Faith Trust Institute:
About Us:
The Center is a non-profit organization headquarterd in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. founded in 1977 by the Rev. Marie M. Fortune.
The Center is an interreligious educational resource addressing issues of sexual and domestic violence.
Our goal is to engage religious leaders in the task of ending abuse, and to serve as a bridge between religious and secular communities.
New Name:
After 26 years, we are changing our name to FaithTrust Institute. This name adds the element of our faith-based mission, while our new tagline, “Working together to end sexual and domestic violence,” describes succinctly what we do. While our name has changed, our mission has not. FaithTrust Institute will continue to be a leader in providing training and educational resources for clergy, lay leaders, seminary faculty, chaplains, policy makers of religious institutions, and community advocates on the faith aspects of sexual and domestic violence.
One of the things we are attempting to do with our name change is to reclaim the word “faith”. It has been used in our culture too often to justify things that we may find questionable. We would like to use the following quote by Sharon Salzberg, from her book “Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience” as a guide for our use of the word “faith.”
“Faith is the quality that allows us to find a way to go on, to feel empowered, to, no matter what, keep on trying. This is not a sentimental faith that everything will be just fine, according to our wishes or our timetable. Rather, it is an awakening faith tht inspires us to step forward into the center of our lives – to participate, to link up, to reach out to others and let others reach out to us, to work for a better world. And it is a vitality of faith that tells us, however easy it is to forget or be afraid, that the time for communicating, for loving, for risking, for trying, has got to be now.”
What We Believe:
We believe that in order to end sexual and domestic violence, we must promote institutional and social change.
We call upon all religious communities to assume leadership in changing institutional policies and cultural norms that allow sexual and domestic violence to continue.
We work towards healing and justice, believing that justice-making is a crucial step in the healing process.
What Does FaithTrust Institute Offer?
FaithTrust Institute has a number of resources for individuals, churches, synagogues and religious communities, including:
The Seminary Project (training for seminary faculty)
Extensive training curriculum & Training seminars
Videos and Study Guides
Books, publications and more
Asian and Pacific Islander Program
Jewish Program
Peaceful Families Project, Muslim Program
For more information in the following areas visit the website:
Domestic Violence
Teen Relationship Violence
Child Abuse
Clergy Ethics & Sexual Abuse
Sexual Violence
Jewish Program
Training
Educational Material Available
Artices & News:
Newsletter Online: Working Together is a quarterly publication
The Journal of Religion and Abuse: Advocacy, Pastoral Care and Prevention
The journal provides an interdisciplinary forum for the development, dissemination and analysis of ideas and practical applications in response to the widespread realities of sexual and domestic violence in a religious context.
For more information please visit the website.