Thinking and Acting Interfaith

Elise DeGooyer, serves as Co-Director of Faith Action Network, a statewide, interfaith, advocacy and social justice organization. FAN’s mission is to strive for a just, compassionate, and sustainable world through community building, education, and courageous public action. While FAN’s work is visible through public policy advocacy, FAN’s energy is derived in meetings small and large—in places of worship and neighborhoods, in union halls and on the streets as we join with activists of faith and conscience.

 Elise brings to FAN three decades of experience in mission-driven work in human services and advocacy—in food banks, for unhoused people, and through HIV-prevention research. She is a lifelong resident of Washington State, born and raised in Yakima, completing undergraduate education in Spokane at Gonzaga University, and making Seattle home since the 1980s. Her graduate studies at Maryknoll School of Theology and Seattle University focused on liberation theologies and pastoral leadership. At Northwest Harvest she helped shape advocacy initiatives on hunger and poverty issues in collaboration with constituencies statewide. As a former board member of Mary’s Pence, she was inspired by the ways small communities could do powerful things to ensure women and their families flourish in solidarity and justice. She believes passionately in the power of faith-based action to transform the world.

These videos were made during the time of covid-19.

Centering Wisdom

Reflection:

Elise said in her video “Without shelter people die” while speaking powerfully about how reliant the government has become on faith based organizations. Spend some time researching why the government has become more reliant on faith-based organizations within the last 30 years or so and why you think this may be the case.

Elise mentions two books as she speaks that you may be interested in reading

No Room of Her Own by Desiree Hellegers Links to an external site.

Beloved Community-The Sisterhood of Homeless Women in Poetry by A Wheel Anthology Links to an external site.

Activity:

Pastor Coleman noted that faith based organizations spend 9.2 billion on social programming and yet congregations can often be jealous of working with or letting other groups help them. Discuss with a learning partner the benefits to groups working together and why groups can be territorial with their social programming?