Acknowledging a Quarter of a Century of Committed Service

Scientology Volunteer Minister, LPN and EMT Ayal Lindeman earned the 2011 Freedom Medal through his exemplary service to mankind.

At the 27th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists in October 2011, Ayal Lindeman was awarded the IAS Freedom Medal for his humanitarian work as a Scientology Volunteer Minister.
He began serving the community as a teenager, training in Red Cross advanced first aid.  Five years later, in 1976, when the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program launched, Lindeman was among the first to join the team—a responsibility he has embraced ever since.

In 1992, transforming this calling into a career, he trained as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and in 2009 as a licensed practical nurse (LPN). And despite the pressing demands of career and family, for the past 20 years Lindeman has been on call as a member of a local volunteer ambulance corps.

The events of September 11, 2001, were a wake-up call for Volunteer Ministers the world over.

“As Volunteer Ministers we have been given tools to help others and the only thing asked in return was to put them to use,” says Lindeman.  “And that didn't end with the smoke or the debris.  It continued.”

With the support and backing of his wife Devorah, over the past 10 years Lindeman has responded to 10 major disasters as part of the Scientology Volunteer Minister response team.

In 2004, in the wake of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne,  Lindeman was part of the Volunteer Ministers team that earned a special commendation from the 124th Infantry’s Bravo Company and a Points of Light “Hurricane Heroes” award from Florida Governor Jeb Bush.  

Everything the Volunteer Ministers learned that season was put to the test the following year when Hurricane Katrina blasted into Louisiana, followed by Hurricane Rita several weeks later. And just as that project was winding down, they were called back into action when Hurricane Wilma, the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, hit Florida.

But nothing Lindeman and the other Volunteer Ministers experienced prior to January 2010 prepared them for the Haiti earthquake. By the hour, the death toll mounted for want of resources to cope with the hundreds of thousands injured.  Top priority was to bolster the medical infrastructure with trained professionals who could provide the needed care.  Lindeman helped contact doctors, nurses and EMTs, many of them Creole-speaking Haitian-Americans, to fill the first two of five humanitarian flights chartered by the Church of Scientology.  He then boarded one of the flights himself.

Arriving in Haiti he learned that patients were dying in General Hospital critical care wards simply because of personnel shortages. Lindeman organized a team of Volunteer Ministers to do whatever it took to reverse this situation.

“I’m pretty tough, but this place drove me to tears,” says Lindeman.

“Pulling 18- to 20-hour shifts for days on end, whatever it took, we were true to our pledge—no other patients died for lack of care.”

In March 2011, when a magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a 40-meter tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plants, Volunteer Ministers from countries around the world signed on to help. Lindeman, specialist trained to deal with nuclear catastrophes, was one of the first to arrive from abroad, joining local Scientology Volunteer Ministers in the Japan Disaster Response.  They assisted in the search and rescue effort, helped organize and staff shelters, and provided Scientology assists, techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard that address the spiritual and emotional factors in stress and trauma.

In launching the Volunteer Minister program, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “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.”

Ayal Lindeman has carried out this mandate for 25 years in the service of his fellow man.

To learn about more about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers and view videos of Scientologists and the work they are doing to improve society, visit www.Scientology.org.

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The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was initiated by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1976. There are now hundreds of thousands of people trained in the skills of a Volunteer Minister across 185 nations.

Mary Shuttleworth: Youth for Human Rights World Tour

IAS medal-winner Mary Shuttleworth carried out a three-month-long Youth for Human Rights International world tour this year. Above is a photo of her delivering a workshop at a South African University.

Shuttleworth received the IAS Freedom Medal for her work in founding and developing Youth for Human Rights, a non profit program that educates youth on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A school principal who grew up in apartheid South Africa, Shuttleworth is passionate about eradicating human rights violations through education. As the Scientology religion is committed to human rights, as stated by the Scientology Creed, Scientology churches started sponsoring Youth for Human Rights groups, and the Church of Scientology International Human Rights Office worked with Shuttleworth in developing properties to make the subject understandable to the man in the street.

One of the most lucid and simple expositions of human rights is the film, "What Are Human Rights," produced at Golden Era Publications. In June 2009 this film was released by Mr. David Miscavige at an annual convocation held aboard the Freewinds motor vessel.

In addition to their annual world tour, Youth for Human Rights holds an annual youth summit at one or another of the UN headquarters.

Shuttleworth says her inspiration in carrying out this campaign to educate youth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was L. Ron Hubbard who wrote, "human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream."

International Association of Scientologists sponsors Haiti Disaster Relief

Eight months after the Haiti earthquake the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are still in Haiti. The operation has been sponsored by donations of Scientologists to the International Association of Scientologists.

Anti-Drug Videos

The IAS has also sponsored the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and videos on that program are online on the new Scientology video center too!

Human Rights Videos Online

The IAS has sponsored Youth for Human Rights for many years, providing funding for the materials they have produced, including their human rights booklets, teacher guides and public service announcements.

It is very exciting to see all these videos online on the Scientology web site now. Scientology.org just got a new look, with videos covering every aspect of the religion.

Mary Shuttleworth

Mary Shuttleworth was one of this year's IAS Freedom Medalists.

Her work to create Youth for Human Rights International is a real inspiration. Her whole purpose is to arm youth with information on their rights, so they will demand their own rights and protect those of others. It is creating a whole generation of human rights advocates.

And with the amount of abuse against children, from child slavery and child soldiers to simple parental abuse, forced drugging of kids in schools, you name it-- kids need to know their rights!

Jan Eastgate

Ms. Jan Eastgate is an IAS Freedom Medal Winner.

She is the President of Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

She is an incredibly outspoken and impinging speaker and through her work she is saving lives on a daily basis. Here's what she says in her "Presidents' Message" on the CCHR web site.

"Most people today have difficulty understanding the destructive impact that psychiatry is having on communities around the world. For far too many people, the lesson is learned only after a psychiatrist has destroyed some part of their life.

"The destruction might come in the form of the death of their child due to long-term usage of a stimulant drug, prescribed for an invented psychiatric disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); it could be a murderous school campus assault by a gun-toting child who had been prescribed a violence-inducing psychiatric drug and/or undergone “death education” or “anger management” classes; perhaps the death of a frail elderly relative from electroshock treatment at a psychiatric nursing home; maybe a child who was labeled mentally ill early in school and prescribed addictive, psychotropic drugs, who later becomes a hard-core street-drug addict.

"At CCHR, we work continuously to educate the public on the truth about psychiatry. Only in this way is it possible to reduce the number of victims who learn this truth through personal tragedy." >>

The importance of exposing psychiatry's crimes and protecting the public from their harmful practices and their damaging influence on so many aspects of our culture is one of the prime targes of the IAS. I can't think of a year that David Miscavige (Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center) hasn't presented an IAS Freedom Medal to a member of CCHR.

I tell you, these people are so courageous. I really admire the work they are doing!

Bobby Wiggins

Bobby Wiggins won his IAS Freedom Medal several years ago for pioneering Narconon Drug Education.

It was great to see him at the Scientology New Years Event. Not content to rest on his laurels he is as active getting kids to stay off drugs as he ever was.

And did you see the fantastic presentation David Miscavige gave on the overview of what has been accomplished by Scientologists over the past year? Breathtaking!

More Heroes

Another hero featured at the IAS event was a man who exposed the human rights abuses of Russian psychiatry.

Many people think that they abuses ended with the fall of the Soviet Union. Not so. the mechanisms put in place by Stalin's secret police to use psychiatric method to imprison and torture political dissidents have continued forward -- this time for monetary gain.

Find out about this at www.cchr.org.

Scientologist Heroes

The IAS Event for 2006 was one of the most inspirational Scientology events I've ever seen. The quality of the work performed by the three men who won the IAS Freedom Award this year was so inspiring.

One in particular was amazing. A man who used The Way To Happiness to help intigrate the Columbian militia members who accepted the amnest. Many of these men had known nothing but killing their whole lives. If they had just been dumped back into society with no rehabilitation the effects on the country would have been devastating.

If you can get to a Scientology church or mission, I really suggest you watch the DVD of this event.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers

At this year's IAS event Mark Arigi, a Scientology Volunteer Minister from France who moved to Sri Lanka following the 2004 tsunami, was honored with an IAS Freedom Medal.

At the same event a new video on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, created by the Church of Scientology International, was released.

I just found a copy on YouTube, and here it is!

Lawrence Anthony

I've been reading of some of Lawrence Anthony's recent exploits on the Earth Organization web site.

Mr. Anthony is racing against time to preserve the planet.

He deserves all possible support.


Here's a excerpt from the web site:

The Planet Now

The Plight of our Planet

Unprecedented number of species are becoming extinct each year.

There are 50 massive dead zones in our oceans (places where life no longer exists).

There are billions of tons of toxins in our atmosphere.

We are losing the rain forests at a rate of 120,000 square miles per year.

Many of the large fish species in our oceans have been reduced by as much as 80%. (This includes marlin, cod, swordfish and tuna.)

Weather and climate patterns are changing all over the world.

The polar caps REALLY ARE melting.

Mankind appears to have abandoned responsibility for his role in the natural world - upon which he is utterly dependant for his own survival here on Earth.

The Earth Organization’s purpose is to bring immediate and vital change to the downward spiral of the 5th and 6th dynamics for.

In the absence of knowledge of the Dynamics of existence, Mankind’s only motivation for condoning the survival of other life forms, is whether or not they have a consumer or financial benefit.

Vested interests, ignorance and money-driven priorities are taking an unacceptably heavy toll on Earth and its life systems.

Global warming is precipitating adverse weather and climatic conditions, whilst simultaneously we are entering a planet-wide extinction of species of historical proportions.

Despite all well intentioned efforts, the degradation of the planet and its life forms continues on a downward spiral.

The Earth Organization offers new solutions drawn from many sources.

We have a new approach, new ideas and new understandings, which offer mankind the bright hope that something can be done about it - before it is too late.

Mr. Anthony won the IAS Freedom Award in 1996.

This year's IAS Freedom Awards will be presented at Saint Hill in the United Kingdom this weekend.

Youth for Human Rights

The IAS sponsors Youth for Human Rights as a vital campaign to make human rights a fact on earth.

The Church of Scientology International created a series of videos to educate people on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Here's someone who has put these up on a web site for anyone to see.

Greg Capazorio, Freedom Medal Winner

Thanks to the pioneering work of social reformer Greg Capazorio (above, lower right), thousands of South African inmates have turned away from lives of crime and self-destruction through the Criminon programme. Says Capazorio, now Criminon's president, The Way to Happiness is "key to success in restoring personal integrity and self-esteem."

Anti Drug Campaign

I've seen the new anti-drug booklets that the IAS is sponsoring.

These are so good. They are just the facts. I think any kid reading this at least has a chance to make up his/her own mind.

You can download the booklets at www.notodrugs-yestolife.org

Human Rights Campaign

Another campaign that is sponsored by donations of members of the IAS is the Human Rights campaign.

There's a great story on the work the Austian Scientologists are doing to promote human rights, in the Scientology Press Office web site.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tours

The IAS sponsors the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tours.

There are tours out now in Brazil, Poland, Russia, Kin Men (off the coast of China), India, Botswana and Fiji.

I follow what they are doing by subscribing to ScientologyToday, as there is almost always new news about the tours on that site.

3 weeks away

The IAS event is set for October 20th.

They are expecting over 10,000 visitors attending the event.

Then on October 22nd is the Grand Opening of the new Church of Scientology of London!



This is a photo of the event in 1993 when David Miscavige announced that the IRS had given the Church of Scientology International, the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) and all Scientology churches in the US full tax exemption, which was the last hurdle in the Church being recognized as a religion in the US.

International Association of Scientologists

According to the Scientology News web site:

The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) is an unincorporated membership organization open to all Scientologists from all nations. It does not participate in management or Church affairs and is not part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The IAS was formed in 1984 at Saint Hill Manor, the home of L. Ron Hubbard from 1959 to 1967, which is located in East Grinstead, Sussex, England. Delegates from around the world representing the Scientologists in their areas gathered in recognition of the need to unite all Scientologists as one international body. Specifically the IAS was formed to guarantee that Scientologists will always be able to practice their religion. It assists in instances where individual Scientology churches or Scientologists are subjected to religious persecution. The strength of all the individual members of the team, briefed and coordinated with one another, unifies and strengthens the group. Additionally, the IAS supports the Church’s social betterment and social reform activities. It also keeps Scientologists informed of all important developments and successes of the religion around the world and provides a forum through which they can coordinate their actions.

Wondering Who it will Be

As the IAS event draws near (less than a month away) I wonder who will be the winners this year.