Occupy conversation on Bainbridge this Saturday

What can the Occupy movement mean to you?

Join a community conversation sponsored by Agate Passage Friends Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committee, Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, Bainbridge Island – North Kitsap Inter-Faith Council, North Kitsap 99%, YES Magazine, and Occupy Bainbridge Island

Panel
* David Korten, co-founder of YES! Magazine.
* Sarah van Gelder, editor and co-founder of YES! Magazine
* Michael Douglas, Tsukina Blessing, Occupy Chaplains from Seattle.
* Kyle Enillikenge, Camper from Occupy Seattle

Sat Feb 4, 2012 6 – 9 pm. Dinner at 6. Come earlier for a hot drink.

Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

105 Winslow Way W, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110-2511

Corner Winslow Way and Madison Ave (cars enter from Madison), Bainbridge Island

Register by Feb 1 with Norm nkeegel@gmail.com or Judy Brown 206 842 3772

Registration info for Quaker Lobby Day, February 20, 2012

Quaker Lobby Day (Fourth Annual!)

Monday, February 20 (Presidents’ Day), 9:00-3:00

Olympia Friends Meeting House

Friends have been a leading voice for economic justice and prison reform for several centuries. Our voice is critically important to many marginalized citizens of our state - including tens of thousands of state residents who are at risk of losing health care benefits - and the thousands of men and women behind bars who cannot speak effectively for themselves.

Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy invites you to participate in our fourth annual Quaker Lobby Day on Monday, Presidents’ Day 2012, February 20th.

The day will begin at 9am at the new Olympia Friends Meetinghouse (click here for the agenda) on Boston Harbor Road in Olympia where we will introduce our key legislative priorities (economic justice and health care, restorative justice, earned early release of prisoners, marriage equality, and local responses to global challenges) before we go to the Capitol Building about 11 am to talk with our individual legislators about these issues.

If you've never lobbied before, you are not alone!  Perhaps you're hesitant about lobbying because you're unfamiliar with the issues.  If so, Quaker Lobby Day is the place to learn.  Training and coaching is included.  And registrants from the same legislative district will have the opportunity to visit legislators as a delegation with appointments made with the legislators for that district.

Please join us!  To register, send your:

   Name                                                                                                                       

   Street address                                                                                                                                              

to FCWPP Assistant Clerk, sueburrus@yahoo.com , with Lobby Day in the subject line.  We'll send a confirmation -- with schedule, updates on the issues, and directions to the new Olympia Friends Meetinghouse – and set up appointments with your local legislators. 

Working together, we can do amazing things!

Registration info for Quaker Lobby Day - February 20, 2012

Quaker Lobby Day (Fourth Annual!)

Monday, February 20 (Presidents’ Day), 9:00-3:00

Olympia Friends Meeting House

Friends have been a leading voice for economic justice and prison reform for several centuries. Our voice is critically important to many marginalized citizens of our state - including tens of thousands of state residents who are at risk of losing health care benefits - and the thousands of men and women behind bars who cannot speak effectively for themselves.

Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy invites you to participate in our fourth annual Quaker Lobby Day on Monday, Presidents’ Day 2012, February 20th.

The day will begin at 9am at the new Olympia Friends Meetinghouse on Boston Harbor Road in Olympia where we will introduce our key legislative priorities (economic justice and health care, restorative justice, earned early release of prisoners, marriage equality, and local responses to global challenges) before we go to the Capitol Building about 11 am to talk with our individual legislators about these issues.

If you've never lobbied before, you are not alone!  Perhaps you're hesitant about lobbying because you're unfamiliar with the issues.  If so, Quaker Lobby Day is the place to learn.  Training and coaching is included.  And registrants from the same legislative district will have the opportunity to visit legislators as a delegation with appointments made with the legislators for that district.

Please join us!  To register, send your:

   Name                                                                                                                       

   Street address                                                                                                                                              

to FCWPP Assistant Clerk, sueburrus@yahoo.com with Lobby Day in the subject line.  We'll send a confirmation -- with schedule, updates on the issues, and directions to the new Olympia Friends Meetinghouse – and set up appointments with your local legislators. 

For more information about FCWPP activities, see our new website at www.fcwpp.org.

Working together, we can do amazing things!

Quaker Lobby Day Agenda - February 20, 2012

Gathering at Olympia Friends Meeting House – 3201 Boston Harbor Rd., Olympia 98506 

(click here for location/directions)

8:30 – 9:00  Registration

9:00     Introduction and “Roll Call” of Meetings present – Tom Ewell

9:15     Worship

9:30     Keynote presentation (TBA)

9:45     Overview of current status of FCWPP Public Policy Agenda  – Sam Merrill

9:50 – 10:30  Small group discussions of issues and relevant bills on which to lobby.  Small groups will deal with three issue categories:

                       Criminal Justice (facilitated by Tom Ewell)

                       Economic Justice (facilitated by Steven Aldrich)

                       Local Responses to Global Challenges (facilitated by Steve Evans) 

Participants can choose one small group for the first session and another small group for the second session:

                       9:50 – 10:10            Small Groups Session I

                       10:10 – 10:30          Small Groups Session II

10:30   How to Lobby

                        Principles of lobbying – Tom Ewell (5 minutes)

                        Nuts and bolts of lobbying – Sam Merrill (5 minutes)

                        Lobby visit role play (5 minutes)

                        Comments, questions, suggestions (10 minutes)

11:00   Sandwiches and cookies available for lunch at the Meetinghouse (those with early appointments may need to take their lunch to the Capitol campus).  Note: a café/grill on the Capitol campus (Pritchard Bldg.) is open, as well as the Deli in the first (ground) floor of the Capitol building, but seating is limited.  Move to Capitol Campus by noon or before.

11:30 -2:30      Lobby/Lunch (coordinated based on when appointments are scheduled)

2:30-3:00         Drop by the Deli (first floor of Capitol building) for wrap-up.

Quaker Lobby Day 2012 - Monday February 20

We look forward to seeing you at our now fourth annual QUAKER LOBBY DAY in Olympia on Monday, February 20 (Presidents' Day) from 9 am through your lobby visits in the afternoon. The day consists of a gathering at the Olympia Meeting House in the morning where we will have an opportunity to worship together, hear a speaker or two, organize around a particular area of legislation for the day, receive some basic lobby training, and then go on to the Capitol grounds to engage in visits with our various representatives in the late morning, early afternoon. 

We especially welcome those who have never been on a lobby visit before. You will find the opportunity to meet with your legislators and their staff as empowering as it is informative, and we will see that you are well prepared. Friends tend to be excellent lobbyists because we bring a discipline of listening, social consciousness about peace and justice, and long and well-respected history of Quaker engagement in public policy debate.  

For those who have made lobby visits previously, this is an opportunity to reacquaint yourself with your legislator and their staff and further establish a working relationship with them. We know from studies and experience that building personal relationships with our elected officials makes it more likely that we will be much more effective in our advocacy when in the future we need to contact our legislators on a specific issue. Building a working relationship with your elected official is the difference between simply being an "activist" who advocates for a specific cause on a particular date, and being a "lobbyist" who establishes an ongoing relationship that builds trust and openness so that both parties can better listen and exchange information on a breadth of topics over an extended period of time.

To register, contact FCWPP with QLD 2012 in the subject line!

FCWPP Steering Committee Meeting - January 7, 2012

Every year we hold a special FCWPP Steering Committee meeting to plan for the upcoming legislative session as we attempt to identify our legislative priorities and get organized. This year we will be meeting on Saturday, January 7 from 9 am-1 pm at the Friends Meeting House in Tacoma. We especially urge each meeting to send a representative. Whether or not you are an official representative, however, please consider joining us this year in Tacoma to share your concerns, ideas and suggestions as to how we can be most effective in this coming legislative session. An agenda for the meeting and directions will be posted a week or so before the meeting.

2011 FCWPP Annual Meeting

FCWPP ANNUAL MEETING of the Steering Committee is 7pm on September 23, 2011, at Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting. 

Click here for more information on PNQM and driving directions.

If you are representing (or would like to represent) your Meeting or Worship Group as we consider Quaker involvement in Public Policy of Washington State -  Please join us! 

Tuesday, July 5 - Jefferson County Courthouse in Port Townsend

Port Townsend residents and other concerned citizens have been attempting to obtain documents from the Navy regarding safety risks associated with the weapons transfer depot at Indian Island.  Recently, they won a Supreme Court decision but the Navy has inserted into the Defense Authorization Act language that would nullify citizen access to this information.  The House has passed this bill and it is now pending in the Senate  The Navy may be out of compliance with rules regarding safe distances for explosive handling but if this bill is enacted into law citizens will be unable to document this.  A petition is being circulated to elected officials and the matter will be before the Jefferson County Commissioners this coming Tuesday, July 5 at 9AM at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Port Townsend. Congressional action is expected in early August. 

The petition is being circulated at the Port Townsend Co-op, Saturday Farmers' Market, and other venues in the area and copies are
 available from Doug Milholland of PT Friends.

Town Hall Meetings

Check http://sdc.leg.wa.gov/townhall.html for Democratic Senators’ Town Hall Meetings.

Republican State Senators can be found at http://www.senaterepublicans.wa.gov/senators.htm. Click on your senator to see if he or she has a Town Hall meeting scheduled and where.

Quakers and Legislators Listen and Talk

Quaker Lobby Day on President's Day brought 52 Quakers from across the state to Olympia to talk with their legislators.  The day began with an inspiring speech from Representative Sherry Appleton who stressed the importance of listening and sharing ideas to develop relationships with legislators.

After helpful hints on how to lobby and a discussion of specific issues of interest, people set out to keep appointments that had been made in advance. 

A sampling of the feedback from participants: 

"What an amazing day. Thanks for all you did to get me through it. I am wiped out but so happy to have spent the day with you all doing this work." 

"We did manage to catch both representatives and the senator in their offices and presented our message. All were quite supportive of all of our positions."

NOW, we can all make a difference by contacting our legislators about the issues!  See the action alerts and write them a letter.  

Quaker Lobby Day Agenda - February 21

8:30 – 9:00  Registration at Olympia Friends Meetinghouse - 219 B Street SW, Tumwater, WA  98512

9:00     Introduction and “Roll Call” of Meetings present – Tom Ewell

9:15     Worship

9:30     Keynote presentation by Rep. Sherry Appleton

10:00   Status of FCWPP 2011 Public Policy Agenda  – Sam Merrill

10:10   Issues to lobby on – Steven Aldrich

                        Talking points to emphasize

                        What to request of legislators?  How can we help?

10:25   Break

10:40   How to Lobby

                        Principles of lobbying – Tom Ewell (3 minutes)

                        Nuts and bolts of lobbying – Sam Merrill (2 minutes)

                        Lobby visit role play  (5 minutes)

                        Practice lobby visit role play: comments, questions, suggestions (10 minutes)

11:00   Sandwiches and cookies available for lunch at the Meetinghouse (those with early appointments may need to take their lunch to the Capitol campus).  Note: the main cafeteria on the Capitol campus is closed; there is a small Deli in the first floor of the Capitol building, but seating is

limited.  Move to Capitol Campus by noon.

11:30 -2:30      Lobby/Lunch (coordinated based on when appointments are scheduled)

2:30-3:00         Drop by the Deli for wrap-up (first floor of Capitol building)

3:00     Option of attending a presentation by Dennis Kucinich, sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, at the Capitol Theater (206 5^th Ave, downtown in Olympia)

Quaker Lobby Day in Olympia - February 21, 2011

Quakers have been a leading voice for economic justice and prison reform for several centuries. Our voice is critically important to many marginalized citizens of our state - including about 100,000 state residents who are at risk of losing health care benefits - and the 18,000 men and women behind bars who cannot speak effectively for themselves.

Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy invites you to participate in our third annual Quaker Lobby Day on President's Day 2011, February 21st.

The day will begin at 9am at the Olympia Friends Meetinghouse on B Street in Olympia where we will introduce our key legislative priorities (economic justice and health care, restorative justice, sentencing reform, and local responses to global challenges) before we go to the Capitol Building to talk with our individual legislators about these issues.

Please join us!  To register, send your name and street address to FCWPP Assistant Clerk, sueburrus@yahoo.com with Lobby Day in the subject line.  We'll send a confirmation with schedule, updates on the issues, and directions to Olympia Friends Meetinghouse - AND - get to work on setting up appointments with local legislators.

Working together, we can do amazing things!

Sunday October 3 - 2-4pm - Lopez Island

Sunday, October 3, 2-4pm Paul McCold and Beth Rodman will present "Restorative Justice Intro" What it is and how it's done at the Lopez Island Grace Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall (Fisherman Bay Rd at Sunset Lane). Sponsored by the Lopez Island Quaker Meeting.

Click to read more ...

June 12, 2010: Roundtable on Criminal Justice

The second annual FCWPP Roundtable on Criminal Justice was held on Saturday, June 12, from 9-1 at University Friends Meeting in Seattle. This roundtable provides for more in-depth analysis of the criminal justice system in Washington and  to strategize about opportunities to make changes in it, especially through legislative initiatives, but also through education and general advocacy. More specific information to come.

April 14: Presentation by the Author of "The New Jim Crow"

FCWPP is co-sponsoring a benefit event that will bring the author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" to Seattle. The event is organized by Justice Works! Author and Professor Michelle Alexander will keynote the evening, tracing how racial disparity in the criminal justice system nationwide connects with the historical Jim Crow, creating a new form of the old social ill. She presents her vision for grassroots organizing for social change to enable policy changes that put Jim Crow behind us forever.

Click to read more ...