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All Mom Does Podcast with Julie Lyles Carr · Purposely

Lies That Get in the Way of Sisterhood with Natalie Runion

September 10, 2025·35 min·2 clips
Why does Natalie Runion believe the church should be the safest place, not another high school cafeteria?
Church should be safer. The conversation opens on the gap between the cliques women expect in ordinary life and the kind of sisterhood they hope church might offer. Julie sounds ready for this one. She says plenty of projects cross her desk, then admits this subject made her want to say yes right away. Natalie pulls the idea down to earth. Sisterhood is not just a warm feeling; it asks a woman to stay open and available to the women near her. Julie asks what it looks like to carry the presence of a safe person into everyday encounters. Natalie answers with attention. Safety, for her, often means stepping into another woman's story with real curiosity, careful listening, and questions that are not performative. That can happen almost anywhere: with a grocery clerk, someone just met, or a best friend. The test is preference. Natalie contrasts the wish to be heard and validated with the choice to serve, especially when someone else's pain is louder than your good news. Julie knows that rub. As a storyteller in media, she admits silence is not always easy for her, which gives the advice some lived weight. The faith language stays close to daily life. Ecclesia, temple, prayer, and sacred sisterhood sit next to job promotion, layoff, grocery store, and friendship. The tone is gentle, but not mushy. This is less about instant intimacy than self-awareness, emotional IQ, and the humility to ask how someone is doing. Julie closes by returning to listeners' real lives, and the ministry note places the show within Christian work.

As heard by us

A warm, practical case for making church feel safer for women.

The episode treats church as a place that ought to feel safe, open, and available to women, and it makes that case through small acts rather than broad theory.

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Why you'd press play

If sisterhood feels slippery, this gives you a steadier way to think about being open, available, and safe with other women.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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