Mark Shriver Shares Message of Love in Action at Saint John's

On Wednesday, April 3, and Thursday, April 4, Mark Kennedy Shriver visited Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury to promote the message of his new book and to open a dialogue with students. In an event that was open to the public, Mr. Shriver spoke to an audience of more than 800, after which he hosted a book signing. Mr. Shriver returned to Saint John's on Thursday to engage with the students in a smaller setting.

Shriver recently authored A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, through which he uses the example of his famous father to emphasize the vital role of faith and unconditional love in dealing with both the joys and the challenges of modern family life. It was around this book and his father’s legacy that Mark focused his talk. As the son of Sargent Shriver, first director of the Peace Corps and advisor to presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder and director of the Special Olympics, Mark referenced the balance that his family has had to strike between working hard in the public eye and maintaining a solid sense of family and faith.

After his father’s passing, Mark and his family kept hearing from dignitaries, friends, and strangers that his father Sargent was “a good man.” “I learned through the repetition of that phrase,” he shared, “that it meant something different than ‘great man.’” The earnest words of the ‘ordinary’ people – the waitresses who served his father, the garbage man who shook Mark’s hand days after his father’s death – held more weight for him than all of the foreign luminaries, famous figures, and powerful politicians. They showed for him that his father left a legacy of love that impacted individuals in his neighborhood and around the world.

Mr. Shriver reflected that his father was “unwavering in his commitment to creating systemic change,” and he is forever in awe of how tirelessly his father worked for the marginalized of society. It is this torch that “Sarge’s” son has taken up though his work with Save the Children, where he is currently the Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the CEO. Mr. Shriver also founded the Choice Program, which serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling. As he reflected on during both his lecture and the discussions that followed, Mark's commitment to serving the underserved and aiding children who have been affected by disasters is a direct result of the example his parents set for him.

Mr. Shriver’s talk entitled “Faith, Hope, and Love in Action” touched on his book and the ways in which his upbringing instilled in him the values of faith and giving of oneself to others, which echoed poignantly for the Saint John’s community that filled the Coaches Pavilion. He shared with the audience many personal anecdotes and memories of how his parents’ love for him and his siblings was unwavering, and the ways in which he rediscovers their legacy in the people whose lives they touched daily.

During the program, Mr. Shriver opened a dialogue with several Saint John’s students, and the following day returned to the school for a relaxed and informal discussion with a group of students. Several of the students recently participated in a service trip to the BeLikeBrit orphanage in Haiti, and many others will be attending similar trips in the U.S. over spring break. The open dialogue, driven by the students, ranged from pursuing justice in society and maintaining relationships to the Special Olympics and the effectiveness of governments and nonprofit organizations around the world in accomplishing their objectives. Shriver challenged those present to act on what they steadfastly believe, and cautioned that “action without contemplation is incomplete, as is contemplation without any sort of action.”

Mark Shriver’s earnest message of faith, hope, and love was simple and powerful, and reflects the goals of the Saint John’s educational mission. The Abdella Center for Ethics was established at Saint John's in 2003 by Hon. Charles A. Abdella ’60. The annual lecture series complements the “whole person” education in Saint John’s academics and extra-curricular activities by exploring the role that ethical questions play in all aspects of modern life.

Saint John’s has made a continuous effort to provide diverse and noteworthy lectures and programs for its students through the Abdella Center for Ethics Lecture Series. Earlier this year, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright addressed over 1,000 guests on the topic of “The Courage to Listen: Maintaining Civility in Discourse, Discussion, and Decision-Making in the Years Ahead.” Other former speakers include Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Dr. Paul Farmer, and Harvard Professor Michael Sandel. Mark Shriver’s lecture is the Abdella Center’s tenth installment.