By Kali Nelson | FāVS News Reporter
The annual fundraising dinner for the Faith Action Network is scheduled for Nov. 16 with locations in Seattle, Spokane and a virtual option.
Tickets are available online until Nov. 10 at fanwa.org. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with dinner and the livestream starting at 5:30 p.m. local time for all events. Individual tickets cost $110 for Spokane and tables are $800 and come with eight tickets. Virtual tickets are available for $25.
The Spokane event is at John J. Hemmingson Center, Pamplona Ballroom at 702 E. Desmet Ave. in Spokane.
Brianna Dilts, the Eastern Washington organizer said the dinner is the only in-person fundraiser the network organizes each year. It is also their biggest.
The Spokane event was started in 2018 as an addition to the Seattle event. There have been two simultaneous events since 2018 Dilts said, except for during the COVID pandemic.
“It’s a really fun evening,” she said. “People from all different congregations and communities come together.”
The theme is “A night of unbreakable spirit,” said Dilts.
Unbreakable spirit’ honors late board chair
She said the theme was chosen partly to honor the Rev. Carol Jensen, a founding board member who passed earlier this year.
Jensen was the board chair when she died and had worked at Faith Action Network since it was founded in 2011. She was also the board of the Lutheran Public Policy Office and worked on the merger with the Washington Association of Churches. Joyce del Rosario, the executive director, said this merger created the network.
“Our multi-faith organizing is done in solidarity and in community. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate what we do throughout the year than to celebrate together across the state,” del Rosario said.
Dilts said the keynote address would be delivered by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, from Washington’s seventh congregational district. Speakers from Seattle will be shown in Spokane as they happen and vice versa Dilts said.
“With the pending cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, immigration detentions and cuts in federal and state programs, as well as a host of other programs and policies impacting the lives of many people in the state, we must work together now more than ever to fight for democracy and the common good,” del Rosario said.
Faith Action Network is a statewide nonprofit organization that advocates for a just, peaceful and sustainable world, Dilts said. It comprises over 170 faith communities.
“I know that my own faith tradition tells me to feed the hungry, not to turn away the stranger, and to love my neighbor. This is one way to do that. We gather, we celebrate and we support the work toward systemic change,” del Rosario said.
Never miss a story. Get the top headlines, breaking news, commentaries, and handpicked favorites delivered straight to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to our quick, free and informative FāVS News Daily Newsletter.
