An important part of advocacy for social justice is attending and planning actions. These visible events help our lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and around the country clearly see what issues are important to everyday people and the great numbers of us with Franciscan values.
Being a Franciscan presence in the public arena is part of our mission and the staff of FAN regularly participates in many kinds of advocacy actions. We also want to hear about and uplift what you’ve been doing in your community. Click here to let us know what actions you have participated in.
Here is what we’ve attended so far this year:
August 2024
August 6: Online Hiroshima - Nagasaki Prayer Service
On August 6, the Franciscan Peace Center of the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa, and 15 other women religious communities, justice, and leadership teams together hosted an online prayer service to commemorate the tragic events of August 6 and 9, 1945, when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The event brought together people of faith for prayerful reflection and a shared commitment to peace. Sr. Louise Lears, SC was a reader.
August 7: Hiroshima & Nagasaki 75-Consecutive-Hour Vigil for Peace
The communities of Sant’Egidio hosted a Vigil for Peace for 75 consecutive hours from 6pm ET / 3pm PT on August 5 to 9pm ET / 6pm PT on August 8, the dates of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. FAN’s communications coordinator Janine Walsh participated for the 12:00pm eastern time hour on Wednesday, August 7 praying for peace in communion with sisters and brothers around the world and remembering the victims of all current conflicts.
August 9: Nonviolent witness and prayer at White House
On August 9, 2024, despite wind and rain, FAN staff Sr. Marie Lucey and Gabriela Martinez joined 15 other peacemakers at a nonviolent witness and prayer service outside the White House to commemorate the atrocities of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Their message was for the nation to repent for the nuclear sin, abolish nuclear weapons, and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons, and to recommit to the way of Gospel nonviolence.
July 2024
July 30: Interfaith Action for Palestine
July 17: John Lewis National Day of Commemoration and Action
July 24: Churches for Middle East Peace Prayer Vigil
FAN joined Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) at a prayer for justice and peace in Washington DC held during prime minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress calling on our elected officials to stop supporting the genocide in Gaza. The service included prayer, song, and lamentation for those suffering in Gaza and ended with a commitment to continue taking action.
Watch prayer vigil live stream on YouTube, here.
July 28: Mennonite Action march from Virginia to White House
On July 28, Mennonite Action completed an 11-day 135-mile march from Harrisonburg, VA to the White House to draw attention to the suffering, death, and destruction unfolding in Gaza. FAN Staff joined more than 125 people in the final 8-mile leg of the march. Marchers prayed, sang, and carried banners and signs calling on our elected officials to stop supporting the violence in Gaza.
June 2024
June 6: Human Trafficking Lobby Day
June 29: Poor People's Campaign Moral March
FAN joined thousands of clergy, union members and activists at the U.S. Capitol on Saturday June 29 to rally on behalf of the poor, urging low-wealth Americans to make their voices heard in November. FAN Associate of Campaigns, Gabriela Martinez spoke about the “disease of injustice” calling for lawmakers to embrace policies intended to correct these injustices.
May 2024
May 3: Prayer Service at White House for Ceasefire in Israel-Palestine
FAN staff joined the organizations and peacemakers that comprise Christians for Ceasefire in a Ecumenical Christian Prayer Vigil in front of the White House on Friday, May 3.
May 3 was the 41st anniversary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ landmark pastoral letter, “The Challenge of Peace,” which focused on the responsibility of the Christian Church to promote peace and nonviolence.
The service began with words from Bishop John Stowe, Conv OFM, bishop of Lexington, KY and bishop president of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement.
April 2024
April 18: Interfaith Earth Day Event
FAN Associate of Campaigns, Gabriela Martinez joined a gathering of the Washington Interfaith Staff Community to celebrate Earth Day at the Capitol Visitor Center. Speakers were from the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions, as well as faith-liaison staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Topics of conversation ranged from the different faiths working together and dedicated to preserving and caring for our Sister Earth for millennia to come, as well as how the US is working with faith communities to mitigate the climate crisis as it impacts the world today.
Photo Credit: Thomas Gould
April 22: Earth Day Poor People's Campaign Rally
FAN staff and board member Fr Paul Lininger participated in an April 22 rally at the US Supreme Court that brought out more than 500 people in solidarity with neighbors experiencing homelessness.
March 2024
March 6: Christians for Ceasefire
On March 6th, FAN staff joined the ‘Christians 4 Ceasefire’ along with Jewish and Muslim leaders to witness the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and to call for a ceasefire ahead of the Israeli invasion of Rafah deadline of March 10. Approximately 20 prayerful and nonviolent people, including FAN’s peace fellow, Dr. Eli McCarthy, participated in a course of civil disobedience by tying banners to the White House fence, handcuffing themselves to fences, and blocking intersections. No arrests were made.
Watch the live stream here
March 21: Christians for Ceasefire Pray-in
As part of their Lenten Ceasefire Campaign, Christians for Ceasefire held a prayer vigil on Thursday afternoon with national faith leaders and approximately 75 in attendance on Capitol Hill followed by a nonviolent action in the Russell Senate Office Building. Faith leaders had powerful words calling for prayers for a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and proper respect for everyone. Attendees heard heartbreaking statistics of the continued violation of humanity in Gaza, and a lamentation was read throughout the prayer vigil. After the planned remarks in front of the Methodist Building, the group made its way to the Russell Senate Office Building to carry out a nonviolent witness. After standing in the formation of a cross in the center of the building’s rotunda while singing out phrases such as “Food not war,” “Children are dying in Gaza,” and “No more bombing hospitals,” 12 people were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police for nonviolent civil disobedience.
February 2024
Feb. 14: Christians for Ceasefire Mass and Prayer Service
On February 14, 2024, Christians for Ceasefire held an Ash Wednesday Catholic Mass and Public Witness for Peace in the Holy Land at the White House as the launch of a Lenten Ceasefire Campaign. The purpose of the event was to call attention to and in mourning for the tens of thousands of lives that have been destroyed in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023. About 150 people joined the witness and a smaller group of 14 people risked nonviolent arrest. FAN cosponsored the event and executive director Michele Dunne offered the intercessory prayers during the Catholic Mass.
Read the press release here and news articles from:
Watch the video here
Feb. 21: Peace Pilgrimage Rally
FAN staff and local members participated in a February 21 rally in front of the White House with participants in the Pilgrimage for Peace, a group that walked from Philadelphia to Washington DC. FAN friend Joyce Dodson from Pennsylvania was part of the group, who called on President Biden to work for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of Israeli hostages, and increased humanitarian aid. The rally was the second event in the Christians for Ceasefire Lenten Campaign.
January 2024
January 15: Martin Luther King Jr Rally
In partnership with the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign, the staff of FAN joined the annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade.
January 22: Day of Prayer for the Unborn
Although heavy snow in DC on January 19, 2024 precluded our usual participation in the March for Life, FAN staff gathered to commemorate the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on January 22, 2024. FAN supports a Consistent Ethic of Life, upholding the sacred value and dignity of every human life from conception to natural death.
January 5: Faith in Democracy Interfaith Vigil
FAN and Faith in Peace Concerts hosted the third annual Faith in Democracy Interfaith Vigil. If you missed any of the event, you can watch the recording by clicking the link below. Our featured faith leaders shared messages on unity in these divided times. Inspirational music from D.C. a cappella group Reverb and duo The Sweater Set accompanied the event.
January 9: Save Asylum Interfaith Vigil
FAN joined Hope Border Institute, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and other immigration advocates for an interfaith prayer vigil in support of asylum.
This showing of solidarity coincided with Congress members returning to Capitol Hill after the winter recess to resume ongoing negotiations that would trade away the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers in exchange for short-term foreign aid.
January 13: Prayer vigil for ceasefire in Gaza
Christian faith leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. for a prayer vigil calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Franciscan Action Network cosponsored the event along with Churches for Middle East Peace, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, Pax Christi USA, and Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM was a participant in the vigil, reading a passage from a letter to Congress from faith leaders urging diplomatic solutions to the violence.