After nearly two years of lockdown where it was, sadly, almost impossible to gather with other religious pastors and priests, Scientologists and Volunteer Ministers reopened their doors today to pastors of any faith for a first Empowerment Seminar. Equipped with practical Tools for Life courses which anyone of any faith can do, the Scientologists restarted their free training.
After having trained and assisted more than 2500 pastors and ministers between 2019 up to the start of covid in March 2020 on the Tools for Life, Scientologists and Volunteer Ministers said they were eager to restart now that covid is not such a “horrible monster”. Having seen how the seminars provided real practical tools that pastors used in their own Church and with their own parishioners to improve their lives, Scientologists were happy to see dozens show up at Castle Kyalami to restart training.
At the start of training, Sandile Hlayisi, spokesperson for the Church and the Master of Ceremony for the day, welcomed everyone, so excited he was to have pastors back. “This is a new start. This pandemic has not only devastated our country economically but also spiritually. It is time now that we restore the religious values of our nation “, said Hlayisi.
He immediately started to show videos about conflict resolution, suppression and education, which animated the audience with bright idea.
Reverend Shadrack Lokoana of the Uniting Reformed Church of South Africa said, “Unity amongst Churches is a long lost tradition. It is time we restore it because all religions have as their basic principle, the love and care for one another“ By the end, he added that “It such a bliss to experience a moment like this when all religious leaders gather under one roof for empowerment. We succor to the people and sometimes we also need a helping hand.”
In earlier seminars, many commented about the remarkable unity amongst pastors and priests of various faiths when they are at the Church of Scientology, which was seen again at the reopening seminar. “We love working with pastors, ministers and priests of all faiths and religions,” says Hlayisi. “We actually have a lot in common – amongst others, a sense of community and a strong desire to help and improve the spiritual life of our parishioners – and so we are very happy to provide them with the practical tools we have and from which they can benefit in their own parishioners.”
Pastor Ncobo, who is a frequent attender of these empowerment seminars said “Once we as religions, realize that we have a common goal and purpose, I believe that we can finally end all the conflict and actually be united in executing our duties to the community”.
By the end of the day, the pastors were excited to discover how they can all work together. “While we all have our differences; this is not what is being discussed here. We all looked at how we can help each other. Very different perspective and much more beneficial for everyone,” said Hlayisi.
The Empowerment Seminar training equips religious leaders and parishioners of all faiths with practical life skills that they can use to navigate the daily problems of life. Taken from the works of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the program, this training offers skills such as – Conflict resolution, Communication, how to deal with stress, anxiety and depression, Problems with drugs, How to raise happy children, Successful marriage and more.
