Miami is unique in many ways, especially its demographics: 70 percent of its population is Hispanic or Latinx.
Realizing that many, including those only recently arrived in the city from across Latin America, depend on their consulates in times of need, when the pandemic began, the Church of Scientology Miami reached out to the diplomatic community with help. On the Scientology website, an interactive timeline, 20/21: A Look Behind & A Look Ahead, shows how the Church launched a program of total preparedness even before the pandemic was announced.
In times of emergency, the Church of Scientology operates on a maxim coined by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that “an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.”
The Church compiled the most authoritative and effective guidelines for dealing with such an outbreak and distilled them into a series of illustrated booklets written in simple, direct language anyone can understand. Then Volunteer Ministers across the globe carried out an educational campaign to help their communities understand how to stay well.
In Miami, where the Church routinely works closely with the city’s Latin American consulates to provide humanitarian and social betterment programs to their communities, one of the Volunteer Ministers’ first priorities was to reach out to these officials. They disinfected consulates so it would be safe for them to deliver in-person service to their communities. And they presented them with copies of the “Stay Well” booklets in Spanish so consulate staff could make this information available to anyone contacting them for help. The video shows their interaction with one of the many consulates they assisted.
“This material is very important,” said Miami’s Honduran Consul describing the booklets. “This is a very articulate effort—an effort which has a lot of commitment. And the information was very systematically put together. In times of crisis, a helping hand is really needed.”
Volunteer Ministers also distributed thousands of copies of Stay Well booklets to essential businesses, gas stations, shops and restaurants. They placed booklets in prominent locations in standees that invited customers to take as many as they liked.
The Church of Scientology Miami is open and welcomes the community to visit and learn more about how to keep themselves and their families safe.
Since 1957, the Church has served a growing congregation. Its new home in North Coconut Grove at 2220 S. Dixie Highway was dedicated in April 2017 by Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.
The Miami Church is featured in an episode of Destination Scientology that broadcasts on DIRECTV 320, can be streamed on Scientology.tv, and is available through satellite television, mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.
