Scientology Missions International (SMI) is a
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
n
501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which is located in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. SMI is part of the
Church of Scientology network.
While being a corporation, SMI is also a management entity, which is ecclesiastically integrated within the mother church of
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
, the
Church of Scientology International. SMI runs on a worldwide basis the so-called "Scientology Missions", which are beginner organizations within the Church of Scientology network. These Missions offer basic
Dianetics
Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...
and
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
services to Scientology members and to the general public. The official website of SMI states the following about Scientology Missions and the functions of SMI:
... Scientology Mission is the entrance point in Scientology for people of all faiths and walks of life. Here, people become introduced to Dianetics and Scientology technology. ... Scientology missions also preside over naming ceremonies, officiate over marriages and funerals and are there to assists those in distress. ... To assist missions in these endeavors, Scientology Missions International (SMI) was formed to act as the mother church for all missions. SMI's international offices provide guidance, help and direction for existing missions through a global network of continental offices. Through training manuals, apprenticeships, direct consultation, magazines, newsletters, promotion and a wealth of other materials, SMI provides the wherewithal new and existing missions need to function and expand. ..."
In a 1993
memorandum
A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...
by the
Church of Scientology International, the following information was provided to the
Internal Revenue Service with regards to SMI's role, its personnel and its income:
... Missions ..., nearly 100 in the United States alone and over 250 worldwide, minister the lowest levels of
religious services to parishioners within their localities. Missions are under the ecclesiastical authority of SMI, which in turn is under the ecclesiastical authority of CSI. SMI itself has a staff of approximately 26 individuals and an annual budget of approximately $2.6 million, based on its annual disbursements for the most recent year for which financial statements are available...."
Corporate information
SMI was
incorporated on December 22, 1981, in Los Angeles, California by its
Trustees
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
William J. Duckhorn, Edward E. Brewer and Cecilia P. Murray. On June 17, 1982, the
Board of Trustees amended the
Articles of Incorporation
Article often refers to:
* Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness
* Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication
Article may also refer to:
...
. The day after, on June 18, 1982, SMI's Board of Directors, then consisting of Roger C. Barnes, Karen Sue Campbell and Howard D. Becker, adopted the
Bylaws
A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
of the newly created organization.
On September 21, 1993, the following individuals held
corporate
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
positions at SMI: The
Board of Trustees was composed of Jonathan Epstein, Jessica Pruitt and Pablo Lobato. The members of SMI's
Board of Directors at that time were Jean Discher, Bernard Radburn and Claire Edwards. SMI's
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
was Jean Discher, its
Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
and
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
Beate Gordon and its
Assistant Secretary Bernard Radburn.
As of November 23, 2000, SMI's
corporate officers
Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit or ...
were Richard Fear (
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
/President), Joi Marchant (
Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
) and Claire Edwards (
Chief Financial Officer/
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
).
On August 18, 1993, SMI filed an application for
tax exemption
Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
under section
501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and on September 3, 1993, a request for a "Group Exemption Ruling" for the affiliated
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
Missions in the United States. In 1993, the
Internal Revenue Service eventually granted SMI's requests for exemption.
The current official address of SMI is 6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. SMI operates from the same address as the
Church of Scientology International and other sub-entities of CSI. SMI's official
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
is Jeanne Caugan. Her official address is 3055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
Licensing of trademarks and service marks
Within the
corporate structure A typical corporate structure consists of various departments that contribute to the company's overall mission and goals. Common departments include Marketing, Finance, Operations management, Human Resource, and IT. These five divisions represent ...
of the Scientology network, the
Religious Technology Center
The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., USA, December 22, 1993 that was founded in 1982 by th ...
owns the right to license the
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
trademarks
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
and
service marks through a so-called "assignment agreement" between RTC and the founder of Scientology,
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...
on May 16, 1982. RTC and CSI entered a
license agreement
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
on May 18, 1982, granting CSI, the new "Mother Church of Scientology," the right to use and sub-license certain of the trademarks and service marks.
As a consequence, CSI entered a
license agreement
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
with SMI on May 19, 1982, which granted the right to SMI to further license the
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
trademarks
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
and
service marks of the Scientology Missions.
In the years following the signing of the agreement with CSI, SMI has entered various license agreements with Scientology Missions around the world over the use of the Scientology
trademarks
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
and
service marks.
Organizational structure and management
In addition to its
corporate
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
status, SMI is also a part of the
ecclesiastical command structure of the international Church of Scientology management. Integrated within the
mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...
of
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
, the
Church of Scientology International, SMI is one of 8 sub-units and
networks
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
, which form the so-called "Flag Command Bureaux" (FCB). The Scientology
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includ ...
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...
let ''The Command Channels of Scientology'' states the following about the FCB:
... The Flag Command Bureaux, so named from its origination aboard the Flag Ship Apollo, is the central point of tactical management for all the individual orgs and units of all the sectors of Scientology. The Flag Command Bureaux is the tactical level of management. It gets International Management plans, evaluations and programs done in all the individual orgs and units...."
Describing the purpose and functions of SMI, the "Command Channels" booklet sees SMI as a "tactical management unit which is in charge of and fully responsible for the expansion of the mission network." Furthermore, it states:
... Its purpose is to get missions functioning as Scientology's spearhead into the society and to hold wide open the entrance gates of the Bridge. This is achieved by getting the missions flooding their community with books, getting a huge volume of new public onto the Bridge through clearly delineated introductory routes with basic Scientology and Dianetics services well delivered, and by driving people further up the Bridge to orgs so they can train as auditors and go Clear and OT.
"SMI INT assists missions in accomplishing this by helping them execute tactical programs provided by the Senior Executive Strata. SMI INT sees that missions get their technical and administrative staff trained in orgs so they perform their functions.
"SMI INT is responsible for keeping missions inethics, in-tech and on-policy so they expand and
fulfill their purpose of being a successful front-lines dissemination activity for Scientology which sends a high volume of new public, having successfully received basic services, on up to orgs.
"SMI INT also sees that new missions are opened and gotten productive. There should be 10 missions around every org, each actively sending a large flow of new public to its local org, thus contributing to its expansion up to and beyond the size of the old Saint Hill in its prime...."[The Flag Command Bureaux, Page 17 - 25 of the Scientology Command Channels booklet, Chapter on Flag Command Bureaux and its sub-entities, Los Angeles, California, 1988]
See also
*
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
*
Dianetics
Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...
*
Church of Scientology
*
Religious Technology Center
The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., USA, December 22, 1993 that was founded in 1982 by th ...
*
Church of Scientology International
*
List of Scientology organizations
References
External links
Scientology Missions International homepageScientology Missions International Index
{{Scientology
Organizations based in Los Angeles
Scientology organizations
Religious organizations established in 1981
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