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We hope you will join us for our 2021 Advocacy Days, all held virtually this year! Registration links are coming soon - learn more and RSVP at fanwa.org/interfaith-advocacy-day/. Announcing the Retirement of Co-Director Rev. Paul Benz As FAN prepares to celebrate our tenth anniversary this coming year, we are moving into a time of leadership transition. Our beloved Co-Director Paul Benz, leading our policy work since 2011 (and the Lutheran Public Policy Office before that), is retiring at the end of 2021. In his letter to the Board, Paul writes: It’s been a great ride these past 20 years of advocating [...]

TWO DAYS LEFT TO APPLY! The Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund was created when advocates urged the Governor to protect our immigrant neighbors during the global pandemic. Please share widely about this important resource - you must apply by December 6 to receive benefits at immigrantreliefwa.org! Announcing FAN's 2021 State Legislative Agenda Please find our 2021 Legislative Agenda (fanwa.org) where you can also download and share a copy. Each year the FAN Governing Board and staff, in collaboration with our coalition partners and input from our Spring Summit attendees and the FAN Program Committee, approves FAN’s Legislative Agenda that guides our [...]

Image by Yorlanda Walls, Pink Tetris Designs. Your Faithful Vote As ballots arrive in households across Washington, we encourage you to get them in quickly. We will celebrate Vote Early Day next week on October 24 and urge you to submit your vote early to an official ballot box or via the U.S. Postal Service. In some areas of the state, ballot boxes are located in faith community parking lots. If you see people tampering with ballot boxes, please report it immediately. Are you having a physically distanced and masked ballot party? Take a photo, we’ll share it on social media! [...]

In early 2020, FAN received a generous $50,000 gift from University Christian Church in Seattle as it closed, and members helped create Journey Christian Church in Lake City. Pictured here presenting the check to FAN Co-Director Elise DeGooyer are FAN advocates Rosemary Blakemore and Lanny Shuman, who with members of the committee Shirley Towner, Nancy Irvin, and Carl Johnson, chose to support social justice efforts through FAN. Because of this gift, FAN’s Governing Board has recently decided to move forward a long-held dream of regional organizers who will work in other parts of the state to build relationships and momentum [...]

The Faith Action Network Governing Board has unanimously endorsed Referendum 90 that will appear on your November ballot. We want to tell you about it and invite your endorsement and participation today. During the 2020 legislative session, a coalition of parents, educators, medical professionals, and advocates passed SB 5395 (Sen. Claire Wilson) in Washington state focused on sex education that keeps young people safe and healthy. This law requires all public schools to teach age appropriate, inclusive, comprehensive sexual health education to K-12 students. This law was backed by a large statewide coalition and has strong support from a majority [...]