Over the years, the Council has embraced Christian denominations, interfaith partners, and secular community organizations, officially opening its board membership to all with the affirmation of new bylaws in September of 2023.

In our early years, we were a resource for local congregations to tap into the peace movement following WW1, continuing into the 1940’s and up to the present as a faith voice for global disarmament. During WW2, the Council was vehement that the incarceration of Japanese Americans was an act of systemic racism. After the war, we turned our focus and energies toward support of other impacted communities seeking equity and justice.

In the 1970’s we walked alongside Black and African American communities in their efforts to desegregate Seattle’s schools and end redlining.

We locked arms with immigrant and refugee communities in the sanctuary movement in the 1980’s, which intensified both in 2007 and after the 2016 presidential election. When our immigrant siblings requested safety, we responded with co-creating sanctuary hubs. In 2017 we co-developed an Accompaniment program for immigrants navigating our complex social services and justice systems in partnership with 21 Progress and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP).

Many key programs for the common good were born in our diverse meeting spaces, like the Downtown Emergency Service Center and Puget Sound Sage. Dozens more direct services and community groups across the Puget Sound region, like Circle Faith Future (formerly the Youth Chaplaincy Coalition), have shared roots with the Council of today.