Everybody is part of the community

Members and staff of the Church of Scientology of Toronto know that they are part of the mosaic of the City of Toronto. Toronto is one of the most intriguing and interesting places to live with its wide variety of cultures and languages making it the most multicultural city on the planet.

Bringing Religion to the Community

Since the mid-1970s, ministers of the Church have participated with religious leaders of other faiths to forward religious tolerance and understanding in the Toronto area. Scientologists were involved with the founding of the Horizon Interfaith Programming Council in 1978, a broadly based religious committee that is responsible for religious programming on Greater Toronto cable stations.

Still vitally active today, Horizon is one of the last community programming bodies left in Canada. It provides four hours of quality religious programming a week for its members which now number thirty different faith groups from the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam to World Deliverance Ministries, one of the largest such groups in North America. The work of Horizon has been praised by the Canadian Radio and Television Commission as providing "a valuable contribution to the community" that "contributes to the quality and diversity of the Canadian broadcasting system."

The Church of Scientology of Toronto produces two shows a year on the Scientology religion. These shows have ranged from promoting drug awareness to providing basic information on the beliefs and practices of the Scientology religion and have included Church theatrical presentations such as the production of L. Ron Hubbard's, "Hymn of Asia." Horizon has also produced shows dealing with religious tolerance and understanding suchas The Horizon series "Religious Misconceptions."

Interfaith Work

Members of the Church participate in other interfaith initiatives. In 1989, the Ontario government invited the Church of Scientology of Toronto to participate in the Ontario Multifaith Taskforce on Substance Abuse which was set up as an innovative response to reduce the use of illegal drugs in Ontario. Toronto Church representatives participate in the North American Interfaith Network annual meetings around the United States and Canada and have done so for the past decade. The Church is represented on the South-Central Regional committee of the Ontario Multifaith Council. OMC is the advisor to the Ontario government on religious services and spiritual care issues, standards and practices. A Scientologist is the current chair of the South-Central regional committee.

Forwarding Community

In other areas, the Church and its members interact with the community. Scientologists have participated in major community events such as "Caribana", "200 Years Yonge" and the "Celebrate Toronto" street festival. They attend a wide range of community events each year such as "A Taste of Asia," Pakistan Independence Day, World Religions Day, Police Week, and many, many more.

Recognizing the Achievements of Others

Scientologists also recognize others in the community and their contributions. Since 1999, the Church in Toronto has staged The Friends of L. Ron Hubbard Humanitarian Awards Gala to celebrate those leaders in Canada who have made stellar contribution to the community. The Gala, which includes presentations on the life and work of L. Ron Hubbard, has become extremely popular with several hundred community and government leaders attending. Prominent individuals have been named recipients of the awards and include the likes of former Member of Parliament Howard McCurdy, Order of Canada recipient Bromley Armstrong for his work in race relations, Judge Pamela Appelt for her community and human rights contributions, Dr. Mavis Burke for her work in education and former chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission Alok Mukherjee.

For more information on the Church of Scientology in the Toronto community, contact us here.