The following is a reprint of an article about FAN, composed by Action Commissioner Dan Mulholland, SFO. It originally appeared in Dan's SFO regional newsletter.
Franciscan Action Network (FAN) at One Year
by Dan Mulholland, sfo
FAN Action Commissioner
FAN got started one year ago this March, and it’s had a very busy year indeed. FAN was formed to speak with one voice across the national Franciscan family (friars, sisters and seculars) and bring a Franciscan perspective in advocacy to the US Government with a spirit of healing and reconciliation to transform our world. Not a small task…
FAN got their Action Center set up and staffed with dedicated people in the office, on their Board and with their Action Commissioners for six geographic regions in the US. The SFO Action Commissioners are: Ken Beattie; Tom Bello; Dan Mulholland; Jan Parker; Stephanie Sormane; Carolyn Townes. Each Action Commission Region has a friar, sister and secular representative who provide contacts and meet twice a year in Washington, DC: once in September and once in March right before the Ecumenical Advocacy Days, to which FAN has become a sponsor.
The recent FAN meeting looked at where FAN as been this last year and where it will be going next year. There is an air of excitement in Washington DC these days with a new President and a new Congress and hope to bring about change in spite of the current atmosphere of economic peril that has set in across our country. As a Catholic organization, FAN embraces a position called the consistent ethic of life, which seeks to defend and promote all life at all stages of life. The issues FAN are tracking are Peace Making, Poverty and Human Rights, Care of Creation, Economic Recovery, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
To set up their network they developed a state of the art website where Franciscans and Franciscan hearted people can join and be informed on the Franciscan perspective on many of these issues. FAN has published numerous articles this last year as well as white papers on Franciscans and the Financial Crisis. Fan has networked with a number of Catholic and Interfaith groups including the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, and the Alliance to End Hunger. FAN was one of the Catholic social justice organizations that met with the incoming Obama Administration around issues of concern in upcoming legislative sessions. Two Action Commissioners, Fr. Pio Jackson OFM and Sr. Sheila Kinsey OSF represented FAN in the fifth Franciscan Solidarity Seminar and the World Social Forum in the Brazilian Amazon.
To keep up their pace and prevent burnout of their staff, FAN needs more membership and support. FAN currently has 40 friar and sister organization signed up as well as the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscans. But individual memberships are also needed, which is easy to do from their website: http://www.franciscanaction.org - look for the blue box in the upper right hand corner. FAN currently has a membership of 1800 members and is hoping to get 3400 members by the end of this year. The site gives action alerts and an easy way to contact your Congress person, or Senator via email forms on many issues of concern to Franciscans. Since 9/11, email and phone calls have become a preferred means of contact.
FAN will concentrate on Immigration Reform and Global Warming as two main issues this year. They have been working the hill with Fr Larry Janezic, OFM on the Immigration Reform issues. One of the staffers, Peter, said it is amazing going there with a friar in habit, as people come out of the woodwork to say: "hi, I'm a Secular Franciscan; I went to a Franciscan school; I'm a staffer for so-and-so and he's a big supporter; my aunt's a Franciscan sister, etc". Many issues can be discussed directly with congressional staff people in person, and they are there to listen to the people; they work for us…
We had a very good meeting this year and helped Russ Testa, the FAN Executive Director, celebrate his 40th birthday. Here’s our pictures from the meeting