Our right to vote is our right to shape our society, to care for our neighbors, and to claim our human dignity. With all the uncertainty about voting this year, faith communities have an important role in encouraging and equipping their members to use that right.

At First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Seattle (FAME), Desley Brooks--a former elected official--has designed a program called Every Household Every Ballot. Desley notes that in Washington thousands of people receive ballots who never return them. FAME's goal is to do their part to change that.

In the summer, First AME asked every household to fill out a form listing all members in their household 16.5 and older. A Voter Engagement Team is now helping to get out the vote by:

• Assisting with voter registration and address updates
• Helping registered voters make a plan to vote
• Supporting voters to receive and return their ballots
• Providing ballot tracking information
• Offering ballot cure assistance if needed.

This plan was highly successful for the 2026 primary election pilot! Thirty-five households participated, with 90% completing a finished voting plan. More than 14 voters had ballots confirmed and accepted, and more than 13 enrolled in the King County Ballot Alerts program. One person who was staying temporarily in a rehabilitation facility was able to vote because her household collected and returned her ballot. In another case, church volunteers followed up with a household five times to develop a voting plan; every member ended up voting. And the Family Lead model extended beyond the lead to other household members, including a first-time 18-year-old voter!

We can put this in the context of King County voting overall, in which 37% of those registered voted in the primary election. And statewide, more than 20,000 ballots were rejected because they arrived too late, a 32% jump over the 2024 primary, driven largely by USPS postmarking delays. "That's the backdrop that makes household-level ballot tracking so important," Desley observes. "The throughline across [this pilot]: persistence and household level follow-up, not just a single contact, is what got ballots over the finish line." The FAME team is now building on this pilot for the general election.

FAN deeply appreciates how First AME is leading the way in our democracy, part of a long legacy of Black churches in the US. We hope you will be inspired to find a similar way to increase voting in your own community. Contact FAN if you'd like to reach out to Desley Brooks to learn more about their program. Find resources to share with your congregation and community on FAN's website, and ask us for VOTE posters from Save Our Wild Salmon.

September 30 is the national Day of Remembrance for all who were harmed by Indian Boarding Schools. We invite you to take time in collective worship or individual meditation to honor and remember survivors, their families, and the children who never made it home. We invite you to acknowledge the ongoing impacts of Indian Boarding School policies on Indigenous communities and all of us. You will soon be able to find a link to prayers on the FAN website >Our Network>Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities.

You can also take other actions. Contact Tribes near you to find out if there is an observance in your region which you can attend. Ask your municipality to declare a resolution in observance of the Day of Remembrance. Watch the 5-minute video Healing Voices of those who had attended Indian Boarding Schools (https://boardingschoolhealing.org/healing-voices-movement/)

Wear an orange shirt. September 30 is alternatively known as Orange Shirt Day, based on the experience of former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad. The six-year old had a bright orange shirt given by her grandmother, which was taken away on her first day at residential school. This story has come to represent how the system tried to strip away Native identity and culture.

Find more ideas in the NABS toolkit.

The Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) has counted a total of 526 boarding schools in the United States, 417 of which received government support. Many were run by Christian organizations. They note that,

"Beginning with the Indian Civilization Act Fund of March 3, 1819 and the Peace Policy of 1869 the United States, in concert with and at the urging of several denominations of the Christian Church, adopted an Indian Boarding School Policy expressly intended to implement cultural genocide through the removal and reprogramming of American Indian and Alaska Native children to accomplish the systematic destruction of Native cultures and communities. The stated purpose of this policy was to “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”

"By 1926, nearly 83% [more than 60,000] of Indian school-age children were attending boarding schools."

In Seattle, Mother Nation will be hosting a 5K Run/Walk: Healing Through Resilience at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center grounds. This event is a space for healing, remembrance, and solidarity. You can choose to walk, run, or just be in community. 

👉 Click Here to Register!

For questions, volunteer opportunities, or more information

Contact: Martin Spotted Bear, mspottedbear@mothernation.org

"There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." 

(Margaret Wheatley)

Please join the Faith Action Network, fellow faith communities, and other individuals of conscience for a FAN Regional Gathering to discover and act on what we care most deeply about in this moment. Our Gatherings will be opportunities to build community locally and to build power regionally and statewide. We will share stories and food, listen for your advocacy priorities, strategize for the election and 2027 legislative session by legislative district, and join in an activity to share our priorities with our state legislators. FAN staff will offer updates about ballot initiatives and upcoming state legislation.

South Snohomish/ North King Counties (especially LD 1 and 32): Sunday September 27, Sunday September 27, 2:30-4:15 pm, First Lutheran Church of Bothell. Please register here.

Yakima Area: Tuesday October 6. More details and registration coming soon.

Seattle & King County: Sunday October 11, 2:00-4:00 pm, Temple Beth Am.  Please register here.

Tacoma & Pierce County: Thursday October 22, 6:00-8:00 pm. Location TBD. Please register here.

Vancouver Area: Sunday November 1. More details and registration coming soon.

Bellingham Area: Saturday, November 7, 1:00-3:00 pm. Christ the Servant Lutheran Church. Registration coming soon.

Join Ballard First Lutheran Church (2006 NW 65th St. Seattle, WA) on September 26th at 7pm for the inaugural talk in the Erik Wilson Weiberg Lectureship! This year we will be joined by Dr. Suzanne Holland from the University of Puget Sound, where she holds the John B. Magee Distinguished Professorship in Science and Values for her work in bioethics. Professor Holland’s current passion is the course she teaches on Ethics & The Other, which is the inspiration for her lecture, “How to Understand White Christian Nationalism & The Other: Dusting Off the Niebuhrs for the 21st Century.

Registration is now open for our 2026 Annual Dinner!

Join us in Seattle at Seattle University or online on Sunday, October 18 at 5pm.

Join us in Spokane at Gonzaga University on Sunday, November 8 at 5pm.

You are invited to a special event this October, a cultural tribute to U.S. immigrants, past and present.  

MIGRATIONS: We Lift Our Lamps!, a production from the Lady Liberty Project, hosted by St Therese Parish Music and Arts, to celebrate and honor immigrants with two shows:

Saturday, October 10, 2026, 7:00-9:00pm

Sunday, October 11, 2026, 4:00-6:00pm (pre-show panel at 3:00)

At St Therese Church, 926 35^th Ave, Seattle, 98122

Follow this link for more about program and artists, and to reserve a seat here.

Tickets are by donation. All are welcome — please give what you are able. Immigrants welcome for free, just be sure to reserve a space by sending an email to: Ariel Rathbun. 

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