Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

This week we turn our attention to the other side of the globe as we welcome Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow, Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards to the program. Becca recently returned from the 29th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP), the global climate negotiations held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan. She will talk to us about the priorities being discussed on the world climate stage and what people of faith in our own communities can do.

We will also discuss concerns over the federal climate response over the next few years. But, climate is like many other issues, where we can make substantive progress, even when positive federal policy outcomes seem less likely. We have steps we can take at the state level, local level, and in our own congregations and communities.

Keep an eye on our website at texasimpact.org for content from COP29 Baku and ways you can get involved, or to join our Climate Action Team to connect with advocates from throughout the state who care about these issues. 

Well... we had an election… and we know folks have lots of feelings, and we are going to talk about feelings today. But, in addition to that, we are going to talk about how the election impacts Texas, and we are going to talk about what Texans of faith can do. All of that with Texas Impact’s Executive Director Bee Moorhead.

This isn’t a time to hide, because our communities, our neighbors, our democracy needs us. What’s clear in this divided political sphere is that we all need to be more willing to engage in conversations. To listen. To learn. And then yes, to advocate. Hopefully after finding and developing some common ground in our own communities. 

As always, Texas Impact has tools and teams for all of this and more on our website at texasimpact.org

Election day is almost upon us! You have heard us talk for years about Texas’ low voter turnout and how that impacts public policy. If you are listening to this before election day, you have a chance to do something about that.

Many of us are consuming lots of news running up to the election, and many are feeling anxious about what will happen. We need to emotionally and spiritually prepare ourselves for what happens when we wake up on Wednesday, November 6th. And, this week we are joined by someone who can help us prepare for that as we have long-time friend of Texas Impact, Rev. Ann Helmke, who serves as the Faith Liaison with the City of San Antonio, on the show.

As always, Texas Impact has tools to help you engage with Texans this election season and with fellow advocates throughout the state. Learn more about all of it at texasimpact.org. 

 

 

We are about a week away from election day, and joining us for today’s conversation is Rev. Richie Butler, Senior Pastor at the historic St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. We are going to talk about their civic engagement work and the importance of voting, but also about their work in bringing people together for conversations that focus on the importance of coming together as a community after the election-and the important role faith leaders will play in that. 

 

Find out more about Project Unity at projectunity.net

By 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.

We are less than two weeks away from early voting kicking off in Texas, so what better time to welcome back to the program Rebecca McIlwain, Texas Impact’s Houston Faith Votes Project Manager. The Houston Faith Votes team and their cohort of congregations in the Houston area are engaging their congregations and communities in civic engagement work, so I am excited to talk to Rebecca about their work and how ALL of us can engage our neighbors this election season and begin preparing for what comes next. 

Texas Impact has the tool for you to do just that. Check out the website at texasimpact.org and spend some time on the Texas Faith Votes page. There are resources to check who will be on your ballot, door hanger templates, prayer resources and more. And, there are teams to connect you with people who care about issues you care about, so check it out and get plugged in today. 

This week we are excited to introduce Robert Rivera, who wears many hats. Among them, he is Vice President of the Synod Council of the Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He is also part of the Houston Faith Votes leadership team, and part of the Houston Faith Votes cohort of congregations working on civic engagement as part of his lifetime of service to the church and justice ministries-specifically ministries related to immigrant communities.  

This conversation is an important reminder of the stakes of civic engagement. From the local community to the highest office in the land, we are electing people who will impact immigrant communities. As people of faith, we owe it to our communities and our neighbors to make sure we are participating.

 

Find out more about the ELCA's upcoming Immigration Forum: Understanding Immigration Law on October 17th.

This week we are excited to introduce Texas Impact’s legislative agenda with our Executive Director, Bee Moorhead. Listeners will remember a few weeks ago we had three board members join the program at the conclusion of the three day board retreat to talk about their experience with the process creating the agenda. In the weeks that followed, all of the wordsmithing and voting took place to ensure there was consensus on the final product, and today, Bee joins us to talk about where the board landed, and what our listeners can do with it. 

We are not going to go through the entire document bullet by bullet, so I hope you will check out the full document on the website.

This week we are talking weather and climate from an interesting perspective as we welcome two former colleagues of our very own Dr. Becca Edwards. With us are Dr. Ian Giammanco who serves as Director of Standards and Data Analytics and Lead Research Meteorologist at the Institute for Building and Home Safety and Dr. Tanya  Brown-Giammanco who serves as Director of Disaster and Failure Studies at the National Institute of Standards and Testing.

 

We will discuss resilience and how changes in climate impact our homes and buildings, and what we can do about it from both a consumer and advocacy perspective.

 

It is also a good reminder that Texas Impact has tools for you to learn more and get engaged on this and all of our other issue areas. Join one of our issue champion teams like our Climate Action Team to connect folks interested in this issue–or find a team connected to another issue you care about.

 

Find out more about the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes here.

 

If you live in an area that experiences wildfires, find out how you can get prepared.

This week we are recording from Trinity Church of Austin following a three day Texas Impact Board Retreat. The Texas Impact Board of Directors represent a wide range of judicatories and faith traditions from across Texas. Every two years they come together to create a consensus set of legislative priorities to guide the organizations’ work throughout the biennium. 

Scott talks to three of our board members about the process as they reflect on where we are as a state and how this work intersects with their faith. We are joined by Rev. Jessica Cain Pastor of Living Word Lutheran in Buda, Rev. Dan DeLeon Sr. Pastor at Friends Congregational Church in College Station and Rev. Leslie Jackson, Sr. Pastor at St. Peter UCC in Houston. 

Find resources and ways to get involved this election season on our Texas Faith Votes page.