Viewpoints from Florida

There's a good explanation for the importance of Clearwater, Florida to Scientologists, on the Scientology News web site:

Certain Scientology Churches maintain religious retreats for the benefit and use of parishioners. In Scientology, some upper levels of spiritual counseling require the parishioner’s full-time participation for a period of several weeks for the parishioner to achieve the full benefit. Thus, the Church maintains religious retreats, away from the distractions of the world, which provide parishioners the ideal environment for advanced religious studies and spiritual counseling. The Church maintains two such religious retreats—one in Clearwater, Florida, and another aboard the motor vessel Freewinds, whose home port is in the Caribbean. The Church of Scientology in Clearwater is the spiritual headquarters for the religion and hub of the international Scientology community. With more than 20 buildings and nearly 1,000 staff, it is the largest Church of Scientology facility in the world. It delivers advanced spiritual training and auditing to parishioners who come from around the world to this Church. The Church’s second retreat is located aboard the 450-foot motor vessel Freewinds. It is there that the highest level of spiritual counseling available in Scientology is delivered. A seagoing vessel is the ideal setting for this level of spiritual counseling, because it provides parishioners with a calm environment set apart from the crossroads of the workaday world where, without distraction, they are free to concentrate on spiritual advancement. While freedom from distraction is important during all counseling, it is vital at the highest level of services which are available on the Freewinds.

In honor of the anniversary of 911, please permit me to pay tribute to all of the Volunteer Ministers and everyone else who gave of themselves in the weeks, months and years after 911. We will never forget.

The Community Relations Officer for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater was among those recognized this week by the Clearwater Main Street Committee. At an event attended by city officials, the Church's representative received two Certificates of Appreciation for volunteer work.

Churches of Scientology support and contribute to a variety of other established community programs such as the Red Cross, the March of Dimes, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and local community groups in cities the world over. This support ranges from broad participation in drug-free blood drives, to city-wide collection of holiday toys for needy children, to donations of food and clothing for under-privileged families. Every year, for example, Scientology churches around the United States are drop-off points for toys donated for the United States Marine Corps popular "Toys for Tots" campaign. Similar toy drives are held wherever there are Scientology churches and missions.

For a special look at what Scientoologists are doing in Florida, read the most recent Clearwater edition of Freedom magazine.