Advance praise for We're All Equally Human
"I am especially thrilled by We're All Equally Human. A stream of people come to talk to me and I point them to books. This one is so locked into Aotearoa, its stories, and church life, that it will be so useful. I will be recommending it widely to those on the journey of relating faith and sexuality.
The Rev Dr Susan Jones does great service to young people pondering their relationship with the church in two books written and one to come, all conversations in a coffee shop."
The delight of these books is that serious, significant concepts are clothed in flesh and inscribed on table napkins (when a pen can be found). This delightful style reminds me of the ancient model of the dialogue used from Plato's time.
These participants are, however, much more interesting and livelier than a Plato dialogue or fictional discussion. Their developing stories and wisdom are derived from life experience. Hope in Wherever you are You are on the Journey and Charity in We're All Equally Human have their personal ups and downs. Susan writes about herself, her reading, coffee and changing perspectives with disarming yet instructive frankness.
Wherever you are explores Hope's journey of considering pastoral ministry, developing her own very inclusive and progressive faith journey. Charity in We're All Equally Human, is a young lesbian with a delightful choice of dress and a hard coming out story.
This style works exceptionally well as a light but serious way to explore issues, for these books certainly do explore deep issues, introducing readers to a wide range of concepts (explained by diagrams on the serviettes) and very significant writers.
Fortunate, indeed, are young people who sought and received very sensitive and professional counsel from Susan, and fortunate we are to have books like this, allowing us to explore, ponder, to agree or disagree.
On my own journey of coming out, and that of my friends, we have all struggled with theological and biblical issues - probably most writing essays on the subject, and revising them as the journey continues. Susan's book gives tools for proceeding on that journey of theological and biblical reflection. Her words remind me so helpfully that this journey of reflection is one we all need to travel, hopefully with wise and thoughtful people alongside, just as Susan was with Charity." Professor Peter Lineham, MNZM, Regional Director of the College of Humanities, at Massey University, Albany.
"Like a mighty tortoise crawls the Church of God, brothers we are treading where we've always trod." This re-imaging of a line in the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers' struck an immediate chord. Underlying my reluctance to write a comment about Susan Jones' We're All Equally Human, were buried emotions I had thought long dealt with, which Charity's journey revived. Journeying alongside Charity, I was reminded again that the clichéd "coming out" is a life-long journey; one we never grow out of.
As Charity discovers each unexpected, if not surprising, response to her spiritual journey of self-recognition, her coffee conversations reveal rich, insightful explanations. They move across cultural, historical, sociological, and importantly, biblical and theological pathways offering empathetic reassurance. I found myself saying 'yes' and 'yes' and finally 'Hallelujah!'" Yvonne Wilkie, former Archivist, author in the history of women in Religion.
