Ep. 464: Year-End Policy Wrap-Up
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 effectively advocate on issues important to Texans of faith. Joining Scott for the year-end review are members of the Texas Impact Policy Team, Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards, Rev. Kyle Riley, Rev. Keats Miles-Wallace, Gracie Bonilla and Rebecca McIlwain. The Weekly Witness team looks forward to being back with you in...
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Weekly Witness Ep. 464: Year-End Policy Wrap-Up
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 effectively advocate on issues important to Texans of faith. Joining Scott for the year-end review are members of the Texas Impact Policy Team, Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards, Rev. Kyle Riley, Rev. Keats Miles-Wallace, Gracie Bonilla and Rebecca McIlwain. The Weekly Witness team looks forward to being back with you in...
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Ep. 463 Bridge Over Troubled—What Now?
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 Executive Director Bee Moorhead and outside legislative counsel Beaman Floyd. As we reflect on public policy in 2025, it is probably fair to say that the system is not working as well as we would hope. That is true not just in terms of policy outcomes, but also our policy processes. Bee and Beaman...
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Weekly Witness Ep. 463 Bridge Over Troubled—What Now?
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 Executive Director Bee Moorhead and outside legislative counsel Beaman Floyd. As we reflect on public policy in 2025, it is probably fair to say that the system is not working as well as we would hope. That is true not just in terms of policy outcomes, but also our policy processes. Bee and Beaman...
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Ep. 462 Members Equip Us for Action
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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, joined us for advocacy events, made calls as part of the Rapid Response teams, and you obviously love the Weekly Witness podcast. All of that is supported by faithful Texas Impact members. As we near year-end, it is a perfect time to encourage friends and neighbors to renew their Texas Impact membership,...
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Weekly Witness Ep. 462 Members Equip Us for Action
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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, joined us for advocacy events, made calls as part of the Rapid Response teams, and you obviously love the Weekly Witness podcast. All of that is supported by faithful Texas Impact members. As we near year-end, it is a perfect time to encourage friends and neighbors to renew their Texas Impact...
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Ep. 461 Implementation, Ethics, and Finance, Oh My!
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 latest from the conference with a few days remaining. Becca wears two hats—one as Dr. Becca Edwards, the climate scientist, and the other as Rev. Becca Edwards, United Methodist pastor. So, she will share her perspective as both a scientist and a pastor who has been writing about the role faith and...
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Weekly Witness Ep. 461 Implementation, Ethics, and Finance, Oh My!
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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 latest from the conference with a few days remaining. Becca wears two hats—one as Dr. Becca Edwards, the climate scientist, and the other as Rev. Becca Edwards, United Methodist pastor. So, she will share her perspective as both a scientist and a pastor who has been writing about the role faith and...
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Weekly Witness Ep.460 ... It Just Can't Be a Loser
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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...
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Ep. 460 ...It Just Can't Be a Loser
Texas Impact's Weekly Witness
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...
info_outlineThis 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. Christian Watkins, a Texas transplant currently serving as the Government Relations Advocate with NETWORK Lobby. Christian has been in the middle of these conversations, providing training for faith based advocates, and just before we recorded today, he was part of a rally that included faith leaders and members of Congress calling for Congress to protect our healthcare. Spoiler… we need more faith leaders and elected officials doing exactly that across the country.
Christian joins us, still in his clergy collar from the rally, to give us a shutdown 101 and talk to us about the stakes related to health care and give us some advocacy marching orders.
Find out more about the work of NETWORK Lobby at networklobby.org
Watch the Interfaith Leaders and Congressional Democrats Rally and Prayer Vigil here: https://www.youtube.com/
Additional resources:
Faith in Action's Shutdown FAQs
Watch NETWORK Lobby's Shutdown Edition: Faith Tools to Protect Health Care