How Are the Children?
Preached 9/20/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
And how are the children?
So goes the traditional Masai greeting.
UU minister Patrick O’Neil describes the Masai this way:
Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: "Kasserian Ingera," one would always say to another. It means, "And how are the children?"
It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children's well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, "All the children are well." Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. "All the children are well" means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.
I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own children's welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this daily question: "And how are the children?" I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country.
I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country... I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, "The children are well, yes, all the children are well."
What would it be like... if the minister began every worship service by answering the question, "And how are the children?" If every town leader had to answer the question at the beginning of every meeting: "And how are the children? Are they all well?" Wouldn't it be interesting to hear their answers? What would it be like? I wonder...
And so today while we are kicking off the RE school year, I ask you, "Kasserian Ingera," “And How are the children?”
And whether you are a parent or grandparent or an aunt or uncle, even if you have no immediate connection to children in your every day life, I think you might say, with a heart full of pain and concern, the children right now, are not well.
School has started and the children are adjusting to the new normal of online classes. The children are not getting the vital social-development time that they would get with in-person school. Even children that are attending school are not having their very real needs met. How could they? The educators among us are working as hard as they can to be as inventive as possible, but thanks to corona, the children are not well.
The children are not well. The 550,000 - over half a million children who have had covid so far in the US are not well. The hundreds that have died are not well.
Of course how the children are doing is deeply important, because how the children are doing points to how we are doing as a people. It is said that Gandhi wisely said “The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest member,”
The children are not well.
Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice are not well.
The children of Flint Michigan, poisoned daily by lead in their water, are not well.
It’s a very simple thing that has been obscured in our American culture. This idea that the wellness of our children should be our top priority.
I’m often given a moment of clarity, given some perspective by my wife Nicky who many of you know is Canadian. The children, it seems, are doing much better in Canada. That is to say, I had a sudden epiphany, a sudden realization when she asked me once about the American school system. Why, Nicky asked me, is the public school system so poor in some places? Why are kids graduating high school without being able to read? I could only shake my head and sadly say that’s how things are here. But, Nicky pushed me on this, But don’t people realize that all of society is better if the people are educated?
Woah. What a moment of clarity. No, I had to tell her, no, I don’t think most Americans look at it that way.
Wouldn’t you rather live in a world where you are surrounded by well-educated people?
It’s important to take our American blinders off and not only see that the children are not well but also acknowledge that we are living in a society that has become too selfish to care about how the children are doing.
The children are dying. The children are being poisoned. The children are not getting basic needs met.
How are the children? Not well.
But here is the thing: there is always hope because even though the children are not well, they are so so good.
The children are good. They are good in the sense that they are clean slates, they are kind and open and ready to receive education and nutrition and love. The children are so good.
Statistics have shown that the younger generation now has less trouble with getting into drugs, have having less teen pregnancies, are drinking less alcohol than we did. They are so good.
And this is why little steps forward, for the sake of the children is so important. Having a robust Religious Education program, even in our small church, taking the time to volunteer and interact with the children in our SWUU community, these things are so important.
Because the children are not well, but they are so good.
We can help them to be well. We can make our congregation a haven, a place where we can answer the traditional Masai question "Kasserian Ingera," With confidence and pride, our children are good but they are also well. They are thriving.
I want to ask you to think about approaching Jenni, her email address is in the order of service today, approaching her about volunteering to work with the children. It doesn’t need to be terribly frequent.
Together we will continue to build and grow this amazing community into a safe place for our children, where they can thrive. And in that vein, let’s sing our closing hymn today, We’ll build a land. Because we are constantly building a land, for our children.
Preached 9/20/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
And how are the children?
So goes the traditional Masai greeting.
UU minister Patrick O’Neil describes the Masai this way:
Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: "Kasserian Ingera," one would always say to another. It means, "And how are the children?"
It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children's well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, "All the children are well." Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. "All the children are well" means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.
I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own children's welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this daily question: "And how are the children?" I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country.
I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country... I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, "The children are well, yes, all the children are well."
What would it be like... if the minister began every worship service by answering the question, "And how are the children?" If every town leader had to answer the question at the beginning of every meeting: "And how are the children? Are they all well?" Wouldn't it be interesting to hear their answers? What would it be like? I wonder...
And so today while we are kicking off the RE school year, I ask you, "Kasserian Ingera," “And How are the children?”
And whether you are a parent or grandparent or an aunt or uncle, even if you have no immediate connection to children in your every day life, I think you might say, with a heart full of pain and concern, the children right now, are not well.
School has started and the children are adjusting to the new normal of online classes. The children are not getting the vital social-development time that they would get with in-person school. Even children that are attending school are not having their very real needs met. How could they? The educators among us are working as hard as they can to be as inventive as possible, but thanks to corona, the children are not well.
The children are not well. The 550,000 - over half a million children who have had covid so far in the US are not well. The hundreds that have died are not well.
Of course how the children are doing is deeply important, because how the children are doing points to how we are doing as a people. It is said that Gandhi wisely said “The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest member,”
The children are not well.
Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice are not well.
The children of Flint Michigan, poisoned daily by lead in their water, are not well.
It’s a very simple thing that has been obscured in our American culture. This idea that the wellness of our children should be our top priority.
I’m often given a moment of clarity, given some perspective by my wife Nicky who many of you know is Canadian. The children, it seems, are doing much better in Canada. That is to say, I had a sudden epiphany, a sudden realization when she asked me once about the American school system. Why, Nicky asked me, is the public school system so poor in some places? Why are kids graduating high school without being able to read? I could only shake my head and sadly say that’s how things are here. But, Nicky pushed me on this, But don’t people realize that all of society is better if the people are educated?
Woah. What a moment of clarity. No, I had to tell her, no, I don’t think most Americans look at it that way.
Wouldn’t you rather live in a world where you are surrounded by well-educated people?
It’s important to take our American blinders off and not only see that the children are not well but also acknowledge that we are living in a society that has become too selfish to care about how the children are doing.
The children are dying. The children are being poisoned. The children are not getting basic needs met.
How are the children? Not well.
But here is the thing: there is always hope because even though the children are not well, they are so so good.
The children are good. They are good in the sense that they are clean slates, they are kind and open and ready to receive education and nutrition and love. The children are so good.
Statistics have shown that the younger generation now has less trouble with getting into drugs, have having less teen pregnancies, are drinking less alcohol than we did. They are so good.
And this is why little steps forward, for the sake of the children is so important. Having a robust Religious Education program, even in our small church, taking the time to volunteer and interact with the children in our SWUU community, these things are so important.
Because the children are not well, but they are so good.
We can help them to be well. We can make our congregation a haven, a place where we can answer the traditional Masai question "Kasserian Ingera," With confidence and pride, our children are good but they are also well. They are thriving.
I want to ask you to think about approaching Jenni, her email address is in the order of service today, approaching her about volunteering to work with the children. It doesn’t need to be terribly frequent.
Together we will continue to build and grow this amazing community into a safe place for our children, where they can thrive. And in that vein, let’s sing our closing hymn today, We’ll build a land. Because we are constantly building a land, for our children.