I found this page in the San Diego Union Trib today. It lists a 5 hour VM course ongoing at the local org. http://community.signonsandiego.com/search?Subject=Volunteer+opportunities

I figure somebody should give them a heads up. Guess it's me... (note, if the San Diego org would kindly write them with my RFW pages link, I'd appreciate it kindly)

Hi,

On your volunteer page, you list the following: Hurricane Disaster Volunteer Training Help the survivors of the Katrina and Rita disasters. Trauma, loss, upset, stress and confusion affect both disaster victims and disaster responders. You CAN help. The Scientology Disaster Response is offering free training on dealing with dangerous environments and providing spiritual assistance for illnesses, injuries and traumatic experiences. The 5-hour training will take place at the Church of Scientology, 1330 Fourth Ave. downtown San Diego. Choose either Wednesday from 5-10 p.m. or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.volunteerministers.org or to... Subject: Religious groups - Event Date: Ongoing thru
More info: www.volunteerministers.org

There is so much that is wrong with allowing these people to post this, I don't know where to begin.

The purpose of Scientology Volunteer Ministers is to spread their doctrines under the guise of being a social betterment group. It is also a covert recruiting tool for the "church" of Scientology.

Volunteer Ministers promote the Purification Rundown, a process which has been proven to be ineffective and dangerous quack medicine. The Purif utilizes toxic doses of vitamins in conjunction with excessive sauna exposure. The amounts of niacin given have been proven to cause blindness and permanent liver damage. The Scientology 'drug education' program, which also promotes the Purif, was expelled from public schools in California, Hawaii and Boston last year, following a review of their program. It was deemed unsuitable, inaccurate, and misleading by reviewers. However, the Volunteer Minister program still promotes it as a viable detoxification program. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm

This group also discourages people from taking drugs needed to lead normal lives. Scientologists believe that vitamins and exercise can cure anything, including serious mental problems such as schizophrenia. People like Jeremy Perkins, whose Scientology mother refused to take him to a legitimate caretaker, wind up as part of a tragedy when vitamin treatments fail. Jeremy stabbed his mother to death during a psychotic episode. http://jeremyperkins.org

This 5 hour training session is nothing more than indoctrination in Scientology beliefs. While it sounds good on the surface, none of this is mainstream. Their ad states, "The Scientology Disaster Response is offering free training on dealing with dangerous environments and providing spiritual assistance for illnesses, injuries and traumatic experiences."

The name, "Scientology Disaster Response Team" is extremely misleading. They have been forcibly removed from disaster sites, from Jerusalem, Beslan, London,to New York City following 911. After the World Trade Center went down, internal emails from the Volunteer Minister brigade actually boasted about sneaking around barricades and disrupting legitimate mental health services. http://xenu.net/archive/events/20010911-tragedy/

Their 'spiritual assistance' consists of a Scientology version of laying on of hands. Called a 'touch assist,' it is claimed that they can heal cancer, sober up a drunk, and other magical cures for physical ailments. One process involves "talking" to the injured body part, reinacting the injury so that the implanted memory, or "engram" is removed.

We're not talking basic first aid here! We are talking the promotion of dangerous junk science over legitimate, qualified medical treatment.

Everybody knows at least one person whose life has been improved by drugs; diabetics, bipolar sufferers, epileptics, all would have a lesser quality of life were their medications withheld from them.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers take a one week course to earn the title of Minister. Their teachings are potentially hazardous to uninformed people who might embrace and practice them.

Their main raison de etre is dissemination of Hubbard's teachings to mainstream society. Hubbard was not a medical doctor, he was a college dropout and science fiction writer.

I strongly feel that including their notice in your list of organizations accepting volunteers is not only irresponsible, but a potential hazard for anyone attending with the thought that they are going to learn something other than Scientology theories and junk science.

I would ask that you research Scientology Volunteer Ministers on the web. Look at both sides. Once you've looked past all their admittedly slick promotional material, I'm confident you will agree that they don't deserve any mention on the Community Volunteers page.

-- -- Barb Chaplain, ARSCC xenubarb@netscape.net

"Every week, every month, every year, every decade and now every century, Scientology does weird and stupid things to damage its own reputation." -Steve Zadarnowski

"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as Scientology." -ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

"$cientology sees the world this way: One man with a picket sign: terrorism. Five thousand people dead in a deliberate inferno: business opportunity.

$cientology oozes _under_ terrorists to hide." -Chris Leithiser

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