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

A fantastic tale of Mister Rogers. I figured it would probably be a fluff piece about how we should be kind to each other and not preach religion. I was glad to learn I was wrong. Amy Hollingsworth is a preacher's wife, raised Catholic, but her husband is a Protestant (Pentacostal I think but I haven't been able to confirm that) pastor.

Mister Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister. His parents assumed he'd go to seminary, so he did, but was called by God to children's television and not the pulpit. He tried to the get the American Presbyterian Church to ordain him a pastor without a parish and assign him to children's television, possibly producing content for the denomination's Sunday Schools, but they did not. Eventually he did show more finish his studies whilst working on Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but he never did pastor a congregation.

I really appreciated how Fred Rogers was able to over the course of like three years of correspondence with Hollingsworth really show love to her and really introduce Christ to her in a way that even a Cradle Catholic Preacher's wife hadn't known.

I've heard the story of seeing people hit in the face with pies on T.V. leading Fred to feel he had to get involved to ensure such a powerful medium was used for betterment of humankind, and not such demeaningness. However I was most touched by his description of the Holy Spirit working between the T.V. and the television neighbor to comfort them and tell them exactly what they needed to hear. More than once, he described a way a viewer, kid or parent, described how when he said such-and-such on such-and-such episode and how it changed their life, yet he wouldn't remember ever having said that, and went back and verified it was never in the script, but God found a way regardless.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to believers in a time when many in The West are lost, both in and out of the Church. show less

I just finished The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth. Beautiful, beautiful book. Part of it is just because of the subject. Who doesn't love Mister Rogers? But it's not just that. Amy has an amazing way with words that makes her one of the best writers I've ever read. I'll even forgive her for me crying all through the book. (A warning would have been nice, though.:-P)

If you haven't read this yet, walk, don't run (because Mister Rogers was never in a hurry) to the bookstore or library and pick up a copy.

4.0 This is a great little book, perhaps most because it illuminates the simple ways in which Mr. Rogers loved his neighbor as himself. His simple approach, so wholesome and genuine, is sorely missing in our world today.

I've been looking for small ways to integrate peace and comfort into my life. As well as how to leave people better than I found them. It sounds like an easy task, but with so much turmoil and hate in the world - it's more than easy to let that take over your thoughts - or even to just ignore it and only focus on yourself. One of the ideas mentioned in this book is to realize everyone is your neighbor, everyone is special, and there is no one else like you or like your neighbor and there never will be again. I think that's a lovely sentiment. One of the statements they make over and over in this book is - once you realize that everyone is your neighbor, you can either accuse them or advocate for them - and wouldn't be beautiful if show more everyone advocated for one other. I just find that so comforting. In a world in which we are quick to judge and focused so much on ourselves - it's nice to stop and consider how are actions affect those around us. What an impact we could have on others if we decided to love, acknowledge and yes, advocate for one another. show less

Great subject matter well written. The blend of short anecdotes, quotes, and longer explanation of key points flowed together nicely and kept my interest. I didn't realize Mr Rogers was such a great guy. The lessons within are a great mix of internally facing and externally facing practices that work well together. For me the ideas are relatively novel as well when compared to Buddhist or non theist philosophical books.

Will you be my neighbor? This is really a beautiful book. This is less a biography more a journal detailing the relationship between one person with Mister Rogers.

Mister Rogers was an ordained minister. He really live the quote "Tell the gospel. If necessary, use words." Never did Mister Rogers preach with words of hail and brimstone ... his way of life spoke volumes.

I loved the legend of someone stealing his car. Is it true? Mister Rogers left some of his signature puppets in the backseat and the thief returned the car with a note say "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have stolen it if it was YOUR car."

The club nor the lojack will stop people from stealing cars. Connecting with someone in such a profound level will. Connection: it can change the show more world show less

I listened to the Audiobook which begins with an interview of the author on the 10th anniversary of the book. The interview was good and helpful. Unfortunately, the author reads the audiobook herself, which is usually not a good thing (with the exception of a very few authors like Neil Gaiman) and in this case, it wasn't a good idea. Nevertheless, the book, which mostly consists of personal anecdotes of interactions between the author and Mr. Rogers, was of value and interesting. It also contains quotes from Mr. Rogers out of letters they exchanged over the years. The author was a longtime friend of Fred Rogers, so the content of the book enlightens us about some of the more spiritual aspects of his life and is of value. In this case, show more reading the book might be better than listening to it. show less