MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The After School Satan Club will hold its first Tennessee meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary this January.
The club told ABC24 its first meeting was supposed to be Dec. 13, but after some conversation with the district over whether they should have to pay for space, the club pushed its first meeting back about a month to Jan. 10.
The Satanic Temple said it doesn’t teach anything about Satan to kids in the club, but instead focuses on projects for the community. Regardless, parents are frustrated.
The first time several parents heard about the club was on social media, not from the school.
“I was floored,” Chimneyrock grandparent Tonya Vester said. “I was floored by hearing about that.”
Many parents first heard about After School Satan Club while scrolling through Facebook.
“My grandson showed me this earlier; he’d seen something on Facebook,” Chimneyrock grandparent Jenny Kincaid said. “I thought it was a joke, and I didn’t believe it.”
Others got a call from a friend or relative leading them to check their class communication app, where a message from the district read:
“Dear Chimneyrock Family,
We understand that some of you have questions regarding the recent approval of a facility rental to The Satanic Temple, a federally recognized non-profit organization.
As a public school district, we're committed to upholding the principles of the First Amendment, which guarantees equal access to all non-profit organizations seeking to use our facilities after school hours. This means we cannot approve or deny an organization’s request based solely on its viewpoints or beliefs.
Board Policy 7002 outlines this commitment, allowing community groups and government entities to rent school property outside of school hours. These gatherings are not school-sponsored and are not endorsed or promoted by Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
The Satanic Temple, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) public charity, falls under this policy and has the same legal rights to use our facilities after school hours as any other non-profit organization. It will be renting the facility in January, after school. You may read more about the organization in an online news story from the Washington Post.
We understand that this topic may raise questions. Thank you for your understanding and continued partnership.”
However, this doesn’t offer any relief for Kincaid.
“I just happened to look in my emails and see the letter from the principal coming through saying that it was coming to Chimneyrock," Kincaid said. "I'm about to come unglued right now.”
After School Satan Club’s June Everett said it’s no different than programs already allowed on campus.
“After School Satan Club is an alternative to the evangelical clubs that are in thousands of schools across the United States," Everett said. "Chimneyrock does have the Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Club operating before school on campus I believe once a week.”
Everett said some parents weren’t happy with the Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Club, so they reached out to The Satanic Temple for a new one.
“So, for the parents that are upset, I encourage them to take a deeper dive into what we're all about," Everett said. "Some of the activities that we’ve done in the past - we did dog tie ropes where the kiddos made these ropes for the dogs to play tug of war with at a local animal shelter. We’ve made cards for sick children and then given them to the hospital.”
The club is abiding by MSCS policies and is allowed on campus after school. The After School Satan Club has its first meeting on Jan. 10 at Chimneyrock Elementary.
In the first day flyers were sent out about the club, they already have three students signed up for the new year.