Faith Action Network staff and volunteers have been out in the community this summer talking with neighbors from Spokane to Wenatchee, Puget Sound to Vancouver, about ways to increase justice across the state!

We wish Shanah Tovah to our Jewish colleagues, friends and neighbors who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah beginning tonight. May your new year be sweet, and your weeks ahead of high holidays be blessed. Thank you for your presence in our network and partnership in Tikkun Olam, repairing the world!

FAN staff are working with faith communities in our network to find dates this Fall for geographical cluster gatherings across our state. These meetings provide a way to get to know your neighbors and talk about local concerns and responses to needs in your community, hear FAN updates and perhaps create new collaborations. Meanwhile, here are the meetings planned and registration links:

OLYMPIC PENINSULA: Hosted by Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition, Thursday October 5, 4:00pm. Registration coming soon.

GREATER EVERETT AREA: Sunday October 15, 2:00-4:00 pm Hosted by Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Everett - Register Here.

CENTRAL/WEST/SOUTH SEATTLE: Sunday October 22, 2:00-4:00 pm Hosted by Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle - Register here.

TACOMA/PIERCE COUNTY: Sunday October 22, 5:00-7:00 pm Hosted by Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Tacoma - Registration coming soon.

EAST KING COUNTY: Wednesday October 25, 6:30-8:00 pm
Hosted by Newport Presbyterian Church, Bellevue – Register here.

BELLINGHAM AREA: Sunday November 5, 4:00-5:30 pm
Hosted by Christ the Servant Lutheran & First Congregational - Bellingham - Registration here.

Still being planned: Edmonds/Lynnwood, Olympia, Spokane/Eastern WA, Vancouver area, Wenatchee, Yakima. If you would like to host a meeting in your area, please contact us at fan@fanwa.org.

Mired in the talk of indictments and impeachments, the clock is ticking toward the end of the fiscal year on September 30 and the need for Congress to approve budget appropriations or face a government shutdown. While we watch the standoff, we are concerned about some appropriations that would only exacerbate poverty for children and families across the country. Just this week, new Census data showed that poverty doubled in the past year, especially for children, as pandemic supports expired. The poverty rate rose to 12.4 percent in 2022 from 7.8 percent in 2021, the largest one-year jump on record.

One piece of appropriations that we are especially concerned about is funding for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The way it is currently proposed, WIC would not fund all eligible children. The current proposals will exacerbate food insecurity, undermine efforts to build healthier outcomes for the next generations, and be detrimental to the well-being of millions of mothers and children. In Washington state, an estimate of 11,700 people would be turned away under this Senate or House Bill and 91,400 people would be cut from fruit and vegetable benefits. It is crucial for us, people of faith and conscience to make a swift and strong response to our Senators and Representatives to advocate for sufficient funding to protect eligible women and children.

Take Action for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program - Action Network

We are excited to welcome you to our Annual Dinner celebration on Sunday evening, November 19, in Renton, Spokane, and online! Details are being finalized, and invitations will be sent with online registration open the first week of October. For now, think about putting a table together for your community and invite your friends to save the date!

If you would like to be a sponsor of the event, contact Elise at degooyer@fanwa.org. If you would like to volunteer, email fan@fanwa.org or call us at 206-625-9790.

This month we are delighted to welcome our new FAN Network Events Manager, Alex Robinson, who brings to FAN a background in theater and event production for faith communities. Since gathering our statewide network is central to our mission and values, Alex will help us make sure that the Annual Dinner, Interfaith Advocacy Day, and other year-round convenings allow our network to be more effective and deepen relationships. We have also welcomed Tomo Duke as our ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow for an internship year funded by our national ELCA Witness in Society partners. Tomo brings ecumenical and interfaith experiences to our work to address root causes of hunger. You can read more about them on our staff page, and please join us in welcoming them!

Many of our partners are busy planning the All Our Relations: Free the Snake River tour, following the lead of indigenous organizations and tribes in our state. As facilitators of the Interfaith Network with Indigenous Communities (INIC) group, FAN will be there and urges people of faith and conscience to show up at one of the stops near you, launching September 23 in Olympia, to Portland, Pasco, Spokane and Idaho, and ending October 1 at Town Hall, Seattle. The organizers are asking faith leaders to show up in their clerical attire. For more information, see the Earth Ministry or Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center sites, and please RSVP. The health of the river, the health of the salmon, connects all of us. 

We are delighted to be part of Holden Village’s excellent programming this Fall. FAN Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang will be part of a Faith and Public Life workshop October 27-30. She will be joined by Jason DeRose, Religion & Belief Correspondent for NPR News. Fall is a beautiful time to visit Holden, and the other Fall programming looks great too! Register here. 

Quaker Voice has a part-time lobbyist position open. See the details here. 

Friday, September 15, 6:00-7:00pm, Radical Belonging with Ben McBride, in person, Common Good Tacoma, 621 Tacoma Avenue S, Tacoma. Join this dialogue to explore how to create a sense of deep connection across difference. Register here.

Sunday, September 17, 2:00-4:00pm, Rally to End the Era of Fossil Fuels, in person, Seattle Center, Broad Street Green, Seattle. Hosted by PSARA and 350 Seattle, this rally will include speeches, music and family friendly actions. E-mail organizer@psara.org to get involved.

Thursday, September 21, 2:00-6:00pm, Grand Opening Elizabeth Thomas Homes Building, in person, 4524 S. Henderson Street, Seattle. Join FAME Equity Alliance of Washington and First AME Church of Seattle in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Elizabeth Thomas Homes - 119 units of affordable housing. Learn more here.

Thursday, September 21, Sisters with Voices in a Misogynistic World, in person, Casey Building, Room 530, Seattle University, 901 12th Ave, Seattle. Featuring ELCA Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee, Dr. Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, Rev. Allison Cannady-Smith and moderated by FAN Board member Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward Donalson III, this conversation will discuss the gifts of female leadership while also exploring the biases that keep communities from embracing those gifts. Register here.

Saturday, September 23-Sunday, October 1, 2023 All Our Relations Snake River Campaign Journey, in person. Join this multiple stop tour to show your support for salmon, people and the rivers that connect us. Find out more from Earth Ministry and Register here.

Sunday, October 1, 2:00-3:00pm, Healing Vigil for the Earth, in person, Dorris Morrison Learning Center, 1330 S Henry Road, Greenacres (Spokane area). Hear from storyteller Constance Holland, an update on the GTN Xpress Pipeline and much more. Learn more here.

Wednesday, October 3-6, 7:00pm, Reclaiming the Welfare of the City: A Revival for Racial Reconciliation, in person, Seattle. Join a four night revival including vibrant music, powerful preaching, creative expression, and multi-racial community building. Each night will highlight a different organization where attenders can bring material goods as an expression of mutual aid and solidarity. Register here. 

Thursday-Friday, October 5-6, online, Conference on Ending Homelessness. Don't miss out on this event hosted by the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance to learn how we can end homelessness in Washington. Register here.

Thursday, October 19, 9:00-11:30am, Budget Matters 2023, in person, The Centilia Cultural Center, 1660 S. Roberto Maestas Festival Street, Seattle. Presented by Washington State Budget and Policy center. Come and learn about what's next for economic justice in Washington State. Register early here.

We always post the E-News to our website at fanwa.org/news/.

Stay connected with our emails! Please be sure to list fan@fanwa.org as a safe sender by adding us to your contacts.