Millions of people from all over the world converge on Times Square every New Years to ring out the old and ring in the new.
But just two blocks away at the Church of Scientology of New York we bring it in a bit differently.
It's become a tradition to review where we've come over the past year, and set some pretty stiff resolutions for the new one. And as any Scientologist will tell you, we're pretty big on help, and set our sites on how many people we can reach with L. Ron Hubbard's technology.
This year's New Years Event was the best one I can remember.
First of all, I always love listening to David Miscavige. He's a wonderful speaker, but that's only part of it. He has real charisma and inspires the best in me and my friends all agree -- he has the same affect on them too.
Mr. Miscavige came to New York a few years ago to deliver the keynote address at the grand opening of our church.
Anyway, this year's even was incredible. There was so much good news, about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, new churches opening, such as the Church of Scientology of London and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, and what I loved best -- the release of the newly remastered An Introduction to Scientology DVD. This is the original 1966 television interview with LRH, colorized and restored to perfection. In the event Mr. Miscavige showed examples of how original photographer shook the camera, let LRH step right out of the frame (with his head going above the top of the frame), and this was corrected by the team that restored it. He showed how the original film was so damaged, so full of dust and scrapes and even breaks in the film as to render it almost impossible to watch.
The restored version is brilliant. The color is beautiful. L. Ron Hubbard looks like L. Ron Hubbard (which he didn't in the earlier 1980's colorized version), and his warmth and sense of humor and friendliness fill the screen.
As you can see, I just love this DVD!
