Y’all is the most inclusive pronoun
Posted at 17:52, Wednesday, November 23, 2022
I recently read a fascinating news article about “Y’all: The most inclusive of all pronouns“. Maude Newton smiled as she recalled that when her mother joked that she was going to be a Yankee, her father scolded her and said:taught me dixieland“. Ms. Newton writes, “My father mostly ignored the change in my speech, but one thing I said made him cringe with rage: ‘you guys.’ The term was “everything,” he said, clenching his jaw. Little girls were not boys!’ “My father once spanked me when he heard me saying ‘you guys’ to two of my playmates, both girls. The belt didn’t make me more like you!”
In her mid-20s, Ms. Newton lived in Tallahassee — her apartment was 17 miles from the Georgia border. And there “I started to enjoy ‘y’all’, his warmth and inclusiveness, the way everyone came together under his umbrella. I had to admit: it wasn’t sexist, racist, or classist. It was friendly and – more often than not – genuine.”
Mrs. Newton says that “all of you” “came north during the Great Migration with the collar and the cornbread. Now spread to states above the Mason-Dixon line and as far as Australia, it represents the best of the American vernacular.”
The first time I dared to use “y’all” in public was at a wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. The bride was from the deep south and I loved listening to her talk. At the wedding, when I gave my homily, I mentioned the warmth, inclusiveness, hospitality of “everyone” and prayed that these would always be signs of their life together.
I’m still quite hesitant to use the term, I really don’t want to be some kind of deputy from the east (well, even further east to Britain). But while I rarely use the term, I do think of it as “the most inclusive of pronouns.”
At the heart of God’s ministry to us is a ministry of inclusivity, of welcoming all, even those who are considered outcasts, who cannot be mentioned, those who are too easily ignored and forgotten. I am very proud that almost every sign of the Episcopal Church has these divine words, “We welcome you.”
In Matthew 13:24–43, the parable tells of how the servants were too eager to pull up the weeds; they were warned that in doing so they would also root up the wheat, and told them both to grow together until the harvest. Patience goes hand in hand with welcome!
And the Lord’s inclusive ministry extends to how salvation works in our lives. The word salvation comes from a root meaning whole and complete, from which we derive the word holiness.
The Lord’s desire is that we be blessed, healed, healed in body, mind and spirit; it is truly a complete ministry that applies to all of you and to every part of you.
Friends, Jesus’ ministry is often summarized as “teaching, preaching and healing.” My prayer is that we continue His ministry in every possible way, extending our Sunday prayers as a church to our Tuesday prayers as a church. The service starts at 5:30 PM and usually lasts 30 to 40 minutes. You are invited to bring yourself and others to the Lord for healing; For those who wish, I pray with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil.
And everyone is invited to this service (as well as to others) – friends, neighbors, relatives, work colleagues. Bring these souls to the church in person or by name and we will pray for them in the Name of the Lord.
Exodus 15:26 “The Lord is my healer,” praise the Lord. Amen
Alan Neal is pastor of Zion Episcopal Church in Washington.
