Weekly Witness is back with a new look and a new sound, as well as new content. The Texas Impact team recognizes that this is a unique moment in history, and we believe it is especially important for people of faith to lead and engage. So, we want to use the podcast to highlight faith voices who are leading in the areas of justice and advocacy. We want to give them a platform to inform, inspire and motivate us in the long journey that lies ahead as we prepare for elections and the Texas Legislature returning to Austin next January.

And, who better to kick off this new season of Weekly Witness than Rev. Phil Dieke? Phil is an ordained deacon in the Horizon Texas Conference, where he serves as Chair of the Conference Board of Church and Society. He also works in an advisory capacity with the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church. He serves many other great causes, including at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary with the 787 Collective and Houses of Hope, as well as president of Texas Impact's board. When most people think of Phil, they immediately think of his commitment to justice and equity—and maybe his fantastic hair.

Scott had a chance to talk with Phil about the current political realities we are facing in the United States and how faith leaders and people of faith are called to respond in this moment. Phil talks about people who inspire him, who he takes his cues from (an answer that might include some familiar names), and what it looks like to faithfully live out our call to be co-creators of a world that is more loving and just.

Check out the new and improved Weekly Witness and let us know what you think.

 

 

 

Weekly Witness is hosted by Scott Atnip and engineered and produced by David Vassallo. Our executive producer is Bee Moorhead. Theme music by Kimberly Zielnicki, Hayden Havard and Andres Garcia-Bonilla. The opinions expressed on Weekly Witness are those of Texas Impact and our guests, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors. Weekly Witness is a product of Texas Impact. Visit us online at texasimpact.org.

Weekly Witness is back with a new look and a new sound, as well as new content. The Texas Impact team recognizes that this is a unique moment in history, and we believe it is especially important for people of faith to lead and engage. So, we want to use the podcast to highlight faith voices who are leading in the areas of justice and advocacy. We want to give them a platform to inform, inspire and motivate us in the long journey that lies ahead as we prepare for elections and the Texas Legislature returning to Austin next January. 

And, who better to kick off this new season of Weekly Witness than Rev. Phil Dieke? Phil is an ordained deacon in the Horizon Texas Conference, where he serves as Chair of the Conference Board of Church and Society. He also works in an advisory capacity with the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church. He serves many other great causes, including at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary with the 787 Collective and Houses of Hope, as well as president of Texas Impact's board. When most people think of Phil, they immediately think of his commitment to justice and equity—and maybe his fantastic hair. 

Scott had a chance to talk with Phil about the current political realities we are facing in the United States and how faith leaders and people of faith are called to respond in this moment. Phil talks about people who inspire him, who he takes his cues from (an answer that might include some familiar names), and what it looks like to faithfully live out our call to be co-creators of a world that is more loving and just.

Check out the new and improved Weekly Witness and let us know what you think.  

Weekly Witness is hosted by Scott Atnip and engineered and produced by David Vassallo. Our executive producer is Bee Moorhead. Theme music by Kimberly Zielnicki, Hayden Havard and Andres Garcia-Bonilla. The opinions expressed on Weekly Witness are those of Texas Impact and our guests, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors. Weekly Witness is a product of Texas Impact. Visit us online at texasimpact.org.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

The Texas Impact team is on the ground and churning out great content from the  United Nations climate negotiations known as COP30 Belém, Brazil. Make sure you are following along on Texas Impact's substack and YouTube as well as through Texas Impact's media partnerships with the Austin Chronicle, Baptist News Global, and United Methodist Insight. 

This week on Weekly Witness, members of that delegation–Bee Moorhead, Rev. Becca Edwards, Dylan Le and Regina Banks join the conversation with updates from COP30.

This content is important to help us understand the global climate emergency and how the negotiations can shape our future work at the federal, state and local levels as well as in the corporate, NGO and faith community spaces–and help us understand the role the faith community plays in that work.

Follow along with updates on Texas Impact's Substack, social media and via our media partners.  

https://texasimpact.substack.com/

https://www.austinchronicle.com/cop30/

https://baptistnews.com/ 

https://um-insight.net/in-the-world

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we discuss one of the issues that will be driving the conversation this election year, and a corresponding Texas Impact event, as we welcome leaders from Friends Congregational Church in College Station: Sr. Pastor Rev. Dr. Dan De Leon, Cecilia Hawkins, leader of the Justice and Mission Outreach Committee and Kyle Rile, Texas Impact's Houston Civic Engagement and United Church of Christ Fellow. They are partnering with Texas Impact on an event called Changing the Conversation: The Theology of Reproductive Justice with Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters, February 11th, at Friends both in College Station and streamed online. 

 

Find out more about Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters and her book Trust Women at www.rebeccatoddpeters.com

 

Register for Changing the Conversation: The Theology of Reproductive Justice at texasimpact.org/events

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

It is COLD outside, but this week's climate conversation will keep us warm as we welcome Susan Alvarez, Director of the Environment and Development Department with the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Susan joins us to talk about the work of the COG to address air quality and how you can get involved in your local community.   Speaking of North Texas, the Texas Impact team will be there soon with our first ever North Texas Faith Votes event in February, in addition to live events in Austin, Houston and more, including our EcoFaith Dialogs webinar series that features voices of faith who have observed the impact of climate change in their mission work. Check out our new events page at texasimpact.org/events to see the upcoming schedule and register for an event near you.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

We are excited to kick off the first episode of the new year with Rev. Angela Williams.  Rev. Williams is the Associate Minister of Missional Engagement at First UMC Dallas and Executive Pastor of St. Paul United Methodist where she helps lead their Justice Builders Program which brings members from both congregations together to work in ministry to positively affect racial justice. Rev. Williams and the Justice Builders are co-hosting the North Texas Faith Votes event with Texas Impact February 3rd in Dallas.   To find our more about Justice Builders you can contact Rev. Williams at awilliams@fumcdallas.org   To register for our North Texas Faith Votes event February 3rd visit txfaith.org/NTFVevent
 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome back to the program Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, Joshua Houston, to wrap up what is hopefully the last special session of the 88th Texas Legislature for 2023. One of the main issues the legislature has tried to address is public school funding. In a year with an historic budget surplus, the Texas Legislature should have been able to better fund our underfunded public schools and give Texas public school teachers a well-deserved raise–both issues Texans of faith consistently tell us they care about. However, both have been tied up all year because they have been "held hostage" to state leaders insisting that those priorities would only be funded in exchange for diverting dollars from public schools to private school vouchers. The last moments of the fourth special session left many questions unanswered. Josh helps us understand what happened and what comes next.    The work to stop vouchers in Texas is not over yet! Consider joining our Public School Defenders team, signing the letter to your legislator telling them to keep public dollars in public schools, and becoming a member of Texas Impact.   

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Texas Impact's Climate Action Fellow, Becca Edwards, back to the program soon after returning to the U.S. after attending the first half of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of Parties (COP) in Dubai. For those following along with the program, we had Becca and our Executive Director Bee Moorhead on the last episode giving a preview of the conference. Bee is still in Dubai, and we will look forward to talking with her when she gets home. 

 

Becca, an alumna of the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, discusses her experience at the COP while observing negotiations concerning the recently released Global Stocktake climate report. To find out more about the Global Stocktake follow the links to Becca's two part explainer.

 

texasimpact.org/unfcc_gst_mitigation

texasimpact.org/unfcc_gst_adaptation

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This week, we are joined by Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead and Climate Action Fellow Becca Edwards to discuss the upcoming COP28. For longtime listeners, you will know that Texas Impact sends a team to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties. The 28th conference will be from November 30 until December 12 in Dubai.    We know we are not on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The window for meaningful change is closing, and the time to act is now. At COP28, governments will examine each country's report on their progress so far, and make a decision called the global stocktake, which will set a path to accelerate ambition in the next round of national climate action plans due in 2025.   To learn more about keeping 1.5 alive, read this special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are taking a break from legislative goings on for an important conversation with Rev. Deanna Hollas, Coordinator of Gun Violence Prevention Ministries with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. We will discuss the increased emphasis national denominations are placing on reducing gun violence and how congregations can both act locally and advocate for policy change to reduce gun violence. 

 

If you are passionate about ending gun violence–Texas Impact has a team for that. This team is made up of Texans of faith interested in working and advocating for public policies that reduce gun violence. This week that team is hosting an event including a rally and art installation that calls attention to the impact gun violence has in local San Antonio communities. This Saturday, November 18th at St. Michael's in San Antonio, they are hosting a March for Gun Violence Prevention. 

 

Register for the event at texasimpact.org/event/vidas-robadas-stolen-lives

 

You can find the resources mentioned in the episode at www.presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence and this google doc: txfaith.org/GVPresources

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week, the Texas Legislature adjourned the third special session, and almost immediately, the Governor called them back for a fourth 30-day special session focused on public education-specifically trying to divert public dollars to private schools and immigration-related bills.   Thursday, two House Committees met to hear bills, and the Texas Impact team stayed up late to testify and cover the hearings. On the other side of the building, the Senate operated at warp speed, passing four bills out of committee with little to no public input and off the floor in a matter of hours.   This morning, the House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment met to approve HB 1, the voucher bill and two of the Senate bills concerning border security and funding for a border wall were rushed out of House committees.   Texas Impact's Executive Director and Advocacy Director, Bee Moorhead and Josh Houston, are here to help us center ourselves in these– not unprecedented but unique times.

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week our focus turns to an issue that has shaken many of our families and communities. We are joined today by Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities & Mental Health Justice with the United Church of Christ.
  Dr. Lund was part of an alliance that partnered with the US Health and Human Services Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships on a guide for faith leaders to identify and help youth who may be at risk for suicide. We are going to talk through many of the key aspects of that report.   You can find the report here: www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hope-guide-faith-leaders-help-prevent-youth-suicide.pdf
  Find works by Dr. Lund at Chalice Press: chalicepress.com/products/copy-of-blessed-youth-bundle   Other Resources: ucc.org for action alerts Mental Health America mhanational.org 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline  

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This week, we turn our focus back to the special session with a conversation about public school funding with Dr. Chloe Latham Sikes, Deputy Director of Policy with IDRA, the Intercultural Development Research Association. For 50 years, IDRA has focused on equity in the Texas education system, and Chloe brings an important perspective to the public education conversation. 

 

At the time of posting this episode, we are finishing the third week of the 30 day legislative session, and Texans of faith have been doing incredible work to support public schools. Thousands of you have signed Texas Impact's Public Dollars for Public Schools letter, and those letters and comments have been delivered to your representatives' Capitol offices. Keep them coming!

 

To sign the letter head to txfaith.org/novouchers

 

Also, for number of great resources, head to IDRA's "Stop Vouchers" landing page at www.idra.org/education_policy/stop-vouchers

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

The Texas Impact team is on the ground and churning out great content from the  United Nations climate negotiations known as COP30 Belém, Brazil. Make sure you are following along on Texas Impact's substack and YouTube as well as through Texas Impact's media partnerships with the Austin Chronicle, Baptist News Global, and United Methodist Insight. 

This week on Weekly Witness, members of that delegation–Bee Moorhead, Rev. Becca Edwards, Dylan Le and Regina Banks join the conversation with updates from COP30.

This content is important to help us understand the global climate emergency and how the negotiations can shape our future work at the federal, state and local levels as well as in the corporate, NGO and faith community spaces–and help us understand the role the faith community plays in that work.

Follow along with updates on Texas Impact's Substack, social media and via our media partners.  

https://texasimpact.substack.com/

https://www.austinchronicle.com/cop30/

https://baptistnews.com/ 

https://um-insight.net/in-the-world

 

This week we welcome Stacey Pogue, Senior Policy Analyst with Every Texan, to the program to talk about healthcare as Texas prepares to roll back covid era policies.
 

While there are a lot of important issues in the news right now, to the more than 1 million Texans who have lost their healthcare coverage during this "unwinding," healthcare, or the lack thereof is front of mind. 

 

Stacey will help explain what unwinding is and why we are having to do it, what congregations can do locally and the message for state and federal lawmakers.

 

If you or someone in your community is unsure if they have coverage, go to www.staycoveredtx.org to find help.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week Scott talks with Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead about the lay of the land in Texas and the role Texans of faith can play in this special session and in this heightened political climate. 

 

There is going to be A LOT of talk in the next few weeks about what quote "religious" people want–and a lot of those voices will be claiming that Texans of faith support vouchers. Our membership says otherwise, and so it is important that we speak up. 

 

Texas Impact has a tool for that. So, I hope you will go to txfaith.org/novouchers and sign the sign-on letter that will be hand-delivered to your legislator, and then share it with your networks.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are preparing you for two events that should be front of mind this month. 

Josh Houston will join us to talk about the special session beginning Monday, October 9. We expect it to focus on public education and proposals relating to diverting public dollars to private schools through vouchers or other equivalent programs. Josh will help us understand what makes special sessions so special and help us prepare for that.

The other major October event is Texas Impact's membership drive, so Texas Impact's Network Development Manager, Kat Karbach, joins the program to talk about that drive and how your support helps Texas Impact work for a more just and equitable Texas.

Both have opportunities to engage on our website, texasimpact.org

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This week we are continuing our series to prepare you for a special session of the Texas Legislature focused on public schools and proposals relating to diverting public school funds to private school vouchers. Spoiler: Texas Impact likes public schools.   So, who better to give us the political lay of the land than Texas Impact's outside legislative council, Beaman Floyd? Texas Impact and our members are fortunate to benefit from Beaman's decades of experience in public education policy—as well as his expertise as a theologian in his own right.   Beaman and Scott will discuss the political landscape, but also help us understand why Texans of faith play such an important role in the policy conversations around public schools and school vouchers.    To get involved, join the Public School Defenders team on our website at texasimpact.org/take-action-2

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are preparing you for a special session of the Texas Legislature focused on public schools and most likely proposals relating to diverting public school funds to private school vouchers.   Scott sits down with Dr. Scott Sheppard, Superintendent of Huntsville Independent School District, recently named the 2023 Region 6 Superintendent of the Year, who has served districts large and small, but has spent most of his career in rural Texas. They discuss the importance of public schools, and why Texas should prioritize funding public schools while keeping public schools public and private schools private.   

We are excited to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen, or you can watch the interview on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impact's videos.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are recording from University Presbyterian Church in Austin following the Texas Impact fall board meeting. It is always a good day when the Texas Impact board gets together. A room full of Texas faith leaders from various traditions committed to creating a more just and equitable Texas. It can't get better than that right? So, we decided to share some of the fun with you, in a conversation with three of our newer board members talking about why justice ministries are important, what they are paying attention to and what we can do.

 

In the conversation we mentioned Ballot Ready. This is a tool to help you or your congregation help your community participate in the elections and help you keep track of the impact your efforts are having. We hope you will consider signing up to use Ballot Ready with the link below. If you have questions, email engagement@texasimpact.org. 

txfaith.org/BallotReady

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We saw that y'all loved the first two faith leader panels so much that today we are bringing you the third and final installment. If you missed the first two–first, you should go back and listen to them. These panels of religious leaders were part of Texas Impact's three Houston Faith Votes kick-off events, a partnership between local congregations and organizations in Houston working to increase civic engagement and voting, but the material from these conversations isn't Houston-specific. Hopefully they inspire all of us to engage our congregations in civic engagement work, and specifically to mobilize our congregations and communities to participate in every election. Spoiler–Texas Impact has tools for you to do that.

Check out texasimpact.org or the materials from the Houston Faith Votes campaign at houstonfaithvotes.org. 

Here to inspire you to do that are the panelists from the August 27 faith leaders panel at Servants of Christ UMC: 

Bishop Cynthia Harvey Bishop of the Texas Annual Conference of the UMC

Rev. Harvey Clemons Jr., Senior Pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church

Rabbi Josh Fixler Associate Rabbi of Congregation Emanu El

And Rev. Victor Thomas Dean of the East Harris Convocation and Rector of St. James Episcopal Church

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

Last week Texas Impact concluded a series of kick-off events for our Houston Faith Votes campaign in partnership with local congregations and organizations in Houston. We aired the audio from the first of three faith leader panels and y'all loved it so much we thought we'd do it again!

The material from these conversations isn't Houston-specific, but hopefully inspires all of us to engage our congregations in civic engagement work, and specifically to mobilize our congregations and communities to participate in every election. 

This weeks panel was moderated by Kim Mabry, Interfaith Relations at Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, and features Rev. Dr. Joe Samuel Ratliff, Senior Pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, Bishop Michael Rinehart, Bishop of the Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Rev. Mike Stone, Dean of the Galveston Convocation and Rector of St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, and Judge Manpreet Singh, Judge in the Harris County Civic Court No. 4 and a leader in the Sihk community.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

Last weekend Scott had a chance to moderate a faith leader panel with four incredible Houston faith leaders discussing the importance of civic engagement and why and how local congregations can engage their communities. That conversation was so rich and deep, we wanted to share it with the whole Texas Impact community…so we decided to run it as the podcast this week. 

 

Texas Impact is in the middle of three events to kick off our Houston Faith Votes campaign in partnership with local congregations and organizations in Houston. The first event was last weekend at Congregation Beth Israel, and we have two more scheduled for August 26th at Brentwood Baptist Church, and August 27th at Servants of Christ United Methodist Church. 

 

Find out more and register for the events at houstonfaithvotes.org

 

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Many public school kids are returning to school across the state this week. Public school teachers, staff and administrators are excited about the new year's possibilities but maybe less enthusiastic about the legislature's failure to use the record budget surplus to invest in public schools and teachers.    This seems like a perfect week to have a chat about public education with a public school parent, former Austin ISD School Board President and current Texas State Representative, Gina Hinojosa, representing Austin's House District 49.    We will talk with Rep. Hinojosa about public education and how Texans of faith can engage with their representatives on this critical topic as we move toward an expected special session and an election season at the local and state level focusing on public schools.   

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

The election is over, and even though there weren't big statewide or federal races on the ballot, local elections and good public policy matter, and so we are excited to welcome Texas Impact's Outside Legislative Counsel Beaman Floyd back to the program to talk about the election results and where we go from here in the legislative calendar.

Now that the constitutional amendment election is in the rearview mirror, we expect at some point to begin tracking interim hearings. The candidate filing deadline for Texas races is about a month out, so primary election season will be upon us soon.

As always, Texas Impact has tools and resources to help you stay engaged. Learn more at texasimpact.org.

This week we traveled to the heart of Houston for a conversation with Texas state representative Gene Wu, representing House District 137. Rep. Wu is a fellow LBJ School alum, so I enjoyed catching up with him and hearing about his work during the session, concerns shared by Harris County residents and some thoughts on economic justice and how bills impacted his district. 

Rep. Wu will also be one of the keynote speakers for the Houston Faith Votes kickoff series on August 20th at Congregation Beth Israel, so make sure you invite your Houston-area friends to check that out at houstonfaithvotes.org. We have a great lineup of local elected officials, faith leaders and breakout sessions talking about how Texans of faith can encourage their communities to participate in upcoming elections, so we hope to see you and your Houston-area friends there.

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This week we welcome back to the program Josh Houston, Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, to talk about public education in Texas, and specifically about the implementation of the school chaplain bill that will impact every one of your communities. We will discuss the multiple layers of public school conversations that are taking place in Texas, starting with the vote EVERY school district in Texas will have to take soon.  

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are taking a mid-summer break from our legislative wrap-up series to talk about the recent judicatory season with the Chair of the Board of Church and Society for the North Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Church and one of our Board Members, Rev. Phil Dieke. Every year from April through June, the Texas Impact team is busy with what we refer to in house as judicatory season–when many faith communities or denominational bodies hold their regional meetings or conferences. In many of those, there are opportunities for resolutions or statements from those faith communities or judicatories relevant to the broader community's policy discourse. Phil and I had a chance to talk about why those resolutions are important, statements made by the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the state of the UMC in general.

 

We are delighted to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen only, or you can watch the episode on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impact's video.

txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week our Executive Director, Bee Moorhead had a chance to catch up with former State Senator Beverly Powell, who represented parts of Fort Worth and North Texas. And, while Sen. Powell would definitely have some wise words about legislative topics, the conversation this week focused on her work in organizing Texans to support Uvalde families while we wait for policy change. She is providing leadership through the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation with a goal of raising $60 million to build a new elementary school in Uvalde so kids in that community no longer have to step foot inside the doors of Robb Elementary and remember the massacre of their neighbors. 

Visit the website to see plans and make a contribution uvaldecisdmovingforward.org

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Texas State Representative John Bucy, who represents House District 136 in Williamson County, to discuss higher education policy in the 88th Legislature. We haven't talked a lot about higher ed policy on this podcast, but Texas colleges, universities, community colleges and trade schools are important components in our communities and an important driver of the Texas economy. Rep. Bucy will talk about some important efforts to strengthen higher education in Texas.

 

We are delighted to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen only, or you can watch the episode on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impacts video.

txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Texas State Representative Donna Howard, who represents House District 48 in the Austin area, to discuss maternal health and the role it played in the 88th Legislature. We will talk about whether the glass was half full or half empty in regards to maternal health policy–yes, indeed there were some good moments during this legislative session, thanks in large part to Rep. Howard and the Texas Women's Health Caucus. 

 

We are delighted to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen only, or you can watch the episode on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impacts video.

txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Texas State Representative James Talarico, who represents District 50 in the Austin, Travis County, area, to discuss Christian nationalism and the role it played in the 88th Legislature. Rep. Talarico had several "viral moments" during the session combatting Christian nationalism, speaking as a person of faith… an area where he has some experience as a current divinity student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. 

We are delighted to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen only, or you can watch the episode on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impacts video.

txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Representative Vikki Goodwin to the program. Rep. Goodwin represents House District 47 in the Austin area and has been a longtime champion for commonsense gun reform. Scott and Rep. Goodwin talk about how personal stories impact the policy discussion, and Rep. Goodwin offers practical tips for sharing your story with lawmakers.

 

Head to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to watch the interview and subscribe to access all Texas Impacts video content. txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Texas Impact's outside legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd, as we discuss some of the factors at play as state leadership continues to figure out what is happening with the special session, or sessions. Weekly Witness will take a look back on the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature and what Texans of faith should be watching this summer. 

Head to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to watch the interview and subscribe to access all Texas Impacts video content. txfaith.org/WWyoutube

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

Weekly Witness is back with a new legislative wrapup series, and we are excited to start by welcoming Senator Nathan Johnson to the program to discuss the grid and making sure Texas can keep the lights on in a sustainable way that is best for all Texans. 

Sen. Johnson is a leader on many of the issues Texans of faith care about. He represents about a million Dallas County residents, and it was nice to reconnect with him in the office a few weeks after he sponsored the resolution honoring Texas Impact's 50th Anniversary.

We are delighted to be airing this conversation as a video podcast—that means you can listen only, or you can watch the episode on YouTube. Be sure you are subscribed to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to take advantage of this feature and to access all Texas Impacts video.

txfaith.org/WWyoutube

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

The election is over, and even though there weren't big statewide or federal races on the ballot, local elections and good public policy matter, and so we are excited to welcome Texas Impact's Outside Legislative Counsel Beaman Floyd back to the program to talk about the election results and where we go from here in the legislative calendar. 

Now that the constitutional amendment election is in the rearview mirror, we expect at some point to begin tracking interim hearings. The candidate filing deadline for Texas races is about a month out, so primary election season will be upon us soon.

As always, Texas Impact has tools and resources to help you stay engaged. Learn more at texasimpact.org. 

 

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

The tax policy cliche "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to exempt" is on point for this legislative session. This week, tax-whisperer Dick Lavine joins Scott to discuss legislation to increase property tax exemptions, including SB3 and HB5. This is the last episode of the regular session in the Texas Legislature. If you have ideas for the program during the interim, or questions about Texas Impact and our opportunities, feel free to reach out at scott@texasimpact.org.

Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

Immigration and border issues have really come to the forefront in the last few weeks thanks to the news around the COVID-era Title 42 policy ending and some frankly shocking border militarization bills in the Texas Legislature. So, here to help us make sense of what is happening, is Bobby Watson, Texas Impact's Human Rights fellow, fresh off a trip to the border with the Texas Impact team. 

*Correction: Supreme Court case Arizona v. US was decided in 2012

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This week we welcome Dr. Charlie Brown, Board Member with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to talk about key reforms to Texas' ban on abortions that are necessary to better define steps that can legally be taken to protect the lives of Texas moms. Doctors need a better legal definition, and so far the Legislature has been unwilling to even have that conversation. We are recording with just over two weeks remaining in the legislative session and we hope listeners will buckle up for the last two weeks, celebrate the work you have done together, and start preparing for conversations we will need to have post-session.

 

Resources from the episode:

https://www.acog.org/

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/01/1172973274/oklahoma-abortion-ban-exception-life-of-mother-molar-pregnancy

 

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This week Scott welcomes two advocates in the struggle for common sense gun control. Christina Delgado, Southwest Regional Advocacy Associate with the Community Justice Action Fund and Nicole Golden, Executive Director with Texas Gun Sense, have both been working tirelessly at the capitol this session with legislators and the families of victims of gun violence. Despite all of that work, and a thirteen hour hearing, the House Committee so far has not even scheduled a vote.

Community Justice Action Fund

www.cjactionfund.org

Texas Gun Sense

www.txgunsense.org

 

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This week we recorded in between bill hearings with Doug Lewin, President of Stoic Energy Consulting and host of the Texas Power Podcast. Renewable energy is a big part of the Texas economy. We talked to Doug about some positive advancements this legislative session and work that still needs to be done to protect renewable energy. Check out Doug's podcast at www.renewableenergyworld.com/the-texas-power-podcast/

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This week we are excited to be recording from the Texas Capitol office of Rep Trey Martinez-Fischer. Scott talks with his Senior Budget Analyst, Eva Deluna Castro—many Weekly Witness listeners will know Eva from her years with the Center for Public Policy Priorities, now Every Texan. Eva is one of Texas' most respected state budget experts, and today she's sharing her take as we move into the home stretch of passing a state budget. Texas had a record budget surplus coming into the legislative session, and with it an opportunity to make a clear statement about our priorities as a state. We'll cut through the news and get the real scoop from Eva to see how they are doing so far.

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This week we are recording from the University of Houston Downtown at the invitation of the Center for Critical Race Studies. Scott sits down with Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, author, and the Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She also serves as co-founder of the Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion and as the Executive Director of both the Society of Christian Ethics and the nationally acclaimed Black Religious Scholars Group. Her focus on the intersection of ethics, feminist and womanist studies, critical race theory, and more provides an important lens for Texans of faith, given the issues the Texas Legislature is currently considering. We expect these issues will continue to demand attention post-legislative sessions and into the next election cycle.

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This week we welcome Terri Burke, Executive Director of the Immunization Partnership, to talk about the importance of vaccinations–one of the 10 major advances in public health of the 20th century–and the history behind the vaccine opposition movement, which is grounded in a discredited study in the mid 2000's.

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This week we welcome Diana Forester, Director of Health Policy with Texans Care for Children. We are just over halfway through the 140 day legislative session, and Texas Impact has many priorities, and maternal health and Medicaid for Texas families are always important legislative priorities for Texans of faith across the state. But Diana joined us to talk about another Medicaid issue: the unwinding of COVID-era continuous coverage of Medicaid. 

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This week we welcome Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead and Advocacy Director Josh Houston to the program as we reach the midpoint of the 140 day legislative session. 

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This week we are recording during early voting before election day next Tuesday, November 4, and we know that all of you are doing everything you can to make sure your friends, neighbors and communities of faith are taking this election season.

For many of us, the policy implications of what's going on in the world right now are hitting close to home. The government shutdown and corresponding freeze of SNAP benefits, and so many other vital programs, is impacting our communities, and that requires our attention.

There are important elections on the ballot right now. The constitutional amendments matter. Many of your communities have school board races, local government elections and bond elections. Those matter too—so we hope you have voted or are making a plan to vote.

Here to talk to us about elections, both the current November 4 election and our election infrastructure, is Natalia Contreras, reporter with Votebeat Texas.

Visit the Votebeat Texas website and sign up for the newsletter at www.votebeat.org/texas

Want to know more about the constitutional amendments on the ballot? Visit Texas Impact's Substack to read Rebecca McIlwain's four part series texasimpact.substack.com/p/dig-in-then-vote

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This week we are joined by Reverend Rob Mueller, pastor of Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, and one of the clergy leaders of Texas Impact's Ending Gun Violence issues team. We discuss the work Rob is doing to engage his denominational body–Mission Presbytery–in policy advocacy and the recent resolution they passed with overwhelming support. You can find the resolution on our website at texasimpact.org/2023/03/mission-presbytery-commissioner-resolution-on-gun-violence

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This week Scott talked with Jamila English, Legislative Director for the Texas Chapter of Emgage, a foundation with the goal of educating and mobilizing Muslim American voters in support of policies that enable their communities to thrive and democracy to flourish. They discussed the upcoming Texas Muslim Capitol Day and AAPI Advocacy Day and their priorities for the legislative session. Head to www.eventbrite.com/e/texas-asian-american-pacific-islander-aapi-advocacy-day-tickets-558310831727 to sign up!

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This week we wrap up Texas Impact's Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days week with a conversation with friend of the program Guthrie Graves-Fitzimmons, Communications Director for BJC, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom. Guthrie joins us after his boss, Amanda Tyler, the Executive Director for the BJC joined us in person in Austin for Interfaith Advocacy Days to talk about Christian Nationalism and their work to mobilize people of faith, and specifically Christians to speak out against Christian Nationalism. Join their effort at www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org

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