A club raising eyebrows in Lebanon wrapped up its first meeting Friday. The After School Satan Club met at Lebanon Elementary School.
It has drawn support, criticism and even possible legal action.
“We had a great turnout. We had a lot of parents that hung around just for the first meeting to kind of see what the kids are doing,” June Everett, national director of the After School Satan Clubs, said.
The After School Satan Club is officially underway. The club held its first meeting on Friday with 12 students signed up.
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“We had a bunch of different STEM activities that the older kids were working on putting together, things that would light up and spin,” Everett said.
The club was requested by a local parent in response to a Christian club, the Good News Club meeting after school on the same campus.
“A lot of the parents recognize the fact that they’re not necessarily Christian. Didn’t feel comfortable sending their kid to the other religious club but absolutely felt comfortable hanging out with us today,” Everett said.
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Outside of the building, an impromptu prayer was held.
“We’re here to pray against the evil, the evil spirits that are here and have been brought into this school and putting our children in danger,” Claudia Catani, of Niantic, said.
The people gathered there all disapprove of the Satan Club.
“Satan Club is not even age appropriate for elementary school for what they’re bringing in here,” Catani said.
This development caused one Lebanon community member to threaten a lawsuit towards the school district, saying there needs to be separation of church and state.
He wants the Satan Club and Good News Club kicked out of school facilities and worries about potential tensions.
“I just feel like my child and other people’s children in the town are being used as pawns on this religious battle, if you will,” Andrew Vining, of Lebanon, said.
We reached out to the superintendent for comment about the first Satan Club meeting, but didn’t hear back. In a previous statement, he said the district has to allow outside organizations access to school facilities regardless of religious views under the first amendment.
Interactions between the Satan Club and those praying remained peaceful at the elementary school. If there’s one thing they agree on, it’s the exercise of first amendment rights.
“People have the right to equal access to public spaces and people have the right to peacefully protest,” Everett said.
“We respect the organization’s first amendment rights, to be here and have an after school club and they are independent of the school system, but we also have the first amendment right to say we’re not happy with what’s going on,” Christine Rebstock, of Middletown, said.
Everett said the club will continue to meet monthly at the school with the potential for more meetings next year if the club grows.
