Conference Minister's Corner 10.7.26

Conference Minister

Rev. Gordon Rankin 10.7.26

Two weekends ago, I was privileged to attend the Southern New England Conference Meeting at the DCU Center in Worchester. While there I got to hear the Georgia Senator, the Reverend Dr. Rafeal Warnock, deliver the keynote address. He also offered the Sunday morning sermon. His opening story from that sermon is one that I’ve not been able to shake since.

Dr. Warnock talked about the traditional greeting of the Maasai Warriors of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. Given the nature of a warrior culture, you might expect the greeting to be harsh and brash.But their greeting displays a very different essence to their culture. The Maasai Warriors greet one another with the phrase “Kasserian Ingera?” This translates to “And how are the children?” This is the greeting offered to one another whether they are parents of children or not. The response is equally profound. The Maasai respond, “Sepati Ingera" All the children are well.”

What sticks out to me about this is the sense that care of the children and the vulnerable is the core responsibility of community. So much so that you inquire about it and affirm how well the community is doing at fulfilling the responsibility each time you greet one another. Neither personal wellness nor family wellness is what is asked about when you see each other. Rather, it is the community’s responsibility for the care of the children and the vulnerable that is centralized with each greeting. 

There is something of the gospel in this for me. (I assume there is for Dr. Warnock as well.) And I can’t help but wonder how church or society might be changed if we simply greebrash.ted one another by inquiring, “And how are the children?”

Gordon