Libsyn Directory

Weekly Witness Ep.511 Homecoming with Rev. Brooke Dooley

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 a closeted youth trying to find a space in College Station to a liberal activist; then, her journey to seminary and serving as a pastor back in the town she grew up in, where she is now able to provide hope and guidance for the next generation of kids needing a safe space. Scott and Brooke talked about...

Weekly Witness Ep.511 Homecoming with Rev. Brooke Dooley

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 a closeted youth trying to find a space in College Station to a liberal activist; then, her journey to seminary and serving as a pastor back in the town she grew up in, where she is now able to provide hope and guidance for the next generation of kids needing a safe space. ...

Weekly Witness Ep.510 A Journey in Faith with Rev. Jody Harrison

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 fascinating conversation about her path from policy and campaign staffer to Baptist minister, reflecting on both her faith and policy journey. As a leader in the fight against Christian Nationalism, she discussed her advocacy work in the public education and reproductive health spaces and talked about how...

Weekly Witness Ep.510 A Journey in Faith with Rev. Jody Harrison

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 fascinating conversation about her path from policy and campaign staffer to Baptist minister, reflecting on both her faith and policy journey. As a leader in the fight against Christian Nationalism, she discussed her advocacy work in the public education and reproductive health spaces and talked about how...

Weekly Witness Ep.509 A Life of Faithful Advocacy with Mel Caraway

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 conversation to talk about his faith journey and how climate advocacy became his area of focus. He also talked about the work listeners could take to engage their community and congregation in effective climate work—a perfect conversation for this Earth Day. We hope you enjoy this episode and...

Weekly Witness Ep.508 Pluralism and Faithful Dialogues with Almas Muscatwalla

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 and how it encourages a commitment to community. She also discussed challenges facing our communities in our current political climate. She challenged listeners to work to connect with those with whom we disagree, even discussing a recent encounter with a January 6 leader at the Dallas No...

Weekly Witness Ep.507 Ramadan Reflections with Imaad Khan

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 the public policy space. He also offered reflections on his work post-Texas Impact and how he views our current challenges here in Texas and throughout the world through his faith lens. This conversation was well-timed, because the three major Abrahamic faith traditions (Christianity, Judaism, and...

Weekly Witness Ep.506 Faithful Witness in Rural Texas with Rev. Trent Ormsbee-Hale

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 retirement. Scott and Trent reminisced on their shared history. Scott knew Trent and his husband Anthony while they were undergraduate students. At that time, Trent was discerning his journey in ministry, coming out of a Fransiscan background in a journey that led him to now serving as an...

Weekly Witness Ep.505 “Are You With Us?” with Robert Rivera

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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, including 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 our faith institutions with immigrant communities, where he has spent decades organizing. He is also a...

Ep.504 Organizing in Texas with Rabbi Josh Fixler

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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 Christian Nationalism and civic engagement, because Rabbi Fixler has extensive expertise in those areas, and both have been at the forefront of the policy conversation in Texas over the last few weeks. Christian Nationalism has been a leading factor in harmful public policies in the reproductive health...

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