Answering the Call: Interfaith Vigil for AC in Texas Prisons

85 to Stay Alive Mock Cell Exhibit

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026
2-7 PM | Vigil 6 PM

Answering the Call: Interfaith Vigil for AC in Texas Prisons

Join us in answering the call of faith to remember those in prison and defend the vulnerable. Right now, 90,000 mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are held in Texas state prisons without adequate air conditioning.

Following U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s landmark order requiring Texas to air condition all state prisons by 2029, St. David’s Episcopal Church will host "Answering the Call: Interfaith Event and Vigil for Prison AC."

You are invited to an interfaith gathering and vigil at St. David’s Episcopal Church on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Organized alongside Texas Prisons Community Advocates and the 85 to Stay Alive Campaign, this powerful event bears public witness to dangerous prison temperatures.

Event Schedule

Experiential Exhibit
Surface Parking Lot
2-6 p.m. 

Step inside a full-scale, heated replica of a Texas prison cell for seven minutes to experience the intense heat firsthand. You can also tour the Prison Conditions Exhibit and the Garrison and Friends art gallery.

Interfaith Press Conference and Vigil
Surface Parking Lot 
6-7 p.m.

Gather in the parking lot with local clergy, faith leaders, and impacted families for prayer and a candlelight remembrance.

Come for the exhibits, stay for the prayer service, and help us advocate for humane, climate-controlled conditions for all.

Statements from Clergy and Community Leaders

The Rev. Hope Tinsley Benko
St. David's Episcopal Church 

“Every human being deserves dignity, including those who are held in our prisons. Our faith compels us to prevent the cruelty of needless death and illness in unairconditioned facilities. As Jesus said, I was in prison and you did not visit me, whatever we do the least of these, we do also to him.” — The Rev. Hope Tinsley Benko, St. David’s Episcopal Church

Dr. Amite Dominick
Texas Prisons Community Advocates 

“For seven minutes inside that cell, people feel a fraction of what our loved ones endure for days and weeks. We are asking Texans, and especially communities of faith, to answer the call, because what we do to the least of these, we do to one another,” said Dr. Amite Dominick, founder and president of Texas Prisons Community Advocates.

The Rev. Jim Harrington
St. James' Episcopal Church 

“The renown Christian philosopher and novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote, ‘The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.’ That includes the religious and moral framework of a county. Denying life-threatening air conditioning to prisoners offends our religious beliefs and our moral standards.” — The Rev. Jim Harrington,
St. James’ Episcopal Church and founder of Texas Civil Rights Project

The Rev. Genevieve Razim
All Saints' Episcopal Church 

“U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ and Holy Scriptures' admonition to treat others as you want to be treated are both clear. Whether you approach this issue as a person of faith or no faith, the extreme heat our fellow human beings inside Texas prisons are being exposed to is wrong.” — The Rev. Genevieve Razim, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Austin

Rabbi Kelly Levy
Congregation Beth Israel 

“As Jews, but more importantly as fellow human beings, it is our responsibility to care for each and every person as we are all created B'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.” — Rabbi Kelly Levy, Congregation Beth Israel

The Rev. Matt Gaventa
University Presbyterian Church of Austin 

“Loving your neighbor means recognizing the image of God in everybody around us. Learning to treat our prisoners with compassion is at the very heart of my faith tradition.” — The Rev. Matt Gaventa, University Presbyterian Church of Austin

“Unitarian Universalism is grounded in a long tradition of knowing that every individual has inherent worthiness and because of that is entitled to dignity and compassion. What the State is doing by refusing the most basic of comfort in the oppressive Texas heat is dehumanizing, unethical, and antithetical to the love and dignity we know that all are entitled to.” –  The Rev. Chris Jimmerson and The Rev. Carrie Holley-Hurt, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin