This episode features special guest and friend of the pod, Julie Ellis Washington! Julie is a nurse and a mother of five who lives in South Georgia. In this touching interview, she tells the story of how she and her husband adopted three of their children, what it's like having and advocating for a transgender child in a small southern town, and how that experience started the process of her faith deconstruction.
We believe that everyone deserves to be both accepted and celebrated in their church, and it can be heartbreaking to find out your church isn't fully affirming. This was Julie's experience when her son came out as transgender, and she has been wrestling with her faith, knowing that she believes in an all-loving god, but doesn't want to settle for a church experience that doesn't fully embrace her son for all he is. We are so thankful there are people like Julie who choose love every day, and who strive to make their corner of the world a more accepting place.
Resources from Julie:
Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austin Hartke
Unclobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality, by Colby Martin
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation, by Nadia Bolz-Weber