Form a club

Re “After-School Satan Club holds first meeting ‘without incident’ despite protesters at Chesapeake school, lawyer says” (Feb. 16): I understand the instincts of parents protesting the After-School Satan Club now meeting in a Chesapeake public school. But they might instead adopt the perspective of my 18-year-old youth pastor son, who, upon learning about the club, responded unexpectedly, “Good.” But his explanation reminded me that he had been raised by lawyers: “The fact that they can meet in schools means that Christians can meet in schools, too.”

He knows this from experience. At 12, he started a Bible club at his Virginia Beach public middle school. He found a sponsor, got administrators’ permission, created posters and planned the meetings. My only job was to bring pizzas and watch him lead his peers through discussions, lessons and prayer. At an age when peer approval is paramount, these middle schoolers found a camaraderie that often eludes members of faith communities in public schools.

So rather than protesting, or complaining about the dismaying state of American youth culture — with its anxiety, depression, bullying, identity crises and violence — help your kids do what my son did. It is their absolute right to assemble an afterschool club where they can openly talk about God, read the Bible, pray, and share their faith. We only need to watch what’s been happening at Asbury University in Kentucky and other American campuses to understand that many young people are seeking God’s presence today.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the very thing the Satanists wanted to use to combat Christianity actually sparked a revival among Hampton Roads students?

— Stephanie Iaquinto, Virginia Beach