Register for a Sunday Summit at the May 5 or June 9 links or learn more on our Spring Summit page and bring your voice and your advocacy to the FAN table!

The Washington Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) will be hosting listening sessions for newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers during the month of April, to learn about their experiences and perspectives in accessing resources and services. ORIA will use the information gathered from the listening sessions to inform how to invest $22.7 million in state funding that we advocated for together.

These first five listening sessions will be for community members who are migrants or asylum seekers that arrived since January 2022 and are not eligible for federal refugee resettlement services. They will be conducted in: Spanish, 4/16, Portuguese, 4/17, French, 4/22, Spanish, 4/24, Lingala, 4/25. 

Space is limited and registration is required. If you have any questions or recommendations, please contact Alejandra Palomino at ORIA.

Faith communities have a long and deep history of support for workers rights, the dignity of work, and labor unions. In all the ways we work for justice and equity for our neighbors, this includes our union siblings. In recent years, the faith community had an important role to play in campaigns to increase the minimum wage, first in SeaTac with our partners at SEIU Local 6, then in the statewide campaign with many community partners. It continues to be critical to ensure workers, many who are immigrants and people of color, have access to good pay, healthcare benefits, and fair treatment. FAN is beginning to reconvene the table for conversation about the ways we can show up for each other and ensure economic justice and well-being for all! If you’re interested in participating, contact Elise DeGooyer or Steve Clagett at fan@fanwa.org.

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 and FAN Governing Board Member Rev. Dr. Edward Donalson 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.

Holden Village is also bringing opportunities for engagement into local communities. Our friends at St. John's United Lutheran Church in Seattle are hosting a CoCreate Open Space gatherings this spring with unstructured project and social time. Opening space 4-8pm, the focus April 18 is Books. More information at St. John's website.

Saturday, April 13, Noon-2:00pm, Vaisakhi 2024, in-person, Khalsa Gurmat Center, Federal Way. Celebrated by Sikh communities worldwide, Vaisakhi marks the start of the new harvest season and the birth of the Khalsa. Celebration will include an exhibition, performances by the youth, a traditional form of religious procession known as Nagar Kirtan, and distribution of food representing the concept of langar. Learn more here. 

Monday, April 15, 6:00-8:30pm, Asa Philip Randolph Birthday Celebration, in-person, The Labor Temple, Seattle. Celebrate with dinner together and learn about the life and legacy of Asa Phillip Randolph, who led a successful African American labor union and his legacy continues through APRI. Guest speakers will include Rep. Jamila Taylor and FAN Executive Director Elise DeGooyer. Check out APRI Seattle for more details.

April 15-22, Tax Day to Earth Day, in-person, Join Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility for a series of events at several locations including Spokane, Renton, Lacey, Everett, Olympia, Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma and Bellingham to demand an end to war spending, and to increase spending towards basic human needs and care for our earth. Search for an event near you here.

Wednesday, April 17, Noon-1:00pm, WHEEL/Women in Black Vigil, Seattle City Hall. Stand vigil on the steps of Seattle City Hall to honor and remember homeless individuals whose lives were lost due to inadequate housing and resources. Then turn your grief into action by joining the Services Not Sweeps Coalition Rally at the Nakamura Federal Building (5th/Madison) from 4:00pm-6:00PM Monday, April 22. On that date, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in an important camping ban case: Johnson V. Grants Pass, OR. The Grants Pass Camping Ban is particularly brutal:  it penalizes people for sleeping outside in the absence of other shelter options. A link to the Amicus Brief is here.

Friday, April 19, 9:00am-2:00pm, Xlothma Nomyanawita - Everyone Welcome, Palouse Event, in-person, Sacajawea Historical State Park, Pasco. Join Khimstonik and friends to recognize the voices that held the true cultural and traditional knowledge-based systems to keep sovereign rights at the forefront. Register here.

Passover 2024 celebrations for Jewish communities begin at sunset April 22 through April 30.

Friday, April 26, 6:00pm, Common Ground Film Showing and Discussion, in-person, Journey Christian Church, 1933 NE 125th Street, Seattle. Watch the film together about regenerating the world’s soils which have the potential to rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate.

Sunday, April 28, noon-1:15pm, Activating Faith Communities for Climate Justice, in-person and online, First United Methodist Church, Seattle. Watch the film The Letter, beforehand then hear Rev. Jim Antal, author of "Climate Church, Climate World", and a leader of the interfaith climate movement, who will share how congregations around the nation are taking action. Rev. Antal will be joined by Anna Johnson, North America Senior Programs Manager with the Laudato Si’ Movement, who will share how Seattle-area faith communities are engaged in the movement 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.

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