The last couple of weeks have been surreal. I watch the news and scroll social media and see coverage of the flaunting of excess wealth. Last week, the first individual reached trillionaire status. At the same time, our government is spending billions of dollars on the gold-plating of statues, ballrooms and wars, while sponsors line up to dole out money hand over fist to sponsor a UFC fight on the White House grounds. Money is being thrown around for what most people of faith would consider to be excesses. Yet, at the same time, we are constantly told there isn’t enough for key social services that fund children, poor and elderly Americans.

So, we have to ask ourselves, who are we listening to? And, who are we valuing? And then, how do those answers reflect our faith values?

Over the last few weeks, we have had several Weekly Witness episodes featuring faith leaders who work with young people. This week, the pod featured a conversation with Rev. Marcus Jones, author and University Chaplain at Huston Tillotson University in Austin, a HBCU founded in 1875. Rev. Jones previously served as the Executive Director of the Wesley Foundation at Midwestern State University, leader of the MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center, and as Executive Director of UTA Wesley at the University of Texas at Arlington.

I wanted to talk with Marcus about serving in an HBCU in this political climate, what students are thinking about what is happening in our civic life, and what the broader faith community can learn from their advocacy and experiences.

And spoiler, students are more worried about jobs, how we treat our neighbors, voting rights, equity and justice than they are about gold-plated statues and ballrooms. I enjoyed the conversation, but it was yet another reminder that our neighbors have real concerns, and our communities need support. And yet, far too often our elected representatives are listening to other voices-maybe from those in economic classes that can afford to sponsor events that most Americans can’t afford tickets to attend.

Our faith calls for us to know and love our neighbors and to advocate for those who need help. So many young people see and understand this need, and are praying for our communities of faith to listen. I hope we will find some time in the coming weeks to engage with young people, hear their stories and advocate for issues of shared concern.

As always, Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Rev. Jones has extensive experience working on college campuses and has written books on the topic, so Scott talked with him about serving in an HBCU in this political climate, what students are thinking about what is happening in our civic life and what the broader faith community can learn from their advocacy and experiences.

We hope you enjoy this episode and invite a friend to listen along. If you share it in your social media, make sure to tag us!

To learn more or get involved, check out Texas Impact’s Action Center at texasimpact.org.

I am really enjoying the conversations with faith leaders during this season of the Weekly Witness podcast. We talk about their ministry context, their call to ministry, and how they are leading in the current political environment. We have talked to people from different faith traditions, as well as those serving in different ministry contexts. We have talked to leaders of congregations, campus ministries, and those working in the non-profit and advocacy spaces. Some of them have to think about how their leadership intersects with the public sphere. Others don’t see their ministry as overtly political.

Our guest this week, however, is no stranger to conversations about faith and politics. His name has made headlines across the country in the last few weeks. Rev. Dr. Jim Rigby has been the pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin for 40 years. He has garnered attention over the decades for his commitment to justice and a progressive brand of Christianity, and he has been in the news recently as Senate candidate James Talarico’s pastor.

Rigby is getting more attention than a typical candidate’s pastor, probably because Rep. Talarico is a seminarian who is putting his faith at the forefront of his candidacy. Now, to be clear,

Texas Impact does not endorse candidates for office. This episode of Weekly Witness is not about a candidate for office. Instead, like every episode of Weekly Witness, it’s about a particular Texas faith leader, and how they are doing ministry in their particular context. Currently, Jim Rigby’s context includes having a parishioner with more than the usual amount of name recognition.

So, I was interested to talk to Rev. Rigby about how the political noise and additional attention are impacting St. Andrews and their ministry. We also talked about how clergy with parishioners running for office respond when campaigns get heated.

There are a couple of things from the news coverage that I really wanted to talk to the pastor about. First, it has been interesting to watch the conversation about mainline Christianity. It seems like some people are just discovering that there are people of faith who care about justice and advocate for the oppressed. Some, who can only see faith through a conservative evangelical lens, are unsurprisingly freaking out. However, I am more interested in those who are finding hope and meaning in being introduced to a more loving version of Christianity.

Additionally, I find it fascinating that some are trying to tie a candidate for office with their pastor. I have had a lot of great pastors over the years. Some of them will inevitably read this. I am grateful for their guidance and direction. But I also think they would say that we don’t agree on everything. We probably aren’t in lock stop on every theological or political topic. My guess is that most of you reading this would not agree 100% with your clergy. And that is okay—it is probably healthy that congregations have a diversity of thought. So I find these attempts to use a pastor’s viewpoints against a candidate, or vice versa, somewhat strange and incompatible with what most of us experience in our faith lives.

Rev. Ribgy and I talk about all of that and more, so I hope you will check out the episode and share with a friend that might be interested, while thinking about ways that you can respond to the issue.

As always, Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Last week, Bee wrote about the role faith would play in this current election cycle, and I feel like that has been especially relevant in the last few months when it comes to immigration policy and the treatment of migrants. Our faith teachings are abundantly clear and consistent when it comes for caring for migrant families. And yet, “the church” is continuously attacked for living out our shared faith by doing just that.

Likewise, Catholic social teaching has been in the news as prominent elected officials have criticized the church, and even Pope Leo, for adhering to their longstanding positions. As Bee wrote in her piece, “The focus on religion in this election cycle will provoke strong feelings, but maybe not strong faith.”

So, we were especially excited to welcome Dylan Corbett to the Weekly Witness podcast this week. Dylan is the founder and executive director of Hope Border Institute in El Paso. Dylan is a leader in the immigration space, working with and advocating for immigrants in communities across the globe before he landed in Texas. Dylan is especially influential in the Catholic Church when it comes to immigration concerns. He met with Pope Leo at the Vatican to share stories of migrants and was recently named by the Pope to serve on the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Dylan knows firsthand that working in the immigration space brings challenges, and yet he has continued to live out his faith by caring for his immigrant neighbors and speaking out against injustice.

I loved our conversation and especially loved the reminder that our faith calls us to challenging, important work. This election season will inevitably give us opportunities to speak about public policy through a faith lens. I hope we will engage in the conversations and speak for justice when the opportunities are presented.

We encourage you to check out the episode, share it with a friend that might be interested, and think about ways that you can respond to the issue.

Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Attending the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church during a high profile primary runoff election is a fascinating experience. I had a chance to attend the conference as a delegate Sunday through Wednesday. Many conference attendees were familiar with Texas Impact and the Weekly Witness podcast, so between that audience and the conversations I had while volunteering at the Church and Society booth, there were lots of opportunities for conversations about this election cycle. In particular, people are curious about the role faith will play in the Texas elections with both Christian Nationalism and mainline faith values surfacing as real issues during this campaign season.

I also had several opportunities to talk to young delegates and hear about their concerns. My daughter, who recently graduated from high school, was there as a delegate, and I had a chance to talk with several of the campus ministry and pastoral intern student volunteers. They were paying some attention to the elections, and they all had thoughts about the challenges facing young people in this economy and on the attacks on higher education in Texas.

It is clear that our young people care about what is happening in their communities, and it is equally clear that they need the resources to ensure they are effectively engaging their peers in civic engagement work. I hope you and your congregation are building relationships with campus ministries near you and/or affiliated with your faith tradition. Check out the Texas Faith Votes page for resources.

With all of that, it seems fitting that our Weekly Witness episode this week featured Rev. Tamika Nelson, executive director of United Campus Ministries of Greater Houston. Rev. Nelson was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); has served a United Methodist Church; and now works in a campus ministry affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the United Church of Christ. United Campus Ministries serves the UT School of Medicine, Houston Community College locations, Texas Southern University, University of Houston-Downtown, and Rice University. Tamika is a leader in Houston Faith Votes, and also the solo pastor at Kirkwood South Christian Church. I really enjoyed talking with her about what her students care about, how they are engaging their campuses in civic engagement work, and the barriers they are facing.

Students and campus ministries are doing incredible work engaging students in the civic engagement space. I hope our listeners and congregations will reach out to campus ministry leaders to determine how we can both listen and learn from young leaders while also discerning how we can support their work in engaging their peers to fully participate in the process.

I hope you will check out the episode and consider ways that you can respond.

Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Most political coverage in Texas focuses on the urban centers. People think about Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and the Austin to San Antonio I-35 Corridor. There has also been national political coverage of what is happening in the Valley and South Texas. There is much less conversation about West Texas, despite the outsized political influence the region holds. Three recent Speakers of the Texas House have come from the region; Pete Laney, Tom Craddick and Dustin Burrows. The Texas House has had a Speaker from West Texas for more than half of the last 32 years.

And there are real policy concerns in the region. From climate and disaster preparedness, to water and infrastructure, to immigration, serious conversations are taking place. So we are going to spend the next two episodes highlighting faith leaders in the region.

This week, we were joined by The Rev. Becky Fox, the pastor and head of staff at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Lubbock. Covenant has a long history of engaging in justice ministries and advocacy in Lubbock and beyond. We wanted to talk with Becky about the ministries of Covenant, including how they engage their local community and advocate for justice in a community that might not always share their values.

As someone who lives in a rural community, I recognize the important role faith communities can play to provide community justice-minded congregants and community members, but also the faithful witness clergy and congregations can provide in communities that need that message.

This is especially important in places like Lubbock and West Texas. The work they do will benefit both their communities and the broader Texas policy landscape because of the political power the region holds.

So, for those of you doing the justice and advocacy work in places where you might not have the biggest platforms, know that we see you. And we look forward to highlighting more voices like yours in the coming months!

I hope you will check out the episode and consider ways that you can respond.

Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Catholic social teachings have been in the news in the last few weeks, so we really wanted to spend some time this week with someone who lives out those teachings on a daily basis. Sister Denise LaRock is a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and has been doing incredible ministry with immigrants in San Antonio and beyond for the last decade. Sister Denise has spent her life working with neighbors from populations historically marginalized by broader society.

I am really enjoying my conversations with my guests on the pod this year! It is increasingly clear in the public discourse that many leaders are oblivious to the idea that faith traditions see justice ministries and advocacy for the poor and marginalized as central tenants of our faith. Highlighting the voices of faith leaders who center their ministry on their religious texts while living out their faith through compassion and justice ministries in this moment feels vitally important.

And Sister Denise is particularly skilled at talking about her faith practices and centering her message in both biblical texts and Catholic social teaching, while spending her days working with and advocating for immigrant families.

Parts of the conversation were hard: Nobody likes to hear the stories of moms being separated from newborn babies, but I was grateful for Sister Denise sharing her stories and found hope in her reports on the number of people of faith who are standing with our migrant siblings. I hope we can all consider ways we can live out our faith in service to others in the weeks to come. And as part of that service, remember to share stories and advocate for more just systems for all people.

I hope you will check out the episode and consider ways that you can respond.

Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

As someone who spent years working in youth ministry, and now having one child about to graduate high school and another about to go to middle school, I have been thinking a lot about how kids feel about all that is happening in the world. I want to scream from the mountaintop that what we are experiencing in our civic life is not normal.

This younger generation has experienced things we would have never imagined: a global pandemic that caused many to take classes at home with their parents; multiple impeachments, a new scandal, and reports of corruption almost every week; wars raging on multiple fronts.

I am grateful for congregations that prioritize allowing safe spaces for young people to ask questions, talk about how our faith challenges us to think about the world, and consider what a faithful response might look like to address these challenges.

One congregation that seems to be doing that work well is Friends Congregational Church, so I really enjoyed talking with the Rev. Brooke Dooley, the associate pastor of youth and young adults. She discusses her work, what she is hearing from young people, and how faith communities can support future generations.

I was also fascinated by Brooke’s story growing up in College Station as a closeted teenager and her return to the same community as a pastor providing hope for younger generations.

Brooke talked about the importance of providing spaces for young people to see and experience justice issues at play in our communities. They will have thoughts, and providing opportunities for them to consider and discuss what a faithful response to injustice might look like is an important part of spiritual formation.

I hope you will check out the episode, but more importantly, I hope we can all find some time in the coming weeks to engage in conversations with young people in our lives. Listen to their concerns about what is happening in the world and think about how we can collectively respond.

Texas Impact has tools to help you take action. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

It seems like every time I have turned on the news or opened my social media over the last few weeks, I have seen blatant examples of Christian Nationalism rearing its ugly head. Christian Nationalism is not new, but the extent to which it is taking over our policy discourse is reaching new heights every day.

I don’t feel like I am the old guy yet, but having worked my first legislative session two decades ago, even I find myself saying “back in the old days,” longing for a time when legislators across the spectrum recognized a separation of church and state and when Christian nationalist faith leaders were a fringe movement.

I really enjoyed the conversation this week with Rev. Jody Harrison. She started her career as a policy and campaign staffer until she felt a call to ministry and went to seminary. She was eventually ordained as a Baptist minister and served in children and youth ministry and as a hospital chaplain. Now, she is a faithful advocate on several of Texas Impact’s teams.

Jody is a leading advocate in calling out and fighting against Christian Nationalism, especially in the public education and reproductive health spaces. Jody highlighted the importance of people of faith speaking out against efforts to infuse Christian Nationalism into our public policy.

Moreover, as someone with a background in campaigns and now as a volunteer in the civic engagement space, Jody talked about the importance of participating in the process and in doing the work to engage our congregations and communities in civic engagement, especially in voting.

It was a fun and challenging conversation, and I hope we all take Jody’s challenge seriously to get involved in the work for justice and equity.

As always, Texas Impact has tools for you to participate. Like Jody, you can join Texas Impact teams, which can serve as a model for faithful advocacy and a chance to bring Texans of all faiths together to work on shared concerns. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Today is Earth Day, so what better day to release a podcast featuring Rev. Mel Caraway. Mel is a leader in the faith-based climate advocacy space at both the denominational and international level as a long-time COP attendee.

I have never attended the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate negotiations, but we have had enough episodes of this podcast featuring COP attendees over the years that I feel like I have been there. And, in talking with Mel and other COP veterans, we know that there is a wide range of actions we can take to make an impact on the climate.

As someone who has been involved in Texas Impact for decades, Mel has worked on a number of important issues. In recent years he has really started focusing on climate advocacy, in part because so many other issues we care about stem from climate change. That is why it is so important that we all engage in climate advocacy.

Mel and I talked about his faith journey as well as ways that people can be involved in finding climate solutions. That work can range from recycling or installing solar panels, to attending city council meetings and discussing local initiatives, to voting for candidates who support climate solutions at the federal level.

To quote an oft-cited proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” You might be new to climate advocacy or might have never worked on it at all. But my hope is that we all spend some time this Earth Day reflecting on how we can work to protect our planet for future generations.

Send us a comment and let us know what you decide to do!

As always, Texas Impact can serve as a model for faithful advocacy and a chance to bring Texans of all faiths together to work on shared concerns, and we have tools for you to get involved. I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Our guest on the podcast this week is Almas Muscatwalla, co-founder of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanksgiving Square. Almas provides leadership in a number of North Texas faith spaces and is a leader in encouraging pluralism and interfaith dialogue.

Now seems like a pretty good time for both of those conversations. Last week, the president and his allies made comments mocked an entire religion while seemingly calling for genocide. This week, he criticized the pope for speaking to his faith values, and then he posted a strange image of himself as a Jesus-like figure—sorry, as a “doctor”—with a red robe floating down from the clouds and a golden orb in his hand.

If there was ever a moment where we need a conversation about the importance of pluralism and interfaith dialogue, it is now. Our public discourse is a mess, and that is due in part to leaders and people of faith being unwilling to listen and learn from those of different faiths and backgrounds.

Almas has been a leader in bringing people together for conversation, dialogue and action. The podcast this week is well-timed to challenge us to think about how we can build bridges in our communities to try to understand those different from ourselves.

On the personal growth front, I learned a lot about the Ismaili Muslim faith tradition from Almas during our conversation. I was also challenged by her talking about her conversation at a No Kings Rally with one of the leaders of the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, because if I am honest, I might have been less willing to engage in that conversation .

The last few weeks have provided a number of examples of unhealthy rhetoric that demonizes groups of people. As people of faith, we have the opportunity, and maybe the obligation to work to facilitate dialogue that fosters mutual understanding and brings people together.

To borrow a line from President Obama, “We are not as divided as our politics suggest.” My hope is that, in the coming weeks, we will all find opportunities to engage in conversations with folks outside of our places of comfort to try to build some mutual understanding and respect.

Send us an email or post in the comments to let us know how it goes!

As always, Texas Impact can serve as a model for faithful advocacy and a chance to bring Texans of all faiths together to work on shared concerns, and we have tools for you to get involved. I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

One of my favorite times of the year is March/April, when the three major Abrahamic faith traditions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) celebrate significant holy days/seasons. In the Christian tradition, we just finished Lent, Good Friday and Easter. Our Jewish friends concluded Passover celebrations this week, and Ramadan ended a few weeks before on March 19.

This is a season where people of faith are centered and particularly mindful of both our faith and the global community. And, for those of us working in interfaith spaces, and at least mindful of other religious traditions, it can be a time where we can all celebrate both our faiths and the humanity around us.

It is a great time to engage in interfaith dialogues, to learn about each other’s traditions, and to show respect for our neighbors with other faith backgrounds. So, that is why it is especially disappointing that, coming out of this holy season, we have leaders once again using faith as a wedge to try to divide our communities.

I literally walked out of church on Easter Sunday morning to see social media posts from the highest office in the land mocking other religions. Meanwhile, Texas elected leaders are once again ramping up anti-Muslim rhetoric on a wide range of issues. And yet, many faith leaders seem unwilling to condemn these attacks.

So, this week’s conversation with Imaad Khan seems particularly well-timed. Imaad is a former Texas Impact colleague and friend, previously serving as a policy analyst. I enjoyed hearing him talk about his faith and advocacy journey pre-Texas Impact, including how his faith and family shaped his desire to study and work in the public policy space. He also reflected on his work post-Texas Impact and how he views our current challenges here in Texas and throughout the world through his faith lens.

As many of us move out of our holy seasons, I pray we are all using this time to reflect on how our faith calls us to work in the world around us. I also hope we will seek out opportunities to engage in productive conversations with friends or community members from other faith traditions. Our communities work better when we are both understanding and supporting one another.

As always, Texas Impact can serve as a model for faithful advocacy and a chance to bring Texans of all faiths together to work on shared concerns, and we have tools for you to get involved. I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

I enjoy all of our Weekly Witness conversations, because I love talking to faith leaders who are doing important justice work and engaging in ministries that transform lives. But this one was especially fun, because I had a chance to catch up with a pastor I have known since he was a bright-eyed, young college student still discerning his call to ministry.

I met Pastor Trent Ormsbee Hale and his husband Anthony when they were undergrads at Sam Houston State. Anthony was in the United Methodist college ministry group I was working with at my church at the time, and Trent was discerning his journey in ministry, coming out of a Fransiscan background in a journey that led him to now serving as an Evangelical Lutheran pastor.

In our conversation, Trent shared stories about his being called as the pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Weatherford, TX. For long-time listeners of the program, that congregation might be familiar, because he served with and then followed Texas Impact’s past Board President, Rev. Franz Schemmel as the pastor upon Franz’s retirement.

So, I enjoyed hearing about his ministry and catching up with a thoughtful young clergy-person, but as someone who lives, works and attends church in a more rural part of the state, I enjoyed the conversation about what faithful advocacy and justice work looks like when faith leaders serve communities that might not always share all of our values.

I know there are countless faith leaders who are serving in contexts where many in their congregations feel isolated or worried and find comfort in their congregation being a safe place to worship, gather and/or engage in justice work.

Trent gave voice to concerns, challenges and opportunities experienced by many faith leaders living and working in rural Texas. As we lift up and give a platform to faith leaders engaged in justice and advocacy work throughout this season of Weekly Witness, I look forward to more conversations with faith leaders serving in every corner of Texas. Feel free to email me suggestions for faith leaders you recommend for the pod.

As always, Texas Impact has tools for you to get involved, and I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

I assume that most of the people who read these substacks are lay people (not clergy) who live in and are connected with our communities.

I love faith leaders, and we are doing this podcast series to lift up the voices of faith leaders who are working for justice in Texas and beyond. We are doing this in part because we want to provide a platform for faith leaders in a time when the biggest megaphones often belong to faith leaders spewing a Christian Nationalist message.

Our Weekly Witness conversation this week is a great reminder that “faith leader” does not always mean “clergy.” As a lay-person, Robert Rivera has been a leading faith voice in the communities he has served, such as in high levels of leadership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and as the Director of the St. James Family Life Center in Houston.

Robert is a leader in connecting the church with immigrant communities, where he has spent decades organizing. He is also a leader in the Houston Faith Votes movement. I am excited to bring you the conversation with Robert this week to challenge all of us to think about our work in immigration advocacy and civic engagement.

Robert shares a story from early in his ministry about a family who ends up asking him, “Are you with us?” My hope is that Robert challenges us this week to build connections with our local communities so we know when and how to most effectively stand with people that are being harmed. And then, to consider how we can encourage our communities to join in the civic engagement work it will take to end the harm.

As always, Texas Impact has tools for you to get involved, and I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the podcast, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, tag us, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

We are not even halfway through March, but Texans of faith are already having an enormous impact, creating a narrative that you are paying attention and are actively engaged in public policy in the great state.

It started on March 1, the deadline by which school districts in Texas were required to vote on whether to insert a period of prayer in public schools. Texas Impact’s Public School Defenders—and many other Texans of faith and good conscience—organized to oppose the measure in their local communities (much like they did two years ago in opposing unlicensed school chaplains in public schools). And once again, Texas school boards responded with a resounding no, with only 22 school districts across Texas approving the measure. This is yet another example of local communities rejecting the insertion of Christian Nationalism into local schools, despite the Legislature’s best efforts. Read more from Grace here.

Then, congregations of faith were credited with supporting efforts to drive the highest voter turnout in a primary election in recent history. Rebecca wrote about the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the election. As an eternal optimist, I focused on the “good” and the role that March Matters and the Texas Faith Votes team played in serving as trusted messengers when encouraging people to vote:

• 4,290,000 - Number of Texans who voted in 2026. This is 1,260,227 more voters than in 2022.

• 1 out of 5 - 2026 primary voters who had never voted in a primary before.

• 19% - Percentage of the voting age population who voted in 2026, compared to only 14% who voted in 2022.

So, early March seemed like a great time to talk with Rabbi Josh Fixler, associate rabbi of Congregation Emanu El in Houston, about Christian Nationalism and civic engagement—two areas where he is a leading voice in the faith community.

We talked about how Christian Nationalist policies are driving narratives in reproductive health, public education, and more, including how people of faith are called to combat these narratives.

And, one of the best ways we can do that is through civic engagement efforts. Congregation Emanu El has done intensive work in this area in partnership with the Texas Faith Votes team, and Rabbi Fixler shares some lessons from that experience.

I hope you enjoy the conversation with Rabbi Josh Fixler, and I hope you are enjoying the new podcast format and emphasis on lifting up the voices of Texas faith leaders working in the justice realm. We welcome your thoughts, so let us know what you think or if there are guests you would like to hear from.

As always, Texas Impact has tools for you to engage, and I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in their advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time listener, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

For the second week in a row, it feels like the Weekly Witness conversation—which we schedule weeks in advance—was seemingly divinely timed for what was happening in my world during the week.

This week, Rev. Mara Bim joined the podcast. Mara is familiar to many in the Texas Impact audience as a longtime friend and advocate, and she was recently a featured speaker at the Texas United Women in Faith Legislative Event. Rev. Bim serves as the Justice and Advocacy Fellow at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas and as a writer with Baptist News Global.

The timing for the conversation was great, because it was the same week as the Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice event in Washington, D.C., where thousands of people of faith marched on the US Capitol for a rally and legislative visits after an inspiring morning of worship in two downtown churches, with a powerful sermon by United Methodist Bishop Latrelle Easterling. (Event resources to stay engaged are linked at the bottom of this page.)

I did not have a chance to attend the event in person, but I watched via livestream and hosted a conversation that evening at my church. For me, it was a great event, and I felt energized and inspired by the worship and the witness of those attending. But, I have been to a lot of similar events working in this job, so I knew what to expect. However, in watching it again that night with some young adults, it was clear that many people had not heard faith leaders so clearly articulate a faith call to stand with our immigrant neighbors. In their contexts, they had only heard faith leaders with big megaphones shouting messages of exclusion and hate.

It was an important reminder to me that our coalition of faith leaders working for justice and compassion needs bigger platforms and more opportunities to speak to broader audiences. So, I am grateful that we made the decision to move in that direction with Weekly Witness this year.

And, those faith voices will lead us in many directions and in many different styles. After we recorded the episode last week with Mara, I told our producer, Davey, that she definitely came in more fired up than many of our guests.

But this week, I found out that a parent of one of the kids my family is connected with is being deported, despite trying to do things right, and it has me pretty hot today as well. So, maybe that is what we need in this moment: faith leaders bringing some fire speaking out against the injustices happening all around us.

I welcome your thoughts. And I hope to see you joining the work for a more just and equitable Texas.

And, spoiler: Texas Impact has tools for you to engage, and I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in your advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center. I want to give a special shout out this week to the Immigration Action Team. Please consider joining that group if you are interested in immigration advocacy.

Whether you are a long-time listener, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

Resources from the Faithful Resistance Event to Stay Engaged.

1. The General Board of Church and Society is offering a Lenten webinar series (March 12 and March 19, 2026) on nonviolent resistance training and noncooperation. This is a meaningful opportunity to deepen skills for faithful public witness. You can register here: Lenten Webinar Series “Ashes to Action: Lent as Non-Violent Resistance.”

2. Take Action on Current Action Alerts:

   1. Tell Congress: Stop Lawless Immigration Enforcement; We Must Pass Guardrails on ICE and CBP Abuses

   2. Action Alert: Protect Immigrant Families & Communities- Support the Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 1061)

   3. Tell Congress: Don’t Stand by While Immigrant Communities Are Under Attack

3. Explore resources on immigration justice:

   1. GCORR Resources on Immigration

   2. GBCS Resources on Immigration Justice

   3. Combatting Mass Violence Fatigue

   4. How to Plan a Prayer Vigil in Your Own Local Area

It is good getting back into the Weekly Witness routine. We are excited about all of the changes to the podcast and have received a ton of great feedback on the release of the first episode of 2026 last week featuring Rev. Phil Dieke. For those who missed it, you can check it out here. Note that we are continuing to post the podcast in all of your favorite podcast sources, but we have now added video to the YouTube version.

I don’t always pull back the curtain on our internal Texas Impact office conversations, but this week it seems fitting. The Texas Impact team has our weekly staff meeting Monday mornings to kick off the work week. Last week, a good chunk of that meeting was Bee continuing a rant she started on social media regarding news outlets incorrectly stating that the Trump administration had “repealed a scientific finding.” So, I started my week with Bee and Rev. Dr. Becca discussing the scientific method and the idea that government officials can’t unilaterally repeal science.

I am assuming most of you didn’t start your work week with a conversation about the scientific method, but it did cause me to spend the week thinking about the importance of climate policy and our role as people of faith in standing up for science, truth and good policy processes.

So, it seemed particularly well-timed (shall we call it divine?) that we had already scheduled Regina Banks to join the podcast for this week. For those of you who followed along with Texas Impact’s COP30 coverage, you will remember that Regina Banks is the Director of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California. Regina is a leader in the ELCA Advocacy space, and she is also an expert in the intersection of faith and climate policy and was a star of the COP30 coverage.

I enjoyed the conversation with Regina this week as we talked about her faith and advocacy journey that has led her to this point, as well as her reflections on COP30 and where climate advocates go from here when the federal government seems unwilling to even acknowledge the problem.

In this context of climate policy, it is more important than ever that people of faith engage in the process—from our local congregations and local governments to asking candidates for state and federal office to address the issues important to us.

And, spoiler: Texas Impact has tools for you to engage, and I hope we can provide a space for everyone to learn and grow in your advocacy journey. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center. I want to give a special shout out this week to the Climate Action Team. Please consider joining that group if you are interested in climate advocacy.

Whether you are a long-time listener, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!

After a long winter break from recording, I was eager to get back behind a microphone this week to talk with Texas Impact’s new Board President, Rev. Phil Dieke. For those who know me, it will be no surprise to hear that I was glad to be back behind a microphone after almost two months, but it was more than that.

I am genuinely excited about this new season of Weekly Witness. The podcast has a new look, a new sound, and now includes a video component for those who watch on Texas Impact’s YouTube Channel. (Although, now I have to worry about what I do with my face while I am on camera for extended periods of time!) We look forward to hearing what you think of the changes in the comments.

But more than anything, I am excited about our new focus for the new year. 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 several election seasons 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 serves in an advisory capacity with the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church. Phil serves at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary with the 787 Collective and Houses of Hope and serves many other great causes, including as Texas Impact’s President. When most people think of Phil, they immediately think of his commitment to justice and equity—and maybe his fantastic hair.

I 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.

As we were having the conversation, I was thinking of many of you. I was thinking about all of the ways you are faithfully engaging in the policy process and inspiring me and the Texas Impact team to keep pressing forward. We love seeing your work for justice and faithful advocacy. And I hope Weekly Witness provides a space this year where you can hear from faith leaders whose words resonate with you and provide both ideas and hope as we journey through what will inevitably be a challenging year for those invested in justice ministries and good public policy outcomes.

And, if you are just finding us and are new to all of this, I hope we can provide a space to learn and grow and give you some entry points into the policy process. If we can support you in that work, please feel free to reach out or check out Texas Impact’s Action Center.

Whether you are a long-time listener, or you just found us, we welcome you to the Weekly Witness community. Now is a great time to make sure you are subscribed wherever you find your podcasts. Share it in your social media feed, and invite a friend to listen along.

It is good to be back with you all. Let us know what you think, and please reach out with your ideas. We look forward to being back with you again next week!