executive editor @TexasMonthly | religion. politics. wine. | past: EIC @Sojourners | hype: @WhisperPath Cellars | WSET 3 🍷
Articles by Sandi Villarreal
Texas’s Most Spirited City Is Also One of Its Most Haunted
Fall in San Antonio explodes with color: Giant, brightly painted alebrijes greet visitors to La Villita and the River Walk. Downtown hotels prepare to host visitors to Muertos Fest at Hemisfair, a three-day Día de los Muertos celebration featuring elaborate altars and live music. It’s a time when the barrier between the living and the dead perhaps becomes slightly more permeable, and we all seem pretty okay with it. “Can anyone tell what they’re unloading from the side door there?
Angela Paxton Knows Exactly What She’s Doing
Throughout Ken Paxton’s seemingly centuries-long campaign for Senate, the attorney general has been a punching bag for not only his opponent, Democrat James Talarico, but also late-night talk show hosts, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Texans who might vote for him, and the president of the United States. Recent polls show Paxton down as much as six points in his race against Talarico, a shocking number in a state that hasn’t seen a Democrat win a statewide seat since 1994.
A Weekend in the Hill Country Town Where You Can Pretend It’s Summer Year-Round
Creeeeak. Scream. Splash. Repeat ad nauseam. These are the waning days of summer (read: the hottest days of the year are still to come), and my husband is stationed at the edge of the dock at Blue Hole Regional Park, in Wimberley. He’s on his second tour of rope-swing duty, pulling the triangular handle back with an L-shaped PVC pipe, handing it to the next kid in line. He hoists up some of the smaller ones and pushes them off into a frigid Cypress Creek.
What It’s Like to Stay at San Antonio’s Newest High-End Hotel
The Monarch San Antonio, which opened in March and is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, is a luxurious landing pad in the middle of downtown. It overlooks Civic Park at Hemisfair and is steps from La Villita and the River Walk. Nods to the migrating monarch butterfly, the inspiration for the space, carry throughout the sculptural lobby and the hotel’s three restaurants. They can even be found in small design elements like the whimsical sloping headboards in the two hundred guest rooms.
James Talarico Said God Is Nonbinary. What Does the Bible Say?
A few days before he won the race to be the Texas GOP’s candidate for U.S. Senate, Ken Paxton tried to call an ad-spend truce with his runoff opponent, the four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Ostensibly, a ceasefire would enable him to pour those dollars into campaigning against the Democratic candidate, James Talarico. The scorched-earth line of attack that a PAC affiliated with him landed on: Talarico thinks God isn’t a dude.
James Talarico Said God Is Nonbinary. What Does the Bible Say?
A few days before he won the race to be the Texas GOP’s candidate for U.S. Senate, Ken Paxton tried to call an ad-spend truce with his runoff opponent, the four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Ostensibly, a ceasefire would enable him to pour those dollars into campaigning against the Democratic candidate, James Talarico. The scorched-earth line of attack that a PAC affiliated with him landed on: Talarico thinks God isn’t a dude.
The Hard Lessons of “Hardening” Schools
On a Thursday afternoon in 2023, about an hour before it was time to pick up my nine- and seven-year-old kids from their elementary school, I received a phone call with a prerecorded message from their principal. She spoke in an even tone: Everything was now okay, but the school had been placed on “secure status” earlier in the day, and she’d send more details shortly.
Inside San Antonio’s Most Luxurious Downtown Hotel Yet
It’s spring. We’re a week into Fiesta. The Spurs are in the playoffs. South Alamo Street, the artery connecting downtown San Antonio to all the energy of Southtown, is finally open (two years behind schedule). It’s a good time to be a San Antonian. But for those not so blessed, fret not: The downtown hotel options just got a bit more luxe.
Did Pete Hegseth’s Pastor Really Call for James Talarico’s Death?
Texas state Representative James Talarico is no stranger to the slings and arrows of political battle.
What Did Angela Paxton Mean by Citing “Biblical Grounds” for Her Divorce?
When Texas state Senator Angela Paxton announced Thursday on social media that she had filed for divorce from her husband, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, on “biblical grounds,” observers immediately began asking: What? The Paxtons have long cited Christian scripture in the face of adversity—tough elections, media reports of gross corruption—but the term quickly became a meme, with Twitter comedians (read: politicos and journalists) testing out new material.
Getting to Know the Spiritual Leaders Who Have a Vision for Trump’s Second Term
A loosely defined network of far-right Christians, called the New Apostolic Reformation, has gained serious influence in American politics by supporting President Donald Trump. Some have issued prophecies that Trump would serve for two terms,and, after Trump’s loss in 2020, were finally vindicated by the election results last fall. Its leaders include a number of Texas-based preachers, including Cindy Jacobs and Lance Wallnau, who have amassed huge followings online.
Bryan–College Station Isn’t Just for Aggies
“The password will be on the receipt. Take a right into the alley and look for the door with the mask.” I’d just finished a nightcap at a cigar-and-cocktail bar in charming downtown Bryan, twin city to Texas A&M University’s College Station, when the server asked if my husband and I had tried out the speakeasy around the corner. My long-ago memories of nights around the A&M campus are littered with shots at the Dry Bean, in Northgate, and dinner at the Dixie Chicken.
A New San Antonio Hotel Manages to Combine a Rooftop Hot Spot and an 1800s-Era History Lesson
If you’ve ever wanted to sip on an old-fashioned set afire by a master mixologist in the renovated venue of the 1992 NAFTA initialing ceremony, have I got a spot for you. A plaque commemorating the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was initialed by President George H.W. Bush, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, is an unobtrusive centerpiece in the courtyard at the brand-new Kimpton Santo, in downtown San Antonio.
Which City in Texas Has the Worst Drivers?
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So many cities; so many rivalries. Houstonians seem to view Dallas with contempt, while Dallasites claim not to think about Houston at all. Most San Antonians could happily live the rest of their lives without hearing anything else about Austin. West Texans would like folks along the Interstate 35 corridor to remember that they exist.
By Ben Rowen, Sandi Villarreal Verified, Allegra Hobbs Verified, dan solomon Verified, Michael Hardy Verified, Russell Gold
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Texas Monthly
Verified
A District Judge Has Shot Down Paxton’s Attempts to Close a Catholic Migrant Shelter
An El Paso district judge on Tuesday denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic migrant shelter. Paxton had targeted the 45-year-old nonprofit in February, when he accused its staff, without evidence, of “operating a stash house” and “harboring aliens,” and requested a host of records from the shelter in an attempt to prove it. But in granting Annunciation House relief from Paxton’s requests, District Court Judge Francisco X.
A Fun Vacation Spot for Adults and Kids
When introducing Pantone’s 2024 color of the year, executive director of the institute Leatrice Eiseman said that Peach Fuzz is a shade that “resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” The pale hue was plucked in searching for one that “echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection.” It’s fitting, then, that the color—and various complementary pigments—can be seen dotting the landscape at the newly opened Camp...
A New RV Resort Is That Mythical Place: A Fun Vacation Spot for Adults and Kids Alike
When introducing Pantone’s 2024 color of the year, executive director of the institute Leatrice Eiseman said that Peach Fuzz is a shade that “resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” The pale hue was plucked in searching for one that “echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection.” It’s fitting, then, that the color—and various complementary pigments—can be seen dotting the landscape at the newly opened Camp...
Ken Paxton Mistakes Catholic Teachings for “Bohemian Commandments”
It’s Ken Paxton versus Catholics, round two. Back in February, the Texas attorney general targeted the migrant shelter Annunciation House, in El Paso, on his stated suspicions of “alien harboring” and “operating a stash house.” He cited no evidence for the latter claim, but demanded that Annunciation House turn over a host of records, including its clients’ names and medical records.
It Doesn't Get More Texas Than This New Food Hall and Market
Walking through San Antonio’s new 40,000-square-foot specialty grocer and eatery, Pullman Market, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to my first time visiting Eataly in New York’s Flatiron District. Swap the aisles of fresh mozz (though Pullman has that too) and Italian wine bar with fresh-off-the-press tortillas and a mezcal bar, and you have Pearl’s latest addition.
The Biblical Womanhood of Senator Angela Paxton
On the second day of her husband’s impeachment trial, for which she was required to be present but could not vote, Senator Angela Paxton tweeted a photo of herself in the Senate chamber. In it, she’s wearing a tailored, lipstick-red suit and her hands are folded at her mouth in prayer.
On the Longest Night of the Year, We Sit Together in the Darkness
Dec 21, 2021 Today marks the winter solstice, the day on which the North Pole tips furthest away from the sun as if to peer over the edge into the dark and see how far down it is. This curious act gives those of us in the Northern Hemisphere the fewest hours of daylight we’ll get all year; it also gives us our longest night.
There's 'No Cure for Being Human.' An Interview with Kate Bowler
Kate Bowler is well-versed in befores and afters, in weighing the beautiful and terrible parts of life that run into each other every day. In her 2018 book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, Bowler chronicled her sudden diagnosis with stage 4 cancer at age 35 and dissected the ways people — particularly Christians in the United States, infused with prosperity thinking — speak to the suffering.
Texas Clergy Are Taking a Stand Against the New Abortion Law
When the Supreme Court last week refused to block a new Texas law — which bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who “aids or abets” someone getting an abortion after six weeks — faith groups like Texas Right to Life and the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops applauded. “We progressive clergy in the state of Texas — like all good Texans — are gonna fight like hell to make sure people's rights are protected.” —Rev.
Rest Is Holy, Not a Reward for the Productive
Earlier this month, Pope Francis, in his first public appearance after returning to the Vatican following an 11-day hospital stay for a scheduled surgery, told those gathered in St. Peter’s Square to “learn to take a break” and truly rest.
For the Love of Faith, Justice, and Broccoli: What Our Editors Are Reading
Lately, I have been checking on my broccoli seedlings with a near-maternal compulsion. Much of my 75-square-foot back patio is covered in the shade of trees and other brownstones, so every hour of daylight, I move my broccoli pots a couple feet to catch a new pocket of sun. In this year of so much dying, I urgently need to see something grow. I often struggle with certain names for Jesus — Lamb of God, Master, King of Kings — but I’ve never had a problem with capital-G Gardener.
When What Parents Are Feeling Is More Than Just Stress (Published 2020)
Throughout the spring, I knew that I was deteriorating physically. The room would randomly spin around me, fatigue would set in and migraines would hit, distorting my vision and making it nearly impossible to look at a screen. I was worried about my physical health, but I also knew that such symptoms were commonly associated with stress.
The Bias of Journalistic Norms
FOR NEARLY 50 years, Sojourners magazine has taken bold, prophetic stands to fulfill its mission—to articulate the biblical call to racial and social justice, life and peace, and environmental stewardship—by telling stories that uncover injustice and offer solutions. I’ve been drawn to this mission since I was a college student studying journalism in the mid-aughts, and I am honored to be in a position to help build on that rich tradition as Sojourners’ new editor-in-chief.
How Burnout Robs Our Spiritual Lives
Anne Helen Petersen is a writer and journalist based in Missoula, Mont. She recently left BuzzFeed, where she was senior culture writer, and now runs the Substack newsletter “Culture Study.” In her new book, Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, Petersen dives into the systems and culture that have driven the generation’s need for constant productivity that led to burnout. In her latest newsletter, she focuses on the contours of clergy burnout.
Raising the Coronavirus Generation
EACH SPRING, I plan how to survive the summer. Without the school-year routine, our family leans on relatives, friends, summer camps, and cobbled-together vacation time to get our kids through. But this year, everything stopped: In a pandemic, you can’t visit Grandma or drop off the toddler for a playdate. If raising children takes a village, our village has been scattered.
Congressman John Lewis Tells the Story of the March from Selma to Montgomery (VIDEO)
Mar 5, 2013 Share This past weekend, The Faith and Politics Institute led a three-day Congressional trip to visit Civil Rights landmarks across Alabama — from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Montgomery to Selma. It was an incredibly moving, emotionally exhausting, soul-quenching pilgrimage as we journeyed along with heroes of the Civil Rights movement and experienced their stories. One such hero is Congressman John Lewis. A highlight of the trip for me is recorded below.
God's Church is Not a Building
What is a church? Is it the stained-glass windows or welcome bell mounted in the steeple? Is it the straight-backed pews or scent of incense wafting into the narthex? Sunday school classrooms or spaghetti dinners in the basement? If you view a church as a building, what happens when it goes away?
Coronavirus Resources: A Guide for Sojourners Readers
We are living in a time of uncertainty and concern, not only for our own well-being, but for that of our communities and congregations. Sojourners has been working quickly to provide the news, resources, and reflections to move us all through this — together. Support this work! How-To Guides Community Without Communing: Resources for Virtual Church by Sandi Villarreal Digital pastors weigh in on shepherding congregations through quarantine.
Community Without Communing: Resources for Virtual Church
At an unprecedented pace, state and local officials are advising communities to suspend public gatherings in light of the COVID-19 spread, a crisis the World Health Organization is now calling a pandemic. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have banned gatherings of over 250 people, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday asked churches to cancel Sunday services.
Judge Blocks Trump Order Requiring Local Officials' Consent for Refugee Resettlement
Jan 15, 2020 Share A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order that would allow state and local governments to opt out of the refugee resettlement program.
What the Stories That Shaped 2019 Tell Us About 2020
Before we run head first into 2020 and all of the stressors of the coming election season, we wanted first to reflect on last year — to take a look at the top 10 stories that shaped our coverage, the commentary that spurred conversations, and the reflections that stirred the soul — and how the work will continue in the new year.
The Top 5 Ways to Get Into the Christmas Spirit
Dec 13, 2012 Share Have you burned out on fiscal cliff debate yet? Depressed that our Congress has still failed to renew the incredibly noncontroversial Violence Against Women Act? Well, while Sojourners cares deeply about both of the issues, we’re also very ready to celebrate this season of Advent, our Savior’s birth, and all of the family time and Christmas cookies that come with it. So here it is: The Top 5 Ways to Get Into the Christmas Spirit. 1. What Are You Singing?
Questioning Faith After Purity Culture: In Conversation with Joshua Harris
Earlier this week, author and former pastor Joshua Harris — whose bestselling book I Kissed Dating Goodbye became go-to courtship advice for a generation of teens raised within 1990s-early 2000s evangelical purity culture — announced via Instagram that he and his wife were separating. In the post, he says, “In recent years, some significant changes have taken place in both of us.
Exploring a Holistic Sexuality in the Black Church
Amid ongoing conversations about the harm caused by a “purity” ethic taught within mostly evangelical churches in the 1990s-2000s (and for some, still today), a number of ethicists, theologians, pastors, and educators have been quietly shaping a new ethic — some for years. Rev. Lacette (Rev.
Exploring a Holistic Spirituality in the Black Church
Amid ongoing conversations about the harm caused by a “purity” ethic taught within mostly evangelical churches in the 1990s-2000s (and for some, still today), a number of ethicists, theologians, pastors, and educators have been quietly shaping a new ethic — some for years. Rev. Lacette (Rev.
Their Generation Was Shamed by Purity Culture. Here's What They're Building in Its Place
Breaking Free: The Power of Story In 2013, breaking free looked like a hashtag. Laura P.*, a now 40-year-old anthropologist and adjunct professor in Virginia, tweeted out a call for stories from people who had grown up in the church hearing abstinence-only teaching, using the hashtag #noshamemov.
Toward a Less Toxic Discourse
To our readers, As I’ve led our online coverage over the past seven years, I’ve constantly sought better and more efficient ways of connecting with you and hearing what you have to say in response to our reporting and commentary. I’m so grateful for the time you take to engage in the conversations we prompt, and you regularly provide our editors with encouragement, story ideas, and much-needed diversity of opinion.
'The World Hasn't Been Introduced To Christ'
"Surviving a Christianity That Looks Nothing Like Christ," the subheading of author Stephen Mattson's first book, The Great Reckoning, encapsulates what it means to many young, white current or former evangelicals to navigate, and in some cases, deconstruct the faith of their upbringing.
'No Wall Between Amigos'
A SMALL WHITE CHAPEL sits just a couple hundred yards north of the Rio Grande river in Mission, Texas. While the chapel no longer hosts an active parish, its interior shows signs of frequent use. Prayer candles and silk flowers line the altar and the base of a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. An entryway table holds dozens of prayers, written on folded loose-leaf paper. Children’s composition notebooks, filled with more handwritten prayers, are stacked in piles.
If Our Wounds Matter
Over the weekend, a good friend offered a Twitter poll, asking: If Anita Hill brought in the Year of the Woman, what then of Christine Blasey Ford? Forever. The overwhelming answer was the Forever of the Woman. Amen, may it be so. The reality, of course, is that white men (and many white women, for that matter) are gonna’ white men their way into retaining power at all costs. That’s how this works: Fear of losing power will justify an assortment of ills.
The Myth of Crying Rape
There’s a lot to be disappointed about following Rolling Stone’s revelation that it misreported on an alleged rape and the subsequent mishandling of the case at the University of Virginia. But the biggest disappointment is the notion that that’s what the story is about — a single rape case. Sure — it was shoddy journalism. Yes — it seems as though this individual story is not totally factual.
Family Separation Is the Latest Eruption in an Ongoing Emergency
Undocumented immigrant families walk from a bus depot to a respite center after being released from detention in McAllen, Texas, July 26, 2018. REUTERS/Loren Elliott 'This Is Not a Crisis. This Is a Long-Term Disaster' Family Separation Is the Latest Eruption in an Ongoing Story by Sandi Villarreal and Bekah McNeel Over the past four months, news from the border has chronicled the stories of families detained and separated — many of them seeking asylum from gang violence in Central America.
Thursday Was the Deadline to Reunite Families. Hundreds of Children Are Still in U.S. Custody
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw earlier this week praised the government's efforts to reunify some of the more than 2,500 children who had been separated from their parents upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in advance of the July 26 deadline. Yet as of that deadline, 711 children ages 5-17 remain in U.S. custody.
Thursday Was the Deadline to Reunite Families. More Than 700 Children Are Still in U.S. Custody
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw earlier this week praised the government's efforts to reunify some of the more than 2,500 children who had been separated from their parents upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in advance of the July 26 deadline. Yet, as of that deadline, 711 children had yet to be reunited with their parents.
4 Faith Groups Tapped to Receive Reunified Families Separated at the Border
SAN ANTONIO—The first thing clients see when they enter Catholic Charities of San Antonio’s welcome center is a host of rosaries in myriad colors laying on the sign-in table — and a small flock of staff and volunteers ready to help.
After Viral Facebook Fundraiser, RAICES Offers $20 Million to Cover Bonds for Separated Families
RAICES Texas — the San Antonio-based immigration legal services provider that has received tens of millions of dollars via a viral Facebook fundraising campaign launched amid the family separation crisis at the border — today announced a plan to distribute $20 million of their funds: give it over to the Department of Homeland Security to “post bonds” for mothers being held in detention.
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