Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
by Texas Impact
Weekly Witness is a weekly opportunity for Texans of faith to learn about important public policy issues through a faith lens, and find out timely opportunities to participate in the public policy process. Host Scott Atnip is Texas Impact's Director of Public Witness. His guests come from a wide assortment of policy disciplines and faith traditions.
Episodes
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Weekly Witness Ep.534 Stepping Over the Boundaries with Rev. Dr. Neil Thomas
This week, Scott is joined by Rev. Dr. Neil Thomas, Senior Pastor of Cathedral of Hope of Dallas and a member of Texas Impact's Leadership Council. Dr. Thomas is a leading voice for LGBTQIA+ rights and a champion for communities that have been systemically marginalized. Scott and Neil discuss his...
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Weekly Witness Ep.533 Living Out a Legacy with Rev. Dr. Daryl Horton
This week, Scott is joined by Rev. Dr. Daryl Horton, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Austin. Dr. Horton joined Texas faith leaders for a press conference on the steps of the Texas Capitol calling on Texans to be Day One Voters, and since many Texas communities are reporting record day one...
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Weekly Witness Ep.531 Prophetic Imagination with Rev. Phil Dieke
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Phil Dieke, Texas Impact's Board President. Phil and the Texas Impact Leadership Council have done a deep dive this year into the idea of "prophetic imagination" and how it relates to the work of Texas Impact and our members as we prepare for the upcoming...
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Weekly Witness Ep.531 Voting is a Faith Value
This week, the Weekly Witness team joined Texas faith leaders on the steps of the Texas Capitol for a press conference highlighting diverse faith voices calling on Texans to fulfill their faith values by voting in the upcoming midterm elections. They encouraged Texans of faith to make a plan to...
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Weekly Witness Ep.530 Being the Hands and Feet with Bishop Sue Briner
This week, Scott is joined by Bishop Sue Briner, who serves as the bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Judicatory leaders are faced with decisions about when and if to respond to a wide range of policy concerns, so Scott and Bishop Briner…
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Weekly Witness Ep.529 Boots on the Ground Faith with Darlene Alfred
This week, Scott is joined by Darlene Alfred who has served in about every position a United Methodist layperson could serve from the local church to the conference and even global levels. In many of those roles, she was a "first" but always works to open doors for the next. She has served on the...
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Weekly Witness Ep.528 Connecting the Dots with Abel Vega
This week, Scott is joined by Abel who serves as the director of connectional ministries for the Rio Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Among his portfolio, Abel works on mission, justice, and disaster response ministries. Abel also serves on Texas Impact's Leadership…
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Weekly Witness Ep.527 Crisis and Opportunity for Texas Clergy with Minister Chris Johnson
This week, Scott is joined by Minister Chris Johnson who serves as the director of missions at Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Houston and co-host of Impact Houston Live on KTSU Houston, 90.9 The Choice radio station. Chris is well-positioned to listen to the voices of Houston residents,...
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Weekly Witness Ep.526 Call to Feed the Hungry with Diane Hardy-Garcia
This week, Scott was joined by Leadership Council member Dianne Hardy-Garcia, Director of Community Engagement and Advocacy at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin. Prior to joining the staff at St. David's, Dianne served as a social worker and legislative staffer at the Texas Capitol. She...
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Weekly Witness Ep.525 Dismantling the Structure of Christian Nationalism with Blake Ziegler
This week, Scott is joined by Blake Ziegler, Field Organizer for Texas and National Campaigns at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Blake joined the Texas Impact team for the Ready. Set. Go! event in San Antonio to talk about Christian Nationalism and its impact in Texas and joined…
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Weekly Witness Ep.524 Hard to Hear with Rev. Rosedanny Ortiz
This week, Scott is joined by Rev. Rosedanny Ortiz, a newly commissioned United Methodist Pastor serving as the lead pastor of Christ's Foundry UMC in Dallas. Originally from Puerto Rico, Rosedanny is now a leader who the Texas Tribune describes as one of the Latina clergy reshaping the UMC. Rev....
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Weekly Witness Ep.523 Capitol Catch-up with Bee Moorhead and Beaman Floyd
This week, Scott is joined by Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead and Legislative Counsel Beaman Floyd. The Texas Impact staff recently lead Ready. Set. Go! events in Denton and Dallas and will soon travel to San Antonio and Houston to meet with Texans of faith, including many of our...
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Weekly Witness Ep.522 It's All Gospel with Rev. Jim Harrington
This week, Scott is joined by Rev. Jim Harrington, the legendary Texas civil rights attorney turned Episcopal priest. Jim spent decades as a leader in fighting for civil and human rights as founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project, after previously working with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm...
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Weekly Witness Ep.521 Making the World More Fair with Rabbi Eleanor Steinman
This week, Scott is joined by Rabbi Eleanor Steinman, senior rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom in Austin. They discuss the new Texas public education curriculum, as well as LGBTQ+ advocacy through the lens of confronting Christian Nationalism, which is a particularly hot topic in Jewish congregations....
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Weekly Witness Ep.520 Radical Hope with Ilka Vega
This week, Scott is joined by former colleague Ilka Vega, who has traveled the world serving in various mission, justice, and advocacy roles and is currently serving as the Executive for Economic and Environmental Justice at United Women in Faith. The Texas Impact team first met Ilka when she was…
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Weekly Witness Ep.519 Patriotism in Perspective with Rev. Matt Gaventa
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Matt Gaventa, senior pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Austin. Matt is a Texas Impact Board Member, and our executive director's pastor, and Bee has been very excited about his sermon series leading up to the nation's 250th anniversary. After…
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Weekly Witness Ep.518 Strengthening Community Through Religious Diversity with Hon. Manpreet Singh
This week, Scott was joined by Judge Manpreet Singh, the first Sikh judge elected in the state of Texas and first Sikh woman judge in the United States. Judge Singh talked with Scott about how the Sikh faith has called for equality for centuries and discussed how Sikh values connect with work in...
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Weekly Witness Ep.517 Where Change Starts with Rev. Marcus Jones
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Marcus Jones, author and University Chaplain at Huston Tillotson University in Austin after having previously served as the Executive Director of the Wesley Foundation at Midwestern State University, leader of the MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center, and as Executive...
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Weekly Witness Ep.516 Growing Love into Justice with Rev. Dr. Jim Rigby
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Dr. Jim Rigby, who has served as the pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin for 40 years. Rev. Rigby has garnered attention over the decades for his commitment to justice and a progressive brand of Christianity, and he has been in the news…
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Weekly Witness Ep.515 Reason and Compassion with Dylan Corbett
This week, Scott was joined by Dylan Corbett, 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…
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Weekly Witness Ep.514 Nurturing Hope with Rev. Tamika Nelson
This week, Scott was joined by 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...
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Weekly Witness Ep.513 Healthy Faith Language with Rev. Becky Fox
This week, Scott was joined by The Rev Becky Fox, 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. Scott and Becky discussed the important role churches like Covenant play in…
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Weekly Witness Ep.513 Healthy Faith Language with Rev. Becky Fox
This week, Scott was joined by The Rev Becky Fox, 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. Scott and Becky discussed the important role churches like Covenant play in…
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Weekly Witness Ep.512 Noise with a Purpose with Sister Denise LaRock
This week, Scott was joined by Sister Denise LaRock, a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who has been working in the San Antonio area in ministries related to immigration for the last decade. Sr. Denise discussed her religious order and their focus on justice and compassion ministries....
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Weekly Witness Ep.511 Homecoming with Rev. Brooke Dooley
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Brooke Dooley, associate pastor of youth and young adults at Friends Congregational Church in College Station. Brooke also serves as the youth director for the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ. Brooke discussed her call to ministry, from…
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Weekly Witness Ep.511 Homecoming with Rev. Brooke Dooley
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Brooke Dooley, associate pastor of youth and young adults at Friends Congregational Church in College Station. Brooke also serves as the youth director for the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ. Brooke discussed her call to ministry, from…
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Weekly Witness Ep.510 A Journey in Faith with Rev. Jody Harrison
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Jody Harrison, a Baptist minister, member of the Baptist Women in Ministry Board, and a former chaplain and Capitol staffer. Jody is a member of several Texas Impact teams as well as a veteran of numerous political campaigns. Jody joined the pod for a…
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Weekly Witness Ep.509 A Life of Faithful Advocacy with Mel Caraway
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Mel Caraway, a retired United Methodist pastor and long-time Texas Impact Board Member. Mel is a leader in the faith-based climate advocacy space at the denominational level and international level as a long-time COP attendee. Rev. Caraway joined the…
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Weekly Witness Ep.508 Pluralism and Faithful Dialogues with Almas Muscatwalla
This week, Scott was joined by 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. Almas talked about her Ismaili Muslim faith tradition…
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Weekly Witness Ep.507 Ramadan Reflections with Imaad Khan
This week, Scott was joined by Imaad Khan, a former policy analyst with Texas Impact who made numerous appearances back in the early days of the podcast. Imaad talked about his faith and advocacy journey pre-Texas Impact, including how his faith and family shaped his desire to study and work in…
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Weekly Witness Ep.506 Faithful Witness in Rural Texas with Rev. Trent Ormsbee-Hale
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Trent Ormsbee-Hale, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Weatherford, TX. For long-time listeners, 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...
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Weekly Witness Ep.505 "Are You With Us?" with Robert Rivera
This season on Weekly Witness, we are highlighting faith leaders who advocate for justice and equity. Our 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,...
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Ep.504 Organizing in Texas with Rabbi Josh Fixler
This week, Scott welcomes Rabbi Josh Fixler, associate rabbi at Congregation Emanu El in Houston to the conversation. Josh is a friend of the program—so much so, in fact that we had trouble narrowing down the conversation because Rabbi Fixler has a wide-ranging justice portfolio. We landed on...
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Ep.503 Showing Up with Rev. Mara Bim
This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Mara Bim for a conversation about her faith journey and work in the immigration space. She 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...
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Weekly Witness Ep.502 "Do Your Thing" with Regina Q. Banks
The Texas Impact team started the week with Bee and Rev. Dr. Becca discussing the scientific method and the idea that government officials can't unilaterally repeal science following an announcement from the administration that they had "repealed a scientific finding." So, it seemed particularly...
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Ep. 501 Imagine Better with Phil Dieke
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...
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Ep. 464: Year-End Policy Wrap-Up
We have finally made it to the end of 2025, or, at least the end of the 2025 Weekly Witness recording calendar. And, what a year it has been-from regular and special sessions with both good news and news that made us question those in power, the Texas Impact team has walked with you to…
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Ep. 463 Bridge Over Troubled—What Now?
This week we continue our year-end series talking with the Texas Impact team about where we see public policy in 2025 as we prepare for a big year in 2026. Last week we talked to Membership Manager Kat Karbach about Texas Impact membership and this week we continue the series with Texas Impact's...
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Ep. 462 Members Equip Us for Action
This week we kick off our year-end series talking with the Texas Impact team about where we see public policy in 2025 as we prepare for a big year in 2026. Membership Manager Kat Karbach kicks us off to talk about Texas Impact membership. Many listeners have participated in Texas Impact teams,...
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Ep. 461 Implementation, Ethics, and Finance, Oh My!
This week, we continue coverage of the United Nations climate negotiations known as COP30 held this year in Belém, Brazil. Last week, we had the Texas Impact team reporting from Belém, and today, Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards joins the program soon after returning from the COP to talk to us about the...
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Ep. 460 ...It Just Can't Be a Loser
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,...
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Ep. 459 Cotton Candy for Dinner: The November Election and What's Next
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…
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Weekly Witness Ep. 458 Spaghetti Map: Elections, Redistricting, and Closed Primaries Converge
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...
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Ep. 457 Science + Faith for Informed Trans Allies
This week we take a break from the news of the day to talk about work important to many of us in the faith community–caring for our siblings who are being systematically marginalized by harmful public policy. Our transgender friends and neighbors have been specifically singled out for attack…
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Ep. 456 There's Always a Grift
This week we are excited to be joined by State Representative Mickey Dollens from Oklahoma. You might ask why Texas Impact would have an Oklahoma state representative on the program. That's a great question—and we have an answer. We met Rep. Dollens at a recent event focused on combating…
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Ep. 455 Working Together to Turn the Tide
This week we turn our attention from Austin to the nation's capitol, because the center of the policy universe right now is the government shutdown. The decisions of Congress in the coming weeks will impact every one of us. Joining us for the conversation this week is friend of the program, Min....
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Ep. 454 This is a Religious Story
There is a lot going on in the world from government shut downs to statements and actions that threaten democracy and try to pit Americans against each other as enemies. And, in an increasingly polarized media landscape, it is hard to know where to get good, quality information. Religious media…
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Ep. 453 Texas Impact Presents: Faith in Democracy "Elections for Everybody"
This week we have a special treat: instead of our usual interview format, we're giving you a front-row seat to a special episode of Texas Impact's award winning Faith in Democracy series, hosted by Executive Director, Bee Moorhead. This episode talks about the importance of voting. Bee says that...
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Ep. 452 "My Anguish is My Hope"
The legislature has left the building, but the Texas Impact team has been hard at work. Last week, we welcomed Texas Impact's Leadership Council to Austin for its annual in-person meeting. We left there, and several of us went to Dallas for a convening of organizations standing up against…
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Ep. 451 Flooded with Missed Opportunities
This week we are talking with friend of Texas Impact, Cyrus Reed, Legislative and Conservation Director with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. There has been a lot of talk about flooding following the July 4 floods, but spoiler–folks were actually talking about this during the regular...
About this show
Weekly Witness is a weekly opportunity for Texans of faith to learn about important public policy issues through a faith lens, and find out timely opportunities to participate in the public policy process. Host Scott Atnip is Texas Impact's Director of Public Witness. His guests come from a wide assortment of policy disciplines and faith traditions.
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