Ep. 411 Many Strategies, Shared Goals: Stories from Houston Faith Votes
Release Date: 10/23/2024
Ep. 439 Session is Finally Over—Now What?!
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
If you hear shouts of joy and celebratory sounds coming from Austin, that is because the Texas Legislature has adjourned Sine Die and legislators are returning to their communities. Joining us for the conversation this week is Beaman Floyd Texas Impact’s Outside Legislative Counsel Beaman Floyd to begin to help us process what happened during the 140 day legislative session and what comes next. Find ways you can get involved during the interim at
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Ep. 438 The Final Countdown
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead joined the program again this week with only days remaining before the Texas Legislature adjourns Sine Die. Scott and Bee talk about the last week and offer some reflections on the legislative session in the waning hours as we start to look forward to the interim and what comes next. Find out how you can get involved at
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Ep. 437 Passing Period: Moving Bills Before the Bell Rings
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
With 11 days remaining before the Texas Legislature adjourns Sine Die and the congressional passage of one of the worst bills in modern history, Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead joins the program to talk about it all, with conversation about health care, reproductive health, religion in schools and public school funding. Plus, we talk about steps listeners can take as we move toward the legislative interim. Find more ways to get involved at and subcribe to our for the latest news and updates
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Ep. 436 Back to Basics: The Basic Allotment is the Funding Texas Schools Need
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
The Texas Legislature is hitting key legislative deadlines with sixteen days remaining before they adjourn Sine Die. The action in the Capitol is hot on many issues important to Texans of faith, but maybe none more so than the debate over public school finance. Here to talk with us about all of it this week is Texas Impact's Executive Director, Bee Moorhead.
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Ep. 435 Pluralism, Decency and Love for All
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
This week, Weekly Witness highlights the voices of Texas faith leaders who spoke during the Texas Impact Leadership Council's press conference on the south steps of the Texas Capitol on May 8th as we call out religious extremism. Joining us today are: Rev. Phil Dieke, Horizon Texas United Methodist Conference, Dallas Rev. Matt Gaventa, University Presbyterian Church, Austin Elyse Rosenberg & Bettie Forman, National Council of Jewish Women, Austin Darlene Alfred, United Women in Faith, Salado Joanna Redfield Vaughn, South Central Yearly Quaker Meeting, Austin Rev. Laura Walters,...
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Ep. 434 Stay With It
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
As the Texas Legislative Session enters its final month things are hot-both in terms of public policy and feelings, and Texans of faith are working to be effective advocates through it all. Joining us for this week’s program is the man who has seen it all in the Texas Capitol, Texas Impact’s outside legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd. He is going to give us the lay of the land and talk us through how advocates can navigate the final few weeks of the session. It's not too late to join an Issue Team in the on the Texas Impact website.
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Ep. 433 Don't Hide Your Faith
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
The Texas Legislature is now entering the final third when bills make it to the floor for a vote or begin to die. Last week, Bee Moorhead joined the program to talk about the House passing the Voucher bill, and it seemed like immediately after, we began to see a TON of bad bills start to move... and a few good ones. One of the issue areas that was particularly in focus this week has been the return of anti-trans legislation, so we are going to welcome to the program for the first time, Texas Impact’s Policy Consultant, Rev. Keats Miles Wallace, an ELCA pastor and staff member...
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Ep. 432 The Beloved Community—in Case We Forgot...
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
We jumped right in this week because most of the Texas Impact staff stayed up late Wednesday night to watch SB 2, the Texas Senate's school voucher bill, be brought before the House. There were some great and no-so-great conversations between legislators about the impact of a bill that appropriates a billion dollars that could go to public schools to privately run entities, and many amendments that aimed to fix issues with the bill be ultimately tabled with little to no debate. We are tired, we are cranky, but we are glad to have Bee Moorhead, Texas Impact's...
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Ep. 431 Faith Flourishes Independent from the Government
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
Joining Weekly Witness this week is Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Vice President of Programs & Strategy at Interfaith Alliance, a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights for all. Guthrie will talk with us about Senate Bill 10, the 10 Commandments Bill, and SB 11 calling for a period of prayer in school and why it is especially important for people of faith to speak out. Many in the Texas Legislature assume that those bills are...
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Ep. 430 From Bad to Worse: Looming Medicaid Cuts in Congress
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
This week, we turn our eyes to DC for a fight that will impact this legislative session and sessions to come as Congress is considering hundreds of billions of dollars of cuts to Medicaid. These cuts would be devastating—not just to the Texans who rely on that coverage, but to our entire health care system. We welcome Peter Clark, Communications Director with Texans Care for Children, to talk to us about that and how you can get involved. Visit the on the Texas Impact website at to sign up for weekly action alerts. Find out more about the work of on their...
info_outlineBy the time you hear this, early voting will either have already started or will be kicking off soon. It is getting real. So, it seems like the perfect week to hear some stories from some congregations who have been doing some incredible civic engagement work this election season.
Last week you heard from Texas Impact’s Houston Faith Votes Project Manager, Rebecca McIlwain, and this week we will hear from three leaders from her cohort of congregations doing civic engagement work as we welcome Mattie Thomas, a member of Missouri City Church of Christ working with Bridges 2 Empowerment, Cathy Reinhold, Area Missioner of the Galveston Convocation of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas working with St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church, and Juanita Jackson of Trinity East UMC.
Find more about Houston Faith Votes and ways you can still get engaged on our Texas Faith Votes page on our website.