Texas Impact's Weekly Witness – Details, episodes & analysis

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

 

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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

 

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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.

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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
 

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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.   

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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) 

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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

 

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