After School Satan Club rejected by Northern York School Board vote – PennLive

A near-unanimous school board vote Tuesday night struck down a proposal to create an After School Satan Club at the Northern York Elementary School.

The proposal was initiated by Samantha Groome, a resident of the district. Every board member except Thomas Welch voted against allowing the club to form.

Someone voted in favor, eh? was the first reaction of Lucien Greaves, the cofounder of the Temple of Satan that created the national After School Satan Club. It is indicative of a school board that has no idea what its limits are and its function is.

At least 300 people gathered to share viewpoints that ranged from emphatic support to vehement opposition of the proposal to form the club. The vast majority of voices, however, voiced dissent.

Many parents cited scripture to reinforce their points of belief. Some heckled opposition speakers. And some rose to the microphone to tell Christians to show Christian love to all.

Jodie Osborne of Wellsville delivered an impassioned speech citing scripture.

Im sad all we are talking about is Satan. Its not about Satan, its about God, Osborne said. Wrongs will be righted, and if we dont start standing now, were going to lose our nation.

Paul Miller took to the microphone and told the community to cast those in favor of the club out of town.

You shouldnt be here. Theres no room for you here. If this freaking group does get voted in, lets do something about it, Miller told the crowd.

The After School Satan Club is an after-school program that promotes self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative interests of students, according to its website.

The group does not worship Satan, nor does it try to proselytize. It seeks to promote free inquiry and rationalism, according to its website.

It was clear these people had no idea who we are, and what we are doing, Lucien Greaves, cofounder of the Temple of Satan that sponsors the after school club, said.

Some in the audience felt they knew enough to oppose it.

One Northern York County High School junior defended the group.

I am a religious person myself, however, Ive often found myself at the teeth-end of Christian love, the junior, who declined to give his full name, said. I find they can be quite intolerant at times. They can push people away easily.

The After School Satan Club could provide a place for kids who know they are different to go without being asked demeaning questions or having to explain themselves, the junior said.

Jackie Bieber, a recent arrival in Dillsburg, said she just lost a child to a suicide website run by a Satanic group.

They gave her step-by-step instructions. We move over here, and now we find out theres an after-school Satan club, Bieber said.

Wes Gessaman took to the microphone and said This is how it begins.

When I hear Satan, I dont research that. I dont look it up, Gessaman said. Im not about to let it slip through my fingers I could have stopped this from happening to others children.

The self-described mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits.

Its a complete contradiction because Satan is a tyrannical force, Becky Rosely, of Dillsburg, said. However, she did speak of compassion.

They will know we are Christians by our love, Rosely said. Not by our nasty, snarky remarks. We should be doing a whole lot better job at sharing the love of Christ with them.

I do not want my towns image to be destroyed, William Dacheux, of Dillsburg, spoke up. I do not want Dillsburg to be known as the town that accepts everyone so long as you believe what we do. If we shelter our children from different worldviews that are out there, we are doing them a disservice.

A member of the audience held a crucifix above the crowd as Dacheux spoke.

Deanna Weaver, a Dillsburg resident, said while a significant number of people in the room were Christians, there were also people who do not believe in a superior being.

That in no way makes me a child pornographer, a cannibal or any of the absurdities that have been rumored. This lady [Samantha Groome] has been misrepresented, Weaver said.

Weaver continued to read the seven tenets of The Satanic Temple:

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

3. Ones body is inviolable, subject to ones own will alone.

4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo ones own.

5. Beliefs should conform to ones best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit ones beliefs.

6. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do ones best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

What is objectionable about all that? Weaver said.

Everything! the auditorium erupted in raucous comment. Weaver silently returned to her seat.

Greaves called the experience unnecessarily traumatizing for those who wanted the group brought to Northern York County and said religious freedom does not come down to a school boards vote.

They had the first meeting, and people didnt show up. They were hoping to humiliate and intimidate us and drive us out So they allowed people to show up and shout us down, then do their show trial and say they will not allow us to run the club, Greaves said.

They are a disgrace to their public post and they have no right sitting in those chairs, Greaves said.

Greaves said the group tried to do everything in their power to meet the standards district policy set and to work with them as smoothly as possible.

They instead decided to make a controversy out of it and turn it into the spectacle it became. Thats very regrettable, Greaves said.

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After School Satan Club rejected by Northern York School Board vote - PennLive