With new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, the Church of Scientology of New Mexico encourages everyone to apply prevention protocols to turn the scene around.

Any other year, the sky just after dawn around Albuquerque would be filled with hundreds of brightly colored balloons for the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The festival’s cancellation is just another reminder of how COVID-19 has changed our world. And with the state registering its second-highest daily count of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, the action turns out to be justified. The Church of Scientology of New Mexico encourages everyone to apply prevention protocols to turn the scene around.

 

In May, Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology in Albuquerque began a campaign to help neighbors get through these challenging times safe and well. They visited shops and restaurants, gas stations, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and went door-to-door to make sure neighbors have what they need to stay well.

The centerpiece of their Stay Well campaign is a series of booklets and more than a dozen brief videos in 21 languages, all available free of charge from the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation. 

These educational materials are based on extensive research to locate the most effective measures for prevention, which form the protocols adopted by Church for Scientology staff and parishioners under the direction of Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige. 

In Albuquerque, volunteers who participated in the program were struck by how committed business owners are to ensure the health of their customers. In one shop, the manager looked through the booklets and said “These are really important.” He placed boxes of them on all his counters.

With nearly half the city’s population Latinx or Hispanic, shop owners appreciated having the booklets in both English and Spanish.

“I know exactly where they should go,” said another shop owner, who wanted displays of the booklets where all his customers would be able to see them and take copies.  

“This is needed and some people just don’t get it,” said a healthcare professional. She said that with their illustrations and simple language, the booklets can help people understand why it’s important to put these measures into use in their lives. 

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Best known for their response in times of natural and manmade disasters, with the pandemic, Volunteer Ministers began promoting prevention to help ensure the health and safety of their communities. Since May, Volunteer Ministers have distributed 5 million copies of these educational booklets in communities around Scientology Churches and Missions across the globe.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard. A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”

For more information, visit the Volunteer Ministers website or the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website.