Paula Stone Williams and Jonathan Williams: The story of a parent's transition and a son's redemption
باولا ستون ويليامز وجوناثان ويليامز: قصة تحول جنسي للوالد وخلاص الابن
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
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of a large, religious nonprofit,
لمؤسسة دينية كبيرة غير ربحية،
churches in America,
that was going to become.
التي ستكون عليها الأمور.
or four years of age
I would lose everything.
فسوف أخسر كل شيء.
not only sets you free,
religious world,
is not all that great for your career.
ليس في مصلحة حياتك المهنية.
every single one of my jobs.
and coworkers had rejected me;
"You really messed with me."
of an alpha male who was gentle."
للذكر المسيطر اللطيف."
was it for my own son?
was not an option.
brought me craft beer
which, in my estimation,
this spiral of denial,
that everything had changed.
كان اعترافًا بأن كل شيء قد تغير.
and mourning and sadness,
من الألم والحداد والحزن،
of 30 plus years decides to transition
عمره أكبر من ثلاثين عامًا يقرر والده
comes from choosing the narrow path.
يأتي دائمًا من اختيار المسار الصعب.
out and met me at a hotel in New York,
التقينا (باولا) في فندق في (نيويورك)،
and this woman answered.
came to take our order.
وأتى النادل لتلبية طلبنا.
at the table and it was my wife,
على الطاولة وهي زوجتي،
women at the table.
لا أتذكر.
everything about me,
September in New York,
after Labor Day in New York.
بعد يوم عيد العمال في (نيويورك).
here I stand in my wrong jeans.
أنني أرتدي اللباس الخاطئ.
blue eyes I love so much,
الزرقاء الواسعة التي أحبها كثيرًا،
back at me in disbelief.
going to be easy."
إن هذا الأمر لن يكون سهلًا."
متحول جنسيًا في الأسرة،
whether they want to or not.
سواء رغبوا في ذلك أو لا.
كان الأمر سهلًا.
"That's messed up, I'm out of here."
" هذا عبث، أنا بريء منه."
was going to work.
on to the road of trials.
the Mets season tickets --
وتذاكر موسم (ميتس)..
through Heckscher Park
على الدراجة في حديقة (هيكشر)
that I now know he wished weren't hers.
أنها تتمنى لو لم تكن لها.
me to be a Mets fan
for life's really big disappointments.
sandwiches every Saturday
he didn't want to live,
that I could have a dad.
if my dad had ever existed.
consciously, intentionally --
and her transformation was complete,
وعملية تحولها قد اكتملت،
another choice to heed my father's advice
وخيار آخر للعمل بنصيحة والدي،
I believe there is a God.
on the New Jersey Turnpike.
when your soul is in the wrong body.
عندما تكون روحك في الجسم الخطأ.
انتهى بي الأمر في الكهنوت.
it was nothing personal.
لم يكن الأمر شخصيًا.
for the tribe to survive,
are the enemy;
left his job teaching in West Philadelphia
في غرب (فيلاديلفيا)
to find an answer.
لمعرفة الإجابة.
the bridge's construction began.
من بداية بناء الجسر.
from decompression sickness.
executive engineer
المهندس التنفيذي البديل
of that Brooklyn Bridge.
that her friends in church
of a new church in Brooklyn.
في كنيسة جديدة في (بروكلين).
of forward-thinking people,
من الناس متقدمي الأفكار،
to really conservative churches.
مع الكنائس المحافظة.
our own church's livelihood.
بأسباب عيش الكنيسة.
between these warring worlds.
in your old world.
في عالمك القديم،
an olive branch for my sake?"
any idea what it feels like
عن ماهية الشعور
to your true friends
down that narrow path through nights,
other than her true self.
أن تكون أي شيء غير نفسها.
بجانب النهر في ذلك اليوم،
his suffering, his grief, his confusion.
to that conversation,
redemptive going on,
كان هناك خلاص يبدو للعيان،
to meet their -- Paula.
للقاء... (باولا).
at the dining room table,
على طاولة غرفة الطعام،
a single, confident question.
سؤالًا واثقًا.
and the laughter subsided,
back into their room
of my granddaughters at my home,
كانت جميع حفيداتي الخمس في منزلي،
of the Rocky Mountains.
in the cool waters of the river
girls said to me,
tubing on the river?"
هل يمكننا السباحة في النهر؟"
gets here for that.
that ought to be his call."
decision you would.
to find the narrow path
the long, dark night,
that a child who is secure,
أن الطفل الآمن،
that only they can hear.
التي يسمعونها هم فقط.
who is safe and unharmed
met their GrandPaula,
down the street,
because you always do --
فلطالما فعلتِ ذلك...
take a bite of her doughnut,
of burdens and challenges.
to see this through to redemption.
في نهايته إلى الخلاص.
and eating their doughnuts,
path of redemption,
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