On Feb. 4, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will come together for our annual Day of Giving—a community-wide moment of generosity that strengthens our shared mission. Every gift, no matter the size, helps form faithful leaders, support faculty and programs, and extend PTS’s witness into the world.
I’m a 2008 PTS alumni and I’ve been utilizing the continuing education program ever since. I hope that you will join me in donating to that program or another that touches your heart.
Mr. Rogers attended TPS too! I’m highly motivated to get enough donors/donations to earn a Mr. Rogers style cardigan!!! Use this link to help me with my goal: https://www.givecampus.com/s/n0dfq9
#GivePTS26 #PTS #continuingeducation #MrRogers #cardigan
Here are a few things I’ve written inspired by Mr. Rogers so you know how much I want to earn that cardigan:
Co-Creating a Beautiful Neighborhood The piece interprets Rogers’ message as a moral call for dignity, love, and mutual care — extending the idea of a neighborhood into how people support one another in the real world. It was written for the SEIU Healthcare Prayer Vigil on January 31, 2026 at the Fred Rogers Memorial on the North Shore. This link will take you to a video of the Vigil: Nurses and healthcare workers are holding a vigil honoring the life and death of Veteran’s Affairs nurse Alex Pretti and other victims of ICE brutality, and calling for our neighbors, community, and country to come together and embrace our shared humanity.
Psalm 82 The neighborhood Rogers envisioned — a place where neighbors are honored and helped — mirrors the kingdom of God and calls readers to pursue justice and care for all people.
Be A Good Neighbor The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) hosts a volunteer day where students serve the community in places like Third Church where I hosted a Days for Girls Event for them. Be A Good Neighbor Day is meant to honor Pittsburgh’s friendly neighbor, Mr. Rogers, near his birthday, March 20th. Mr. Rogers has left a legacy of love in Pittsburgh. I hope that Be A Good Neighbor Day helps non-Pittsburgh-native students understand a little of what it means to love your neighbor just the way they are, like Mr. Rogers did, like Jesus calls us all to do.
Quality Control as Love for Neighbor Who is our neighbor? Every Girl. Every Where. Period. (The Days for Girls tag line). While I don’t explicitly mention Mr. Rogers, he certainly influenced this piece as did a few continuing education opportunities I had with Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. This was written near the beginning of my work with DfG and the links in the article reflect a time when I was still working out how to give a DfG sermon/mission minute in churches. Since then, my Period Sermon has improved and I’ve come up with ways for Churches to embrace being period positive.
Fred Rogers attended Rollins College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was ordained at Third Presbyterian Church to a special television ministry, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. I watched his program as a child and I stood in the places he stood as an adult… literally… I went to PTS and was ordained in the same church as Mr. Rogers. I later visited Rollins College for a continuing education conference (picture on the right). The picture on the left was from the library remodel at PTS. The library now includes a Mr. Rogers room for children.
I’m highly motivated to get enough donors/donations for the PTS Day of Giving February 4th to earn a Mr. Rogers style cardigan!!! Use this link to help me with my goal: https://www.givecampus.com/s/n0dfq9
Period Pastor Pad 