This week we say goodbye to maybe our closest friend of the show, who has been on the program more than any other guest. Texas Impact announced last week that Advocacy Director Joshua Houston would be leaving soon to take a new position with Caritas of Austin. So we thought we needed to say goodbye (for now) with one last episode reminiscing on some of his proudest, and most hilarious, moments in his 14 years with Texas Impact. Keep the tissue box close by for this very special episode because we finally talk about feelings! Find out ore about Caritas of Austin at caritasofaustin.org ..read more

Many Christians just finished Holy Week, Passover is coming and we are in the midst of Ramadan. All of those seasons can and should inspire people of faith to love our neighbor and have some intersection with advocating on behalf of our neighbors and communities at large. This week, we have a friend of the program Usama Malik, Program Coordinator for Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Texas Impact Board Member, to talk with us about Ramadan and its intersection with advocacy work. Our hope is that during these holy seasons, listeners will find meaning and peace and the strength and c ..read more

This week, we follow up on the conversation from two weeks ago in advance of the Texas Medical Board meeting. More than 2,000 Texans of faith signed Texas Impact’s petition calling for a rulemaking process to define the abortion exception in Texas state law relating to the life and health of the mother. We spoke about Steve and Amy Bresnen, two Austin attorneys and lobbyists from the aptly named BresnenAssociates who submitted that official petition to the Texas Medical Board.  The Board did in fact begin the rulemaking process and introduced a draft rule for public comment. This week, we ..read more

This week we are talking about all things environment with friend of the program Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas. Luke joins us to share the good news from the November elections related to the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund AND the EPA’s new rules related to methane emissions. Spoiler: Texas is not handling the rules well, but Luke gives us an update on those rules, solar policy, the TCEQ’s recently released “Priority Action Plan and more.  Later in the program, Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow, Becca Edwards, joins to give her reaction and share her Lenten ..read more

This week, we welcome Texas Impact’s Executive Director, Bee Moorhead, for an important and timely conversation about reproductive health. The Texas Medical Board is meeting Thursday, March 21st, and Texas Impact is promoting a sign on letter to ask them to undertake rulemaking to define the exception to the abortion ban related to the life and health of the mother.    In the very short time since we recorded this episode, we’ve learned that the Board WILL be initiating rulemaking–this is great news and affirms the value of public engagement with our state agencies.    It a ..read more

This week we are wrapping up the primary elections with Texas Impact’s Advocacy Director Joshua Houston. We want to thank everyone who voted, organized your friends and congregations, volunteered for a campaign, or helped work the election. After this election, there is still a lot of work to do and Texas Impact has tools and resources for you, so make sure to check out the Texas Faith Votes page at texasimpact.org to learn more ..read more

This week, we want to share another round of audio from the recent Houston Faith Votes event. We were honored to have Rep. Ann Johnson and Rep. Jon Rosenthal, two Texas State Representatives from the Houston area, for a conversation on the importance of primary elections, how Texans can best connect with their representatives and talk about how Texans of faith specifically can be effective advocates for issues you care about ..read more

The Texas Impact team has toured the state, talked with, and resourced thousands of Texans of faith in the last two months.  This week, we are going to bring you some of the content from our Houston Faith Votes event earlier this week. We thought you might enjoy the Faith Leader panel featuring Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church, Rabbi Josh Fixler, Associate Rabbi, Congregation Emanu El and President of the Faith Leader’s Coalition of Greater Houston, Rev. Leslie Jackson, Texas Impact Board Member and Senior Pastor St. Peter's United Chur ..read more

With all the news about immigration and border issues at the national and state level, it’s getting hard to keep track of the issue beyond the rhetoric. So, we invited Kristin Etter to the program to help sort things out. Kristin is the Director of Policy and Legal Services at the Texas Immigration Law Council. Previously, she served as the Special Project Director of Operation Lone Star at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid where she developed and implemented the litigation response to Operation Lone Star. Kristin will help us understand where we are with Operation Lone Star and SB 4 pa ..read more

This week we are bringing even more content from the United Women in Faith Legislative Event while continuing the discussion about reproductive health.   The United Women in Faith welcomed State Representative Donna Howard to talk with them at the Capitol last week. Rep. Howard is a woman of faith herself, and also has a special role as the Chairwoman of the Texas Women’s Health Caucus. We thought it would be an opportune moment to bring Rep. Howard’s comments to you this week as you consider the issues shaping the political discourse and how you can get involved.     ..read more