The Church Council of Greater Seattle

10/15/2026

Registration is open for the Budgets Are A Moral Document Forum on October 29 from 6:30-8:00 (doors open at 6:00)! RSVP at bit.ly/BudgetForum26.

At the budget forum, we will share the Church Council's budget priorities for this fall, hear from the Seattle Solidarity Budget coalition, enjoy live music, and get the chance to screen print our own signs to bring to City Council hearings. Bring your (metaphorical) loaves & fishes - we'll provide the tamales!

This event is for anyone who wants to add to the collective power we are building: folks who are willing to testify at City Hall, faith communities who will mobilize their congregations to send written testimony, and individuals who want to advocate from home! We encourage you to send at least one person from your community so we can show up powerfully at the Public Hearing on November 5!

10/10/2026

Join us on October 29 for our Budgets Are A Moral Document Forum to advocate for a budget that reflects the values of community care!

Learn more and register at thechurchcouncil.org/seattle-budget-roundtable

We will share the Church Council's budget priorities for this fall, hear from a speaker from the Seattle Solidarity Budget Coalition, enjoy live music, and get the chance to screen print our own signs to bring to the City Council hearings.

The strongholds we build in Seattle to invest in care for our neighbors are one of the ways we will withstand threats to our communities from federal overreach. Please join us and bring a friend or two from your community who shares your passion for making Seattle a better place for all of us. Let’s show up together, grounded in faith, guided by hope, and ready to make a difference.

10/08/2026

Thank you South Seattle Emerald for this coverage!

“Later, members of the Church Council of Greater Seattle spoke not about a person but a concept: abundance. They supported a budget focused on abundance for social services that decreased funding for surveillance and other policing tools.

While members of the Church Council held loaves of bread and paper fish, Rachel Ketola, an organizer from the Church Council, said, ‘We are pro-public safety. That's why we are asking you to protect funding for shelters, affordable housing, food security, and supports for our migrant and q***r neighbors.’ She continued, ‘Believing policing and surveillance are our only paths to safety is scarcity thinking.’”

Shelter expansion, youth arts programs, and emergency response: Seattle's budget hearing on Tuesday brought nearly 100 speakers to City Hall with urgent requests for the next city budget.

Many criticized the proposed $68 million police funding increase, with some backing a proposal to redirect $8 million toward year-round arts and culture programming. Much of the police increase stems from compensation increases under a union contract signed during former Mayor Bruce Harrell's administration.

From a North Beacon Hill resident's call for more shelter access to firefighters' concerns about overtime cuts, Connor Nash reports on what speakers want the council to prioritize: https://buff.ly/0cBZngA

///

10/07/2026

Last night, our Seattle Budget Roundtable brought 10 community members to City Hall to advocate for a budget rooted in abundance, that prioritizes community-based solutions to public safety. We shared the image of Loaves and Fishes, the story where Jesus fed thousands of people. We shared how communities most impacted do that for one another every single day, and we called for the creativity of our councilmembers to do the same.

Our Budget Roundtable will be present every opportunity for public comment this budget season. We hope you’ll join us! We’ve designed a Budget Toolkit to support your community in speaking about the budget at faith services and to craft your written or verbal testimony. We’ll be sharing more at our Fall Fundraiser on 10/25 and Budget Forum on 10/29. Learn more and register at thechurchcouncil.org/seattle-budget-roundtable

10/05/2026

The Church Council celebrates with UFCW 3000 and community organizations across the city as Mayor Wilson signed the Fair and Transparent Pricing Ordinance this morning! This historic ordinance makes Seattle the first city in the nation to stand up to the threats of algorithmic pricing, which would have each person who enters a grocery store pay a different price based on AI data about their personhood and shopping habits.

Our faith traditions speak clearly against predatory people in power who squeeze every last drop of resources from already-impacted communities. If those stories were written today, they would condemn the greed of corporations and the complicity of lawmakers who give more rights and tax breaks to wealthy businesses while impoverishing and limiting the rights of the people. Every element of our lives is quickly becoming more expensive, and the impacts of federal attacks on our communities here and around the world is exacerbating the issue.

Today, our city acted boldly, refusing to allow corporations to take advantage of people who are already financially vulnerable and manipulate our access to basic resources. This fall, our Seattle Budget Roundtable will continue the work for a city rooted in abundance and investments in community care. We hope you’ll join us to ensure that is so!

09/28/2026

We are excited to introduce you to our new Lead Community Organizer, Rachel Ketola, who you may recognize from many years of volunteering with Grupo de Solidaridad! We're thrilled to welcome them in a new capacity as they lead the Faith Land Initiative, Budget Roundtable, and emerging community organizing priorities. Rachel shares:

Rachel Ketola (she/they) is an organizer, legal advocate, and community member who has supported movements for justice across Seattle and the Puget Sound region for over a decade. They come to the Church Council from a background in legal advocacy with immigrant and refugee communities, human rights research, and grassroots coalition building.

Rachel holds a master's in International Studies from the University of Washington, where they studied the limits and radical possibilities of faith-based sanctuary and solidarity efforts with immigrants in Seattle, and contributed to UW Center for Human Rights research on how surveillance and ALPR cameras have aided ICE arrests in violation of Washington's Keep Washington Working law.

Coming from an evangelical background, Rachel later found her home in liberation theology, mysticism, and contemplative and embodied spirituality. She is passionate about building collective power toward liberation and mutual flourishing, and about inviting more people into proximate, sustained solidarity efforts.

As Lead Community Organizer, Rachel is excited to work alongside faith leaders and community partners toward a more livable Seattle, from an equitable city budget to responsible stewardship of assets and resources. Outside of work, she loves to garden, make pottery, go dancing, and explore Seattle neighborhoods with her dog, Santo.

09/27/2026

You're invited to our Fall Fundraiser on Sunday, October 25, from 5:00-7:30 PM (dinner begins at 5:00, program at 6:00). Register at thechurchcouncil.org/fallfundraiser

Join us as we celebrate the collective power we've been building and invest in the sustainability of our shared work to come. We'll introduce our newest staff and board members and dive into our priorities for the Seattle Budget Roundtable, Immigration Organizing, and responsible investments campaign. We hope to see you there!

----------------------------------------

Te invitamos a nuestra recaudación de fondos de otoño el 25 de octubre, de 5 a 7:30 p.m. (la cena comienza a las 5:00, el programa a las 6:00). Regístrate en thechurchcouncil.org/fallfundraiser

Acompáñenos a celebrar el poder colectivo que hemos construido juntos e invertir en la sostenibilidad de nuestro trabajo compartido proyectado hacia el futuro. Presentaremos a los nuevos miembros de nuestro equipo y de la junta directiva, y analizaremos en detalle nuestras prioridades para la mesa redonda sobre el presupuesto de Seattle, organizar la inmigración y la campaña de inversiones responsables. ¡Esperamos verte ahí!

09/22/2026

Executive Director Tara Miller reflects on the Church Council's next season and the responsibility we have as people of faith in this time and place.

Read the full letter at thechurchcouncil.org/news/tmiller-ushering-in-hope

Stay tuned for many updates from this summer, as well as opportunities for organizing this fall.

09/12/2026

The Church Council joined La Resistencia and other migrant-led organizations on Wednesday, in solidarity with families impacted by the cruel and sudden transfers of their loved ones from the Northwest Detention Center to detention centers around nation. Four women bravely shared their stories, the heartbreak and fear they are facing as ICE arrests escalate across our region, and calls to action for the community.

https://www.kuow.org/immigration/2026-09-09/ice-flights-out-of-boeing-field-surge-alarming-families-immigrants-rights-groups/

Angelina Godoy, director of research at the UW Center for Human Rights named this moment well: “The effects of every arrest, every detention, every transfer are multiplied across families, and they're multiplied across communities because they're increasingly happening before our very eyes. In human rights, we have a word for that. When there is intentional infliction of fear for political objectives against an entire civilian population, that's called ‘state terror.’”

Over the past weeks, the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights out of Seattle’s Boeing Field has increased. Their cargo is immigrants, many with long-standing ties to Washington state who are being flown by ICE to different facilities across the country.

Since late August nearly 500 people have been flown out of Boeing Field, according to county records. Detainees who spoke to KUOW said they’re often notified a night before a flight is supposed to happen. During the night, communications are shut down between detainees and the outside world, so they have no way of letting their lawyers or family know about plans to relocate them. The abrupt flight plans also interrupt the flow of immigration hearings scheduled in the courtrooms of the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

Photo Credit: KUOW Photo / Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez

Full Story in Comments

09/04/2026

Embassy Suites Pioneer Square is Lumen Field's closest hotel... but the 12s don't cross picket lines.

Join Embassy Suites strikers before the Seahawks home opener, 9/9 3:30-5:30 pm