Paula Stone Williams and Jonathan Williams: The story of a parent's transition and a son's redemption
Paula Stone Williams e Jonathan Williams: A história da transformação de um pai e da redenção de um filho
Paula Stone Williams is a pastor, counselor, speaker, LGBTQ ambassador and gender equity advocate. Full bioJonathan Williams - Religious leader, storyteller
Jonathan Williams likes to tell stories and throw parties, so he started a church that allowed him to do both. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
de uma grande organização religiosa
of a large, religious nonprofit,
churches in America,
igrejas norte-americanas,
em 70 locais diferentes,
o caminho menos percorrido,
that was going to become.
isso ia ser difícil.
or four years of age
tinha três ou quatro anos
I would lose everything.
ia perder tudo o que tinha.
é sagrado
not only sets you free,
que a verdade nos liberta,
nesse princípio.
a maior parte da nossa vida
religious world,
conservador,
is not all that great for your career.
não é o melhor para a nossa carreira.
every single one of my jobs.
todos os meus empregos.
mas com dificuldade.
and coworkers had rejected me;
e colaboradores rejeitaram-me;
"You really messed with me."
"Deixaste-me baralhado".
of an alpha male who was gentle."
de um macho alfa que era gentil".
was it for my own son?
para o meu próprio filho?
was not an option.
não era uma opção.
brought me craft beer
filhas trouxeram-me cerveja artesanal
which, in my estimation,
para o Dia do Pai
this spiral of denial,
esta espiral de negação,
ainda era... o meu pai.
that everything had changed.
que tudo tinha mudado.
and mourning and sadness,
anos de sofrimento, de luto, de tristeza,
para uma reconciliação.
of 30 plus years decides to transition
o pai de um tipo de mais de 30 anos
comes from choosing the narrow path.
do caminho estreito.
não lhe ligar naquele dia.
out and met me at a hotel in New York,
comigo num hotel em Nova Iorque,
and this woman answered.
veio perguntar o que queríamos.
came to take our order.
a minha mulher.
at the table and it was my wife,
women at the table.
qualquer coisa, uma salada,
Não me lembrava.
everything about me,
September in New York,
after Labor Day in New York.
depois do início de setembro,
here I stand in my wrong jeans.
de "jeans" brancos.
blue eyes I love so much,
de que eu tanto gosto
back at me in disbelief.
going to be easy."
muda de sexo,
whether they want to or not.
queira ou não queira.
que maravilha!"
"That's messed up, I'm out of here."
"Que confusão. Nem quero saber".
was going to work.
nenhum dos extremos funcionaria.
on to the road of trials.
na mesa dos julgamentos.
the Mets season tickets --
os bilhetes para a temporada do Mets
ou tinham sido com ela?
through Heckscher Park
num passeio de bicicleta
that I now know he wished weren't hers.
que, sei hoje, ele desejava não ter.
sem pedir licença, dá cabo dele
Fiquei zangado.
me to be a Mets fan
para ser fã do Mets
for life's really big disappointments.
para grandes desilusões na vida,
sandwiches every Saturday
as sanduíches todos os sábados,
he didn't want to live,
que não queria viver
that I could have a dad.
que eu pude ter um pai.
if my dad had ever existed.
se o meu pai tinha existido.
consciously, intentionally --
consciente, intencionalmente —
and her transformation was complete,
e a transformação estava completa
estava a começar.
outro percurso, outra escolha
another choice to heed my father's advice
I believe there is a God.
acredito que há um Deus,
on the New Jersey Turnpike.
me meto pela autoestrada.
when your soul is in the wrong body.
quando a nossa alma está no corpo errado.
it was nothing personal.
não foi nada de pessoal.
religiosas fazem.
for the tribe to survive,
um inimigo para a tribo sobreviver,
são as minorias sexuais:
are the enemy;
left his job teaching in West Philadelphia
deixou o seu emprego de professor
to find an answer.
para encontrar uma resposta.
primeira visita,
the bridge's construction began.
de começar a construção da ponte.
from decompression sickness.
executive engineer
a engenheira chefe substituta
a construção da ponte.
of that Brooklyn Bridge.
da ponte de Brooklyn.
como as dos Roeblings?
para o nosso trabalho?
that her friends in church
que os seus amigos, na igreja
of a new church in Brooklyn.
em Brooklyn.
of forward-thinking people,
de pessoas progressistas.
to really conservative churches.
a igrejas muito conservadoras.
our own church's livelihood.
a subsistência da nossa igreja.
between these warring worlds.
entre estes mundos em conflito.
in your old world.
no teu mundo antigo.
an olive branch for my sake?"
um ramo de oliveira?"
any idea what it feels like
do que é sentir
to your true friends
aos teus verdadeiros amigos
sentir-se assim.
down that narrow path through nights,
por aquele caminho estreito de noite.
other than her true self.
para ser outra coisa que não ela própria.
naquele dia,
his suffering, his grief, his confusion.
da sua dor, da sua confusão.
to that conversation,
naquela conversa.
redemptive going on,
que uma espécie de redenção,
naquele caminho estreito.
de mim e mais ainda.
to meet their -- Paula.
conhecerem a Paula.
at the dining room table,
a fazer pinturas na mesa de jantar.
a single, confident question.
simples e confiante.
and the laughter subsided,
e terminada a risota,
back into their room
para o quarto delas
of my granddaughters at my home,
todas as minhas cinco netas,
of the Rocky Mountains.
in the cool waters of the river
girls said to me,
de Jonathan disse-me:
tubing on the river?"
fazer 'tubing' no rio?"
gets here for that.
que o vosso pai esteja aqui.
that ought to be his call."
decision you would.
decisão que tu terias.
ele é muito parecido comigo.
to find the narrow path
a encontrar o caminho estreito
the long, dark night,
chegar a luz da aurora.
that a child who is secure,
que se sente segura,
that only they can hear.
que só elas ouvem.
who is safe and unharmed
que se sente segura, sem traumas,
conhecer as minhas filhas
met their GrandPaula,
down the street,
elas desciam a rua.
nos braços do meu pai
balançavam-se loucamente.
because you always do --
porque é sempre o que fazes...
a dar uma dentada no dónute
take a bite of her doughnut,
of burdens and challenges.
de carregos e de desafios
to see this through to redemption.
íamos ver isso através da redenção.
and eating their doughnuts,
e comiam os dónutes.
para ninguém em especial:
path of redemption,
da redenção
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Paula Stone Williams - Religious leader, counselor, advocatePaula Stone Williams is a pastor, counselor, speaker, LGBTQ ambassador and gender equity advocate.
Why you should listen
The Reverend Dr. Paula Stone Williams knows the truth will set you free, but only after it upends your carefully constructed narrative. Her devotion to authenticity caused her to leave her comfort zone as a nationally known religious leader and follow her heart to transition from Paul to Paula. She lost all of her jobs and most of her friends. Williams also discovered the massive differences between life as a male and as a female in America.
Williams is the pastor of preaching and worship at Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colorado, a pastoral counselor with RLT Pathways and a sought-after speaker to corporations, government agencies, universities and religious institutions on issues of gender equity and LGBTQ advocacy. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Denver Post, New Scientist, Radio New Zealand, Colorado Public Radio and The Huffington Post. Her TEDxMileHigh talk on gender equity has had more than one million views.
Paula Stone Williams | Speaker | TED.com
Jonathan Williams - Religious leader, storyteller
Jonathan Williams likes to tell stories and throw parties, so he started a church that allowed him to do both.
Why you should listen
After teaching fifth grade in West Philadelphia for seven years, Jonathan Williams decided to join the family business and become a pastor like his father. He started a church in Brooklyn, NY, and just three months later faced a religious and personal reckoning when his father announced her transition from male to female. Williams decided that his church would become an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, forever shifting the landscape in his personal and professional life.
Williams continues to lead Forefront Church in Brooklyn. In January 2019, he released his book, She's My Dad: A Father’s Transition and a Son's Redemption, published by Westminster John Knox Press. Williams has told his story to the New York Times, Huffington Post, Christian Standard Magazine, Faithfully Magazine and Rebel Storytellers.
Jonathan Williams | Speaker | TED.com