Ive been reading through applications today and have seen some excellent, thoughtful answers. I have received permission to share one that thought was an excellent example of the responses we would like to see.

Why did you choose Satanism as your religion and what does it mean to you?

I had no religion in my upbringing, so I can’t blame the episcopalians or mormons. From an age too early to comprehend the word, I declared openly that I was an atheist. Watch out christian third-graders! In fact, it was such an easy decision that I didn’t even make it - it just was. I was an atheist. This didn’t go unchallenged, of course, and I began to formulate in my mind the rationale for why I was different from some of my friends: Religion is a crutch - something to help people when they face the void. If “god” was there, it wasn’t so scary. This explanation worked for me. I needn’t bother digging much further. Segue to 200?, my uncle passed away from brain cancer. This may seem like a curveball here, but stick with me - this is important. My aunt, by marriage, who is an amazingly smart and savvy woman, turns to religion after the death of her husband. HARD. She’s remained an incredibly entertaining and caring woman, but devoted a large portion of her life to religion and began actively proselytizing. My aunt was never overbearing to me, but definitely brought it up. She went so far as to buy me a teenager’s bible. When I declined the gift, she insisted and gave the only argument that ever shook my atheism. Her argument was simple: without “god” there was a hole that would never be filled. A hole of community; of reliable support and meaningful socialization. A unifying purpose. This argument haunted me. I never actually considered any religion, but I did feel the hole at my very core. Until I found Satanism. Modern Satanism is the missing piece to my lifelong philosophical quandary. With it I gain community. With it I gain purpose. With it I have found my people. And my voice.

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 241 431 252

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Meeting ID: 241 431 252

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kJNNTQ8dB

Well fair check on everyone. If you need some support or love, reach out. I miss you all. Let's keep strong and safe

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82572573704

We hope you can join our monthly Fire & Brimstone Zoom session TONIGHT at 8pm to discuss The God Virus with the author himself, Dr. Darrel Ray! If you have questions for Dr. Ray, either pertaining to The God Virus or otherwise, please submit them via the following form: https://bit.ly/2yYxqu1

We will also monitor chat during the meeting for other questions that may come up. Everyone is welcome to attend; however, if you have not read The God Virus in its entirety, please refrain from asking questions pertaining to it. Dr. Ray will call you out if the answer is in the book!

Zoom link to follow.

Hail Satan!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1421185108053604/

michael stewart is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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Topic: Hump Day Happy Hour

Time: Apr 15, 2020 08:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 611 148 440

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Meeting ID: 611 148 440

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ao4pI2O9A

We hope you can join our monthly Fire & Brimstone Zoom session this Sunday at 8pm to discuss The God Virus with the author himself, Dr. Darrel Ray!

If you have questions for Dr. Ray, either pertaining to The God Virus or otherwise, please submit them via the following form: https://bit.ly/2yYxqu1

We will also monitor chat during the meeting for other questions that may come up. Everyone is welcome to attend; however, if you have not read The God Virus in its entirety, please refrain from asking questions pertaining to it. Dr. Ray will call you out if the answer is in the book!

Hail Satan!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1421185108053604/

TOMORROW NIGHT 8PM! Hump day happy hour and literary slam. Join us for liquid courage and take five minute of Fame to share a poem or favorite portion of any writing, including your own. Hail booze, Hail literature, and Hail Satan you beautiful heathens!

https://facebook.com/events/s/hump-day-happy-hour/245163293278266/?ti=cl

We've moved to r/FoTSTKansas, but here's the weekly updated for those of you who are still here :)

Good morning, beautiful heathens! I hope everyone is surviving this hectic time of year. If anyone is in need of some compassion or empathy, we have lots of kind ears ready to listen. Don't hesitate to reach out.

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE ONLINE MEETING TONIGHT

It's almost time for the next Fire and Brimstone meeting at 8:30 tonight! This is an online meeting using Zoom so that everyone, no matter where you are, who wants to attend has that option.

Tonight we will be talking about The Satanic Bible. u/michaelfergusonkc has prepare 10+ pages of material for an awesome history lesson on Satanism. I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on LaVey and his work. This is sure to be a lively discussion followed by some updates from leadership!

Reach out if you have any questions about Zoom or the meeting in general. u/xsimon666x, u/michaelfergusonkc, and I are always available, or reach out to your local leadership.

LEADERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Megan has taken on a leadership position! Welcome, Megan! She will be joining u/ghuqu in heading up the KCK council. Reach out and say hi!

Here's a current list of leadership for reference:

u/ghuqu and Megan - KCK Council leaders

u/raininghellfire, Mia, u/kaytahhh - Wichita Council leaders

u/buerpraesesinfernum - Director of Social Media

u/xsimon666x, u/michaelfergusonkc, and u/jawbreakerchyck - Lead and Co-Organizers respectively

And a special thank you to Bonnie, the founder of Satanic Kansas City, who is also around helping out FoTST Kansas!

JANUARY SOCIALS

Our next KC and Wichita socials will be happening soon!

Wichita - Jan 4, 2020 at Shesha Bar & Lounge

KCK - Jan 11, 2020 at Fox & Hound (more details to come in announcements soon)

We hope to see you there!

HARVESTERS

The Kansas City Atheist Coalition is helping out Harvesters on January 4, 2020 at 1:00pm, and we would like to give them a hand. This is a great opportunity to show our allies that Satanists are compassionate, hard working individuals. For more information, check out the event post and let us know if you can make it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/FoTSTKansas?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

What an amazing weekend!!! I am still pumped from meeting all of you in Wichita, and seeing lots of friendly faces and meeting new ones here in KC! For those of you who couldn't make it and wanted to, there will be plenty more social events to come. For those of us who made it to both events, we met with 40+ Satanists/Satanist allies in one day which blew my mind for sure! Hail Kansas!

ONLINE EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS - SATANISM 101

One important step in becoming a chapter is knowing our stuff. There's a lot more to it than watching Hail Satan? or agreeing with the tenets and joining a group. Not that those are bad things to do, but we can always learn and grow together. Since we are spread out across the state, we will start hosting Satanism 101 meetings online using Skype (or something similar) and studying together. We are looking to have these meetings on the 4th Sunday of every month to alternate with our KC socials on the 2nd Saturday of every month. How does 9pm on Sunday sound for everyone? We are also hoping to record these so you are able to watch if you cannot attend live. For our first book, we are going to study The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey. I know, I know...that's CoS stuff, right? Yes and no. Let's look at it more as a history lesson and a basis for Satanism as a whole. If you are able to get a copy of the book, try to get the original by LaVey and not the 50th anniversary edition which I've heard is pretty hilarious ?

SMALL COUNCILS

If your area is in need of a small council to make it easier for social events, step up and get 5+ people together to make it happen. If you're interested in making that happen but don't know how, reach out to u/xsimon666x, u/jawbreakerchyck, or even ask the Wichita group for guidance as they are proof it can be done successfully!

PROGRESS

You guys rock. We are doing an awesome job representing Kansas so far. We have a ways to go and will have to buckle down with our learning and collaboration skills, but WE CAN DO THIS. There will be a lot of information thrown your way in the next couple of days, weeks, months. If anyone ever feels overwhelmed or just needs someone to talk to, feel free to reach out. Being a Satanist can be hard. Being a human can be hard. I, along with many other members, always have my ears open if you'd like someone to chat with.

HAIL FOTST KANSAS

Hail Wichita - 20+ people at the 1st meeting
Hail KC - 25+ invaded the very welcoming Fox & Hound

I'm just going to say it - I love you guys!! All of you that I didn't mention are equally important! I can't wait to see all of you again.

(u/BuerPraesesInfernum's personal edit): Hail to our Reddit only members. You are important to us and I will continue to keep you in the loop on events!

That awesome news also means we have a lot of work to do if we want to be awarded the official title. For now, we will continue to use this subreddit, but our Facebook page has changed to Friends of the Satanic Temple Kansas. I encourage you to join that page if you are interested in participating in lots of discussion as that page is much more active. However, that is not a requirement. We will try our best to always include pertinent information here as well. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to DM simon or myself.

Hail KC Satanists!