Since 1973, Texas Impact has hosted a service or celebration of public witness on the south steps of the Texas Capitol in conjunction with the opening of the Texas Legislature. This year, the Texas Legislature convened Tuesday, January 14, and so the Texas Impact crew, along with Texas faith leaders and elected representatives, gathered on the steps for a Celebration of Public Witness before the Legislature convened at noon.
The representatives were ready to get to work, and the faith leaders hopefully set a tone for a session that could celebrate justice, diversity and working together for the common good.
We decided to talk with some of the leaders from that service about their reflections and hopes and share that for our podcast today.
You can watch the full services, or highlights on Texas Impact’s YouTube channel or head to txfaith.org/cpw2025 for more content from the Celebration of Public Witness 2025
Special thanks to:
Representative Salman Bhojani, House District 92
Rev. Leslie Jackson, Sr. Pastor, St. Peter United Church of Christ, Houston
Maha Iskandar, Baha’i Faith, Irving
Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Faith Commons, Dallas
Saranjeet Singh, Sikh Faith, Central Texas
Abel Vega, Rio Texas Conference, United Methodist Church, San Antonio