Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune Receives F.A.N. Compassion Award

This past summer, the Washington Association of Churches (WAC) and the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State (LPPO) united to create a new organization, Faith Action Network (FAN): A Partnership for the Common Good.

In their first "Uniting for the Common Good" awards dinner on December 3rd at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, WA, FAN presented three awards: Compassion, Courageous Action, and Congregational & Community Connections. FaithTrust Institute congratulates founder Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune in receiving the 2011 Compassion Award.

The Faith Action Network commends Rev. Fortune for her accomplishments: "Her vision for how the religious community can provide the spiritual, intellectual, practical resources and compassion to victims of abuse has changed the way faith communities respond to victims and perpetrators of abuse."

Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune comments, “I was honored to receive this award and pleased to recall that the Washington Association of Churches (predecessor organization to FAN) was the first church organization to respond to the problem of sexual abuse by clergy in 1984.  We were receiving calls from victims here and they were willing to host a task force to begin the conversation of what churches should be doing to respond.  Compassion and justice drove us to put the issues on the table and to challenge the institutional church to respond.  I will always be grateful for their support in that effort in the early days.”