Weekly Witness is your weekly update on the mainstream faith community’s perspective on everything Texas public policy. Hosted by Texas Impact's Scott Atnip, Weekly Witness is recorded in front of a live audience in downtown Austin. We host policy experts, faith leaders, and elected officials who provide in-depth information on relevant policy issues in the state. Weekly Witness is a product of Texas Impact, Texas’ oldest and largest interfaith advocacy group. Visit texasimpact.org for more ...
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Ep. 416 Start with the Good News: Opportunities and Challenges for Families and Kids in the Upcoming Session
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We know the holidays are just around the corner and on behalf of the entire Texas Impact team, we hope you have a meaningful holiday season and that you are able to connect with family and loved ones and find some joy and peace. But the Texas Legislature comes to town January 14, so we hope you spend some time over the next few weeks mentally prepa…
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Ep. 415 COP and Go: Updates from the Global Climate Summit
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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 dis…
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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 hid…
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Ep.413 Every Day: Civility and Compassion for Community
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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 …
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Ep.412 "It's Who We Are" Rev. Richie Butler and Congregational Civic Engagement
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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 conversat…
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Ep. 411 Many Strategies, Shared Goals: Stories from Houston Faith Votes
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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 …
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Ep. 410 Helping Each Other Build Our Community: Houston Faith Votes and Continuous Civic Engagement
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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,…
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Ep. 409 "Are You With Us?" Immigration Ministries in the Public Square
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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 …
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Ep. 408 Thru-Lines: Continuity and Change in Texas Impact's Legislative Agenda
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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 o…
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Ep. 407 Not by the Hair of Our Chiny-Chin-Chins: Building Better for Climate Resilience
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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 serve…
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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 througho…
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Ep. 405 Come to the Party: Celebrating Democracy
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This week we are having a timely conversation on voting and voting systems with Daniel Griffith, Senior Director of Policy with Secure Democracy USA. As the name implies, Secure Democracy USA works to protect voting rights and oppose efforts to suppress votes. It's important work, but the most important work right now is to reassure voters that the…
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Ep. 404 Showing Up Faithfully: John Hill Reflects
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We are especially excited for this week's episode as we welcome John Hill to the program. John is days away from completing his service as the Interim General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, an agency charged with leading the denomination’s social witness around the world. It is a perfect time for this convers…
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Ep.403 North Texas Faith Votes: Faith Leader Panel
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Last weekend the Texas Impact team had a chance to hang out with a hundred Texans of faith representing congregations from across North Texas, and y’all the vibes were real. People were excited to hear from faith leaders talking about what they are doing to engage people this election season. They heard from non-profits and voting officials giving …
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Ep.402 Opposing Christian Nationalism
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This week we are joined by Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the BJC, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, leading the organization as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty: defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government. We are excited to talk about Amanda's w…
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Ep.401 Watching for the Sunrise
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This week we are excited to launch our fourth season of Weekly Witness and who better to kick things off than Texas Impact’s esteemed Executive Director, Bee Moorhead. We thought this would be a timely conversation as we move out of the usually slower summer months and into a consequential fall election season which will lead into the 89th Texas Le…
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Ep.355 Sankofa: Heather Goes to Ghana
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This week we are once again joined by Texas Impact Policy Advocate, Heather Malkawi, who was recently invited to attend the 6th Pan African Conference, otherwise known as Sankofa 2024. This conference is hosted about every five years by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Heather shares highlights from her trip and about how these th…
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This week is the final episode of our series introducing Texas Impact’s new staff members as we welcome Grace Bonilla to the program. Grace was formerly an intern with Texas Impact and was recently hired as our newest Public Witness Mobilizer. Grace is working on a number of projects. Among them, she is helping staff Texas Impact’s Public School De…
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Ep. 353 Gun Violence Prevention: Putting the Pieces Together
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This week we are joined by Texas Impact Policy Advocate Bobby Watson for a conversation about his travels this summer related to his work with Texas Impact’s Ending Gun Violence team. In light of recent events, faith leaders have offered reflections condemning political violence and calling on us for peaceful conversations about important issues. S…
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The Texas Impact staff recently met in Austin and welcomed several new staff to new positions, so we thought we would use part of this summer break to introduce you to our new team members. We continue the series this week with Heather Malkawi. Heather is not new to Texas Impact though, if you have been to an event in the last few years, you have p…
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Ep. 351 Opportunity + Inspiration
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The Texas Impact staff recently met in Austin and welcomed several new staff to new positions, we thought we would use part of this summer break to introduce you to our new team members. We continue that series today with a conversation with Rebecca McIlwain, Project Manager of Houston Faith Votes. For over a decade, Rebecca served in parish minist…
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Texas Impact staff recently met in Austin and welcomed several new staff and new people to new positions, so we thought we would use part of this summer break to introduce you to our new team members. And, we are starting that series today with a conversation with Kaitlin Dunn, our new Houston Faith Community Mobilizer working with the Houston Fait…
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Ep. 349 Vidas Robadas/Stolen Lives
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This week marks the beginning of Gun Violence Awareness Month and many of us will still remember where we were when we received the news about the tragic school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde just two years ago. Joining us this week is Texas Impact's Policy Advocate, Bobby Watson, to discuss his work with our gun violence prevention issue te…
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We talk weather this week with Dr. Becca Edwards, Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow. Originally because we wanted to talk about Hurricane Season, which begins this weekend and runs through November, but seems like most of Texas has already endured at least one climate disaster in the last month. North Texas has had floods, tornadoes and wind eve…
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The runoff elections are next Tuesday, May 28th, and interim hearings are underway to help shape public policy recommendations going into the next legislative session. What does it all mean? Here with us to discuss is friend of the program and Texas Impact’s outside legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd. Spoiler Alert: he is going to remind us about th…
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Ep. 346 Waiting Forever for Healthcare
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This week we are excited to welcome Diana Forester, Director of Health Policy with Texans Care for Children. This is an important conversation this week because legislative leaders recently released their interim charges for the biennium, and it provides some opportunities to speak to the unacceptable state of health coverage in the state of Texas.…
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Voices from the Field: Listening and Lobbying on the Farm Bill
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Texas Impact is proud to be a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s ELCA Advocacy family as a State Public Policy Office for Texas. Joining us this week is Christine Moffett, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Energy Policy, to discuss the Farm Bill. She will talk about whether Congress can pass anything during an election yea…
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Ep. 344 Why DEI?: The Chilling Effect of SB17
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in Texas colleges came under fire in the last legislative session. The passage of SB17 has been controversial with many students and faculty over the elimination of these programs. This week we are joined by Dr. Karma Chávez, the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and …
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This week we are joined by Emily Bourgeois, Community Organizer of RAC-Texas, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism—one of Texas Impact’s member institutions. We always enjoy working with Emily across a range of policy issues, including public education and religious freedom. Over the last month, we have had several episodes about the holy …
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Ep. 342 No Shade to the Polar Bears
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This week we are joined by Texas Impact's Climate Action Fellow, Becca Edwards, to help prepare for Earth Day on April 22. Becca has been meeting with many congregations talking about climate change, liberation theology, how communities of faith can engage in climate issues during this election season and so much more. So we thought we would bring …
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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 som…
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Ep. 340 Spiritual Nourishment: Ramadan and Justice Work
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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 f…
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Ep.339 Not Good Enough Yet: A Status Check on Abortion Ban Rulemaking
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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 Aus…
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Ep. 338 Texas and Climate: One Step Forward, One Step Back
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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…
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Ep. 337 Point of Clarification: Rule-making on Texas' Abortion Ban
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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 hea…
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Ep.336 2024 Texas Primary Election Wrap-Up
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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 …
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Ep. 335 Share the Community, Share Your Values
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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 Tex…
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Ep. 334 The Antidote to Powerlessness: Houston Faith Leaders on Voting and Civic Engagement
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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…
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Ep. 333 Border Security: Making Sense of the Noise
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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…
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Ep. 332 "Your Voice is Crucial": Rep. Donna Howard Addresses the Texas United Women in Faith
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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 Chairwoma…
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Ep. 331 It's Not Just About You: How Faith Calls Us to Advocacy
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This week we kicked off Texas Impact’s event season with an incredible three days with about 250 United Women in Faith at their annual legislative event, and today we are going to bring you a little sample from that event. We start with Bishop Ruben Saenz, United Methodist Bishop for the North and Central Texas Conferences of the UMC bringing greet…
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Ep. 330 Changing the Conversation: Reproductive Justice
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This week, we discuss one of the issues that will be driving the conversation this election year, and a corresponding Texas Impact event, as we welcome leaders from Friends Congregational Church in College Station: Sr. Pastor Rev. Dr. Dan De Leon, Cecilia Hawkins, leader of the Justice and Mission Outreach Committee and Kyle Rile, Texas Impact's Ho…
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Ep. 329 Show Up and Ask: Community Climate Action Starts Here
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It is COLD outside, but this week's climate conversation will keep us warm as we welcome Susan Alvarez, Director of the Environment and Development Department with the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Susan joins us to talk about the work of the COG to address air quality and how you can get involved in your local community. Speaking of …
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Ep. 328 On the Right Side of Love
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We are excited to kick off the first episode of the new year with Rev. Angela Williams. Rev. Williams is the Associate Minister of Missional Engagement at First UMC Dallas and Executive Pastor of St. Paul United Methodist where she helps lead their Justice Builders Program which brings members from both congregations together to work in ministry to…
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Ep.327 Fourth Special Session Wrap-up
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This week we welcome back to the program Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, Joshua Houston, to wrap up what is hopefully the last special session of the 88th Texas Legislature for 2023. One of the main issues the legislature has tried to address is public school funding. In a year with an historic budget surplus, the Texas Legislature should have be…
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Ep.326 Taking Stock: Unpacking the Global Stocktake at COP28
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This week we welcome Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow, Becca Edwards, back to the program soon after returning to the U.S. after attending the first half of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of Parties (COP) in Dubai. For those following along with the program, we had Becca and our Executive Director Bee Moorhead on the…
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Ep. 325 United, Act and Deliver: Keeping 1.5 Alive
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This week, we are joined by Texas Impact’s Executive Director Bee Moorhead and Climate Action Fellow Becca Edwards to discuss the upcoming COP28. For longtime listeners, you will know that Texas Impact sends a team to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties. The 28th conference will be from November 30 until…
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This week we are taking a break from legislative goings on for an important conversation with Rev. Deanna Hollas, Coordinator of Gun Violence Prevention Ministries with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. We will discuss the increased emphasis national denominations are placing on reducing gun violence and how congregations can both act locally and advo…
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This week, the Texas Legislature adjourned the third special session, and almost immediately, the Governor called them back for a fourth 30-day special session focused on public education-specifically trying to divert public dollars to private schools and immigration-related bills. Thursday, two House Committees met to hear bills, and the Texas Imp…
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Ep.322 A Guide to Hope: Suicide Prevention in Communities of Faith
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This week our focus turns to an issue that has shaken many of our families and communities. We are joined today by Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities & Mental Health Justice with the United Church of Christ. Dr. Lund was part of an alliance that partnered with the US Health and Human Services Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Part…
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