Good Neighbor Policies
January 1, 2002
There goes the neighborhood. By now you've heard the news: Mister Rogers has recorded his last program after 30 years on public television. The show will continue in reruns, but Fred's announcement reminded me how much I miss our visits. When my daughters were preschool age, I welcomed the cardigan-clad Presbyterian minister to our home almost every day. Or more accurately, we were invited into his house and, by a short train trip through his living room wall, into the Neighborhood of Make Believe. There I found that, thanks to puppets King Friday and Prince Tuesday, the message of Sunday was enacted all week long for a petit flock led by a serene shepherd in gym shoes. In fact, looking back, I can say that (almost) everything I needed to know about pastoring I learned in that pre-kindergarten. Mr. Rogers taught me much about life in my own neighborhood—er, congregation. "It's you I like"
Mr. Rogers always reminded his viewers that he likes them just the way they are. It was something his Grandfather McFeeley used to say. While other family members discussed young Fred's introverted nature, his praise-worthy qualities were celebrated by someone he esteemed. I needed that reminder in my first church. Early on, a few vocal critics challenged my adequacy as a spiritual shepherd. It was painful. I didn't feel loveable or loved. But when I heard Mr. Rogers telling my daughters "I like you just the way you are," it felt good—to them and to me. People could like me, just the way I was. Mr. Rogers said so. I began to take the power of affirmation more seriously. As hard as it was, I determined to focus on the positive qualities of my detractors. If the puppet-residents of Make Believe could find something likeable in the wicked, self-centered, ...
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