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

by Amy Hollingsworth

Fred Rogers and his gentle care of children seemed to embody the words credited to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

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

The thing Fred Rogers shouted the loudest was silence.

“Just think. Just be quiet and think,” he said softly. “It’d make all the difference in the world.”

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.

He not only committed to reserving judgment, but he also opened himself up to the mystery of holy ground.

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.

And I just marvel at the strength of the human spirit to be able to come through real adversity, and many, many people will tell us that it was their faith that allowed them to watch us and know that there could be hope in growing up.

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.

Once the viewers experienced that unconditional acceptance, Fred reasoned, they could grow from there.

Fred sometimes referred to his program as “tending soil.” His role was to provide the soil, and he relied on the Holy S...

I don’t think of myself as somebody who’s famous. I’m just a neighbor who comes and visits children; [I] happen to be on television. But I’ve always been myself. I never took a course in acting. I just figured that the best gift you could offer anybody is your honest self, and that’s what I’ve done for lots of years. And thanks for accepting me exactly as I am.

It’s one of the important parts of the Neighborhood, knowing that feelings are all right. You know, that you don’t have to hide them and that there are ways that you can say how you feel that aren’t going to hurt you or anybody else. If there were a legacy that I would hope for the Neighborhood passing on, that’s certainly one of them.

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.

How we see ourselves affects how we see others.

Fred summed it up this way: “To be able to be accepted for who we are and to be able to grow from there is one of the great treasures of life.”

What people saw in Fred Rogers made them want to be better people,