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| The Rev. Fred Rogers |
It was Leo Durocher who famously claimed, "Nice guys finish last." But not always. The
Huffington Post recently posted an article entitled, "
The Presence of God in Fred Rogers' Life and Work," by Eliot Daley, a colleague of the Rev.
Fred Rogers (1928-2003). Rogers was, of course, the creator and the host of "
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," the popular younger children's program that first aired in 1968. Rogers was a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an ordained Presbyterian minister who used the show to convey God's love and grace to his young audience. Daley writes,
As for the agenda of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, it was deeply resonant with the agenda God offers us as co-creators of our life and world, and with the comfort of being held in good hands. First and always was the affirmation of unconditional love: “I like you just the way you are” is what every child heard from Fred every single day. That’s a message any of us would welcome hearing ourselves.
Rogers didn't talk about God or use the show as a tool for overt evangelism, but he did obviously use it as a channel for divine grace in an effective and interesting way. "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" is, thus, Christian "
edutainment" as its best and provides one model for sharing grace and peace with our neighbors. We might call it a channel for the work of the Spirit. And Fred Rogers was one genuinely nice guy who finished first.
