When the Seattle Lutheran Public Policy Office, one of 18 offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, decided to broaden its religious focus from being strictly Lutheran and more interfaith, it joined forces with another organization that shared similar beliefs and goals: the Washington Association of Churches (WAC). Together, they became the Faith Action Network (FAN).
“We decided that we could do a better job of using our resources if we joined forces because we do a lot of the same stuff, such as advocacy work and education, said Alice Woldt, co-director of FAN and previous WAC co-director. “We got together with other religious leaders and determined that it was a good idea.”
FAN was formed last June.
A new mission
The committee that created FAN agreed that it wanted to create a new mission statement that would not only encourage to create other faith communities, but also to be based more in the worshipping community, according to Woldt.
“A statewide partnership of faith communities striving for a just and sustainable world through community building, education and courageous public action” is the mission statement for FAN, as stated on its website.
“There needs to be a voice more prominent in the general public about the need for a particular set of values around caring for those who are most vulnerable,” said Pastor Rich Gamble of Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ in Wallingford. He is also one of the co-chairs of the FAN governing board.
“Because I saw that as a big need, I wanted to get involved in organizations to make those values more effective,” he said.
FAN is able to represent the voice of the faith community through a variety of different coalitions in order to create a more just and sustainable world, according to Gamble.
Just a few of the things that FAN is working on to fulfill its mission, according to Woldt and Gamble, include providing health care to those who cannot afford it, working for a more equitable tax base in this state and to abolish the death penalty. It is also working with labor unions and the University of Washington to get rid of sweatshops.
FAN also deals with hunger issues and federal public policy areas, and seeks to get involved with other faith communities such as the Council of Islamic Relations Care.
“We’re still growing into our hope; my hope is much larger than where we are. We have a long way to go, but we are moving in hopeful directions,” Gamble said.
Furthermore, FAN is not only serving the people whom they are advocating for, but it is also giving an opportunity for people in other faith groups to get more involved, according to Ron Moe-Lobeda, pastor of University Lutheran Church and chair of the FAN advisory council.
The purpose of FAN is not to just be diverse in its faith community, but also in its own council. This will help to “provide an opportunity for people of different groups and communities to come together and share about what they are doing in order to continue to network, learn from each other and make more of an effort,” Moe-Lobeda said.
Gamble added, “Our hope is to include any faith that wants to [be involved]. We work on a broad range of coalitions. We have different faith groups that we work with, and we are also seeking more representations of other faiths in our governing board, which is still forming.”
In addition to the coalitions, supporting rights such as marriage equality and having a presence at the Occupy movement all around Washington implies that FAN is more of an advocacy group than a charity, according to Woldt.
“There is a peace-and-meditation tent at the Occupy protests. There have been clergy that have walked from churches both in Seattle and Spokane to the Occupy sites so they can be there as a peaceful presence,” she said.
Finding relevance
Still in the beginning stages, FAN recently threw its first fund-raising awards dinner, “Uniting for the Common Good,” at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The fund-raiser had a successful and diverse turnout.
One of the evening’s highlights was keynote speaker Rick Steves, local travel writer and television personality.
Steves, who is of Lutheran faith, spoke about the importance of embracing other cultures and how traveling to other countries helped him realize the compassion of the many diverse people in this world, all relevant to the FAN mission.
“It’s OK it be political with your faith,” Steves said. “I’m excited we can be together and celebrate the beginning of FAN.”
For more information about FAN, visit fanwa.org.
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