Church of Scientology to open new Lake Oswego branch

[CommunicatorIC]

Oregon Live: Church of Scientology to open new Lake Oswego branch
http://www.oregonlive.com/lake-oswego/index.ssf/2014/08/church_of_scientology_of_portl.html

The Church of Scientology of Portland is opening a new branch in downtown Lake Oswego.

Selene Rayl, the future director of the branch, said the church does not yet have a set opening date. The space, a former CrossFit gym at 397 North State St., is still being renovated, she said.

The church -- a "life improvement center" -- will offer courses and counseling on relationships, marriage, work and more, Rayl said.

The church has many members in Lake Oswego, Rayl said, and new facility will serve people from the around south metro area who might not find it convenient to visit the church's main downtown Portland location.

In 2013, the church opened an "Ideal Org" in the six-story, $6.4 million Sherlock Building at 320 Southwast Oak Street. Gwen Barnard, the church's community affairs director, was out of the office on Monday and unable to comment.

The church was founded by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and includes a number of celebrity adherents, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

The Portland church was founded in 1971. It has about 1,200 members in Oregon, Southern Washington and Idaho, Barnard told the Oregonian in 2010. The greater Portland area, including Vancouver, has about 600 members.

-- Michael Bamesberger