world, go to www.scientology.org.

Beth Akiyama
Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
+1 202-667-6404
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¹ https://www.scientology.org/scientology-today/church-openings/grand-opening-church-of-scientology-national-office-washington-dc.html
² https://www.davidmiscavige.org/
³ https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/church-scientology-representative-delivers-address-united-nations/