Parents still processing pending presence of controversial after-school club in Lebanon
One mom finds club's use of the word 'satan' a worrisome sign of the times
One mom finds club's use of the word 'satan' a worrisome sign of the times
One mom finds club's use of the word 'satan' a worrisome sign of the times
Around noon Friday at the Coffee Caravan in Lebanon, Brett Wilson described a conversation he had with his son a few hours earlier.
"He starts telling me about this satanic group going on, meeting at schools — first through fifth grade or something," Wilson said.
Wilson's son was referring to a flyer published by a national group called The Satanic Temple. The flyer explains that next week will mark the start of meetings of the After School Satan Club in the cafeteria at Donovan Elementary in Lebanon.
"It's definitely a shock, you know, to see a group like that in our community," Dana Cropper said.
On its website, the controversial group's parent organization says its mission is, in part, to encourage "benevolence and empathy." The flyer talks about kids doing arts and crafts and playing games.
But Cropper said any organization that embraces the word 'satan' is not okay in her book.
"Satan is the adversary and he prowls around like a lion and he's here to distract and destroy," she said.
Lebanon's superintendent said the controversial after-school club has a right to use Donovan Elementary building because a Christian group called the Good News Club has already been doing so.
In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that schools either have to make buildings available to all groups or to no groups. The ruling was in favor of the Good News Club, which is why the After School Satan Club now wants to plant its roots in Lebanon.
"I can't imagine the pressure that's been on our superintendent and the school board," Cropper said. "Hopefully, what it will do will help us to push our attention.. you know, as a Christian, for me, it would be on Jesus and how we need to treat this situation. .. I'm just praying that most parents would continue to make the choices to send them maybe to The Good News Club."
It's hard to gauge whether families will be interested in the After School Satan Club. Elementary-aged students who do want to attend will need signed permission slips from their parents.