We had a great summit meeting on May 5, with new information presented and perspectives heard from attendees on the issues they care about. There’s still time for you to register for our June 9 summit. Go to our Spring Summit page, and register for June 9, to bring your voice and your advocacy to the FAN table!

From Rev. Carol Jensen, FAN Governing Board Chair: As you may have seen in our March announcement, the Faith Action Network is in the midst of a leadership transition as Executive Director Elise DeGooyer ends her 10 years of service at FAN this June. The FAN Board and Staff are working with Rose Waterstone who is leading us through a hiring process for the next executive director and will also be serving as a part-time interim executive director until the new leader is hired. Rose has developed a community survey for the FAN network to gather input that can inform our leadership search process and also help to guide some of our strategic thinking about FAN’s future. Your input would be highly valued—please respond by May 20.
Our multi-faith witness and advocacy for the well-being of all is needed more than ever and FAN is grateful for your support of our work together. Thank you in advance if you are able to help us in this way.

From our neighbors at SEIU Local 6: On May 17, join hundreds of union janitors to march in downtown Seattle to demand a fair contract. This highly diverse, largely immigrant workforce shows up every night to keep the commercial buildings, healthcare facilities, and tech campuses throughout King County clean and maintained. With an average salary of less than $45,000 per year, janitors say they need a new contract as their current wages have been outpaced by the rising cost of living. Please come out and support janitors as they raise their voices and demand respect, dignity, no cuts to their healthcare, and a living wage.

Economic Justice Working Group co-leader Steve Clagett said: “People of faith and conscience have stood on the picket lines with workers throughout FAN’s history and before. And we need to show up in a big way again! These are our neighbors, people who live near our faith communities. Racial equity is not just a book group exercise, it means showing up with your feet and voices for justice when invited!”

Many of you have shown up in recent months for nurses in Everett and Spokane and for mushroom workers in Sunnyside. We invite you to continue to put your faith in action for workers, who are people of faith and conscience too!

Please join us in King County next Friday, May 17, at McGraw Square, 531 Stewart St, Seattle at 12:30pm. Let us know you’re coming at fan@fanwa.org, so we can help you find us with the FAN banner!

FAN has endorsed a NO vote on all three statewide initiatives heading to the ballot. There are others in the signature-gathering phase, and we invite you to decline to sign. We’ll continue to update you about these in the months ahead, and we encourage you to check out our initiatives resource page.

The Spokane Community is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Expo '74, the first environmentally-focused World's Fair and the smallest city (Spokane) to host a World's Fair. Local faith communities and environmental justice organizations have celebrations, advocacy, hikes, and more planned for the two-month long celebration! St. John's Episcopal Cathedral will host their annual Hope for Creation Conference from May 29 - June 2. Events include a Vigil for the Healing of the Earth, a panel discussion from local and national faith leaders, and a discussion with our partners Washington Interfaith Power and Light. See a full list of events here. 

The Lands Council will also be holding a Legislative Summit on Friday, June 21. At the Summit, legislators and local area experts will craft legislation on six locally important topics with a Climate Justice thread running through them; these proposed bills will be sponsored in the 2025 Legislative Session and could possibly become law if passed. The summit is hosted in collaboration with the Expo Tribal Pillar that will lead a symbolic salmon release and prayer along with a canoe race on the Spokane River. The full schedule and registration can be found here.

Summer in the North Cascades wilderness calls! Holden Village is offering some exciting programming this summer, and we are delighted that FAN Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang will be part of the teaching faculty for the week of August 5-8. There will be lots of opportunities to participate in meaningful programs and discussions, as well as enjoy the outdoors and all that Holden has to offer. Register at the Holden site.

Housing and Homelessness: Provide your input on the WA State Department of Commerce 5-Year Strategic Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Link here.

1. Attend a listening session on Zoom:
   Monday, May 13, 5 – 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time
   Register for May 13 session (Zoom meeting)
   or
   Monday, June 3, 10 – 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
   Register for June 3 session (Zoom meeting)
2. Submit a feedback form by 5 p.m. Pacific Time on June 7, 2024
   Fill out public comment form
3. Email your feedback to Camille Gix.

Voter Outreach: Join an in-person training by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness to increase your voting advocacy.

• Tuesday, June 4th at 5pm at University Library, Seattle
• Saturday, June 8th at 10:30am in South King County (location TBD)
  

Security Grants: You advocated for new state funding to protect our communities, and now it’s time to learn more about applying for funds (proposals due July 2)! Tuesday, May 14, 2:00-3:00 Department of Commerce Religious and Nonprofit Conference, online. Join this public outreach meeting for faith communities who are applying for the Department of Commerce Security Grant. Learn more and register here.

Saturday, May 11, 3:00-6:00pm, Kirkland Together: Become Allies Against Anti-Semitism, in-person, Kol Ami, Kirkland. Hear from speakers Prof Nancy Koppelman and Rev. Terry Kyllo and others who will discuss their work to end antisemitism, with follow up discussion on how to increase allyship. Register here.

Sunday, May 12, and May 19, 11:45-12:45, Living Our Principals: Faith, Facts and Fun! In-person, Orchards United Methodist Church, Vancouver. Join Pastor Rachel Byers as she explores the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church which include Economic Community, Politics and Power and World Community. E-mail the church office for more details.

Thursday, May 16, 7:30pm, The Aunties-Women of the Salish Sea, Episode 2, in-person, Washington Center Main Stage, Olympia. The Aunties is an invitation to come together to honor the women that shape, heal, and uphold Indigenous communities—the aunties—through an evening of contemporary storytelling, shared stories live from the stage alongside familial and archival photographs, and works of legacy. Find out more here. 

Friday, May 17, 12:30pm, Janitor's March: Contract Kickoff, in-person, McGraw Square, Seattle. Janitors need a new contract NOW as their current wages have been outpaced by the cost of living. Please come out and support janitors as they raise their voices and demand respect, dignity, no cuts to their healthcare, and a living wage. Register here.

Saturday, May 18, 9:00am-12:45pm, Supporting Movements for a Just and Peaceful World, online. Join the Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation for its 26th annual Spring Assembly. Hear from keynote speaker Kathy Kelly, World Beyond War Board President, who will speak on: "Ring the Bells That Still Can Ring: Movements, Worldwide, to End the Scourge of War." Register here.

May 19-27, Lummi and International Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Journey, in-person. Find out more here. 

Wednesday, May 22, 6:00pm, A Cathedral's Complicity in Redlining and Restrictive Covenants, in-person and online, Bloedel Hall, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle. As Saint Mark’s Cathedral considers redeveloping the St. Nicholas property for affordable housing, there is an opportunity to reflect on the history of North Capitol Hill in which racial redlining and restrictive covenants discriminated against people of color. Hear from Rev. Canon Carla Robinson, Sophie Betz, E.N. West and The Very Rev. Steve Thomason. Register here.

Wednesday, May 29, 7:00pm, Hope for Creation: Spirituality in Environmental Care, in-person, St. John's Episcopal Cathedral. Join this event offering by the Environment and Tribal Committees. Find out more here.

Thursday, May 30, 5:45-6:45pm, Healing for the Earth Vigil, The Lilac Bowl in Riverfront Park, in-person, Spokane. Organized by Faith Leaders & Faith Leaders of Conscience. Hear the Salish School drummers and support their school as they are in the process of moving to a new location near the river and there will be more information about how our many organizations can support this effort. Learn more here.

Tuesday, July 2, 7:00pm, An Evening with Lifelong Climate Activist Bill McKibben, in-person and online, First United Methodist Church, Seattle. Third Act Washington (TAWA) is presenting a talk by Bill McKibben who will be issuing a call to action on climate and democracy, including No on Initiative 2117, followed by a Q&A. Register here.

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