The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor

by Amy Hollingsworth

“It seems to me, though,” Fred continued in response to my question, “that our world needs more time to wonder and to reflect about what is inside, and if we take time we can often go much deeper as far as our spiritual life is concerned than we can if there’s constant distraction.

Perhaps that was the essence of his success: He was a television icon who avoided the “constant distraction” of television. Instead, he opted to read.

He taught me that taking one’s time, especially in relationships, allows the other person to know he or she is worth the time.

If we can learn to wait through the “natural silences” of life, he liked to say, we will be surprised by what awaits us on the other side.

“And finally we offer our strengths and our weaknesses, our joys and our sorrows to Your never-ending care. Help us to remember all through our lives that we never need to do difficult things alone, that Your presence is simply for the asking and our ultimate future is assured by Your unselfish love. In our deepest gratitude we offer this prayer. Amen.”

So perhaps the philosophers and politicians and poets are wrong; perhaps prayer isn’t a crutch or an old man’s bauble. Maybe it’s a necessity for both the strongest and the weakest among us.

Prayer is not only a daily discipline that deepens our relationship with God; it also provides a way for us to be together in our aloneness.

What is offered in faith by one person can be translated by the Holy Spirit into what the other person needs to hear and see. The space between them is holy ground, and the Holy Spirit uses that space in ways that not only translate, but transcend.

Fred’s intention was never to impose his beliefs on his viewers. Instead, he wanted to create an atmosphere, one that would allow viewers to feel safe and accepted. And that’s what Lauren felt. Once the viewers experienced that unconditional acceptance, Fred reasoned, they could grow from there. And that’s what Lauren did. Fred sometimes referred to his program as “tending soil.” His role was to provide the soil, and he relied on the Holy Spirit to turn it into holy ground.

Fred rightly reasoned that if we accept ourselves we are better equipped to accept our neighbor. So accepting ourselves is always the starting point to something greater—a deeper maturity, a deeper walk with the Lord, and ultimately, a greater acceptance and understanding of our neighbor. This is the first of the toast sticks for the eyes: How we see ourselves affects how we see others.