Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 Natio...

We are excited to welcome Representative Salman Bhojani to the program this week. He represents District 92 around Euless, Bedford, Grand Prairie and Arlington and was one of the speakers at Texas Impact's Interfaith Service of Public Witness at the start of session in January. He has been making news because he is one of the first two Muslims and South Asians elected to the Texas House, and held...

This week Scott had a chance to talk with a United Methodist Bishop who grew up and served in South Texas before spending time as a Bishop in the Great Plains. We are excited to welcome Bishop Ruben Saenz, Jr. back to Texas where he will be serving in the North and Central Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. The conversation came soon after he addressed the United Women in Faith Legis...

This week  we are joined by United Women in Faith leaders Mary Brown and Darlene Alfred for a conversation about UWFaith and civic engagement. Mary Brown served as committee chair for this year's UWFaith Texas Legislative Event. Darlene Alfred serves on the national board of UWFaith, and is a Texas Impact Board Member. Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead fills in for Scott. She had a chance to sit down with Maria Coyne, President and CEO of the United Church of Christ's Cornerstone Fund. They discussed legacy giving and how faith-based funds like Cornerstone can work with congregations to engage in and support justice ministries through the wise use of buildings and other real property.    G...

This week we are coming to you from Houston featuring a conversation with Juan Cardoza-Oquendo, Director of Policy and Elections with Houston in Action , an organization that convenes member organizations interested in impacting systemic change rooted in racial justice and equity for historically excluded groups.  It is an important reminder for those of us in the faith community to look for oppor...

This week we have a special episode for you, featuring the audio from Texas Impact's Interfaith Service of Public Witness that took place on the steps of the Capitol this Tuesday January 10th. Texas Impact has been hosting this event for 50 years. But, this year was unique in that NINE state representatives from various faith backgrounds participated, along with many Texas faith leaders. Video and...

Weekly Witness is back for our first episode of 2023, just in time for the start of the 88th Texas Legislature. Scott welcomes Texas Impact's Advocacy Director Josh Houston back to the program to discuss a few of the hot topics leading into the session, namely religious freedom, and how they apply to the policy making process we are about to witness. Texas Impact kicks off every regular session wi...

This year we released the 200th episode of Weekly Witness! We've got one final episode of Weekly Witness for this year, a "clip show" highlighting a few of the many fascinating conversations Scott has had with faith leaders during the course of our first 200 episodes. We hope you'll listen to this episode—and don't forget, all of our old episodes are available for download on your favorite podcast...

The dust has settled for a majority of races in the 2022 midterm elections with run-offs scheduled for December 13th. Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, Joshua Houston, joins Scott to discuss his take-aways from the results so far and turn our direction toward the upcoming 88th Texas Legislature. Bill filing has already begun and January is just around the corner. It's time for Texans of faith to b...

We continue our series on Texas Impact's 2023 Legislative Priorities by discussing reproductive rights, religious freedom and what Texans of faith should consider before the November election. Rabbi Mara Nathan, Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, is with us for the conversation. Later in the program, Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead continues the discussion as she and oth...

This week we continue our series on Texas Impact's legislative priorities with a discussion about protecting LGBT rights and what Texans of faith can do. With us for the conversation is Bishop Suffragan Kai Ryan with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Later in the program, we will be joined by Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, Joshua Houston to help us prepare for policy conversations leading into th...

We interrupt our series on Texas Impact's 2023 legislative priorities to bring you a very timely episode as the midterms quickly approach. Scott is joined by Bee Moorhead and Joshua Houston to discuss some of the tools and opportunities Texas Impact is providing to Texas' faith communities this election. Find out more by visiting our website at  texasimpact.org/voter- assistance  

This week we continue our legislative priority series with a discussion about immigration priorities and what Texans of faith can do. During this series, we will welcome a faith leader to help introduce a section of the legislative priorities and have a conversation about why it is an important priority to the faith community. With us this week is Bishop Michael Rinehart with the Texas-Lousiana Gu...

We continue our series on Texas Impact's 2023 legislative priorities with a discussion about the climate crisis and what Texans of faith can do. This week, we welcome Susan Henry Crowe, General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society to discuss climate issues. Yes, she is our second Susan in a row. Also back again this week is Texas Impact's Executive Director, Bee Mo...

This week we begin our series on the Texas Impact Legislative priorities in earnest. For the remainder of this series, we plan to welcome a faith leader to help introduce a section of the legislative priorities and have a conversation about why it is an important priority to the faith community. This week we welcome Rev Dr. Susan Frederick Gray, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association...

We continue our guided tour of Texas Impact's legislative priorities for the 2023 Texas legislative session with some of the folks who helped shape them. In this episode, members of Texas Impact's Board of Directors share their individual perspective on the work and thought put into the process of developing Texas Impact's legislative priorities. Board President Rev. Franz Schemmel, Rabbi Nancy Ka...

Over the next ten weeks, Weekly Witness will take you on a guided tour of Texas Impact's legislative priorities for the 2023 Texas legislative session. In this episode, Texas Impact staff provide an overview of the legislative priorities and offer insights into how they get developed. Bee, Josh, and Beaman discuss how the priorities have changed over years; what's remained constant; and why mainst...

We present the final installment of our four-part series on public education. Sherry Miller, Past President of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, joins Scott to discuss how to support teachers and public schools in the post-COVID world. Later in the program, catch an informal chat between Bee and Josh, recorded while Scott was away. After this episode, Weekly Witness will take a break while...

We continue our summer fun with the third installment of our four-part series on public education. The goal of this series is to prepare listeners to discuss public education issues with elected officials and candidates for office…note-taking is encouraged. In today's episode, Scott has a lively conversation with one of the state's leading advocates for public schools, Rev. Charles Foster Johnson....

This week we continue our summer fun with the second installment of our four part series on public education. Rejoining us today will be one of the state's leading experts on public school policy, Ellen Williams, an attorney and public school expert with 35 years of experience in and around the Capitol. Later in the program we are joined by the Texas Impact Foundation Board President Beaman Floyd....

It is summer vacation for many...but here at Texas Impact, we think it's time to focus on public education! We hope to provide some summer homework–not to prepare kids to go back to school, but to prepare you for conversations with your elected representatives and candidates going into election season. Joining us this week is one of the state's leading experts on public school policy, David Thomps...

As Texans face another episode of grid-uncertainty, we talk with some experts who are working on solutions. Dr. Joshua Rhodes is with the University of Texas Webber Energy Group, which recently released a report detailing how Texas could get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Later in the program we are joined by former Texas Impact intern Suzanne Russo. now CEO of Pecan Street, to discuss her...