The unshakable faith of Ms. Rachel

Accurso has pursued the desire to serve throughout her life, volunteering at a hospice for a year, assisting at a soup kitchen, and joining Big Brothers and Big Sisters during her adolescence. She even considered going to seminary before deciding on a career in teaching.

An ethos of service was present throughout Accurso's upbringing. Though neither Accurso nor her mother is Catholic, Accurso's mother was deeply devoted to Mother Teresa.

"My mom is a social worker, and she had written a letter to Mother Teresa about how passionate she was serving the poor, and that she felt like it was a calling. Mother wrote her back, thanking her for serving, and that letter was on the wall while I was growing up."

Citing Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. as inspiration, Accurso referenced how important prayer was in those early years of grappling with her vocation and her desire to serve.

"I love to pray. I could pray for eight hours a day; I love being with God," she reflected. "Every day I ask how I can best serve God: What should I say? What should I do? My faith has really helped guide me as the show has become more popular. It grounds me."

Even after fame, she has relied on prayer to steady her during times of backlash or challenge.

"I was praying once, and I felt like I was getting the message that I wasn't here to be the most loved or the most liked. I'm here to help kids, and I am here to serve God. And that's okay."

After arriving in New York City, Accurso met her husband, Aron, at a Unitarian Church (both were raised in the Unitarian tradition). Even back then, she was thinking about how best to serve children, selecting that particular church due to its attached preschool.

Mr. Aron, as he is known on the Ms. Rachel channel, made an appearance on our call as we were discussing favorite hymns and praise and worship songs. A fitting intervention, since many of the musical numbers on the show are crafted by Aron, himself a Broadway composer.

Accurso shared with me that some of her favorite worship songs, among many others, are tunes Catholics will find familiar: "Be Thou My Vision" and "What Wondrous Love Is This?" One, a prayer for God to be at the center of one's life and surrender to God as the ultimate treasure. The other, a meditation on the immense love of Christ. Over the course of our conversation, it became clear to me that those two pillars are part of what animates Accurso's faith.

Accurso is also motivated by the 25th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, wherein Jesus outlines that the way to get to heaven is to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the ill and visit the imprisoned.

"The idea that Jesus was present with 'the least of these' and that in serving them, you served him? That just made sense to me."

It is from these pillars — and the joy she draws from children — that Accurso has turned her immense platform into one of passionate, unapologetic advocacy for children on every level.

"Serving others in need, tirelessly," she quickly responded when asked about where she finds her joy. "Listening to children, following their lead and being present with God through being present with them," she added.

Accurso has been an advocate for inclusivity, civility and acceptance from day one. 

Even growing up, she questioned her mother on how such injustice could exist in the world, especially directed toward children.

"As a kid, I always would ask my mom, why don't kids have food?"

Her show has included LGBTQ+ singers and educators, and she has consistently shared videos celebrating members of the LGBTQ+ community. When faced with backlash to this, Accurso cited the Gospel: "It doesn't say, 'Love every neighbor, except.' "

Accurso cited the Gospel imperative to "love your neighbor as yourself" as one of the reasons behind her advocacy for children in conflict zones around the world.

She has advocated for children affected by the Israeli war in Gaza, children without food and shelter in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children in Ukraine, and most recently children in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention camps in the United States. She is an official ambassador for Save the Children and is partnering with a Sudanese nonprofit to build a children's community learning center in the country. She uses her Cameo account to record videos for little ones, donating all the money to the Save the Children Emergency Fund.

"Sometimes I will reflect on the question: 'Where is the worst place in the world to be a child?' I feel very called to help the children wherever that might be."

"I love children so much — they are beloved by God, precious and sacred and I just cannot understand why they are so mistreated, and there is no accountability for the violation of their rights."

Accurso endures an immense amount of social media trolling and backlash for her advocacy, particularly for Gaza, with many labeling her advocacy for children as "antisemitic" and levying unproven accusations about her credibility and funding.

Her recent appearance on Capitol Hill to personally deliver letters from children in ICE detention centers has similarly drawn the ire of some social media users who have labeled Accurso as political.

Undeterred, Accurso is unafraid to charge into some of the most hopeless and fraught situations, crediting peace and hope as gifts from God.

"When I'm down, I seek 'the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding' [Philippians 4:7] and pray that I receive that peace. I hold on to hope because we have to hold on to hope for others. If I was a child experiencing injustice I would be sad if people gave up hope that my situation could not change."

"Hope is fuel that helps us keep working towards change."

Accurso sees her platform as a privilege, and thus advocacy an imperative. 

"I would think about myself and my children, and try and picture, what if that was me going through that?" Accurso reflected on the humanitarian crises in Gaza, Sudan, ICE detention facilities and beyond.

"What would I want a Ms. Rachel type person — with a platform and the ability to reach a lot of people — to do? And how can I not do it? I felt compelled: I have to say something."

"The kids gave me this platform. They chose me. How could I not use it to help them?"

As our time together was nearing its conclusion, I asked Accurso how she continues to move forward with such joy and hope in spite of the horrors of the world, horrors that she is exposed to on a daily basis as a result of her activism.

In response, Accurso surprised me by debuting a brand new song: "Unconditional Love," which she said came to her while holding her daughter, Susie. The first verse goes like this:

Whatever you decide to do, I'll be here to cheer you on.
And it's OK to make mistakes, I'll be here when things are going well. 
And when they're not ...
Unconditional love. That's my love for you.
There's no conditions, my love.

I was moved to tears as Accurso was singing, picturing the days I used to rock my firstborn daughter to sleep just hours after writing about some terrible tragedy, wondering how to help her navigate a divided, suffering world.

Accurso, gracious as ever, had advice for that, too.

"We need to hold on to hope for the children's sake, because they are struggling," she stated. "But God is able to move mountains. God is more powerful than these mountains of hate and hurt out there. And the love of God is unconditional."

"So we can make a difference by serving others with that unconditional love. And applying it to ourselves too!"

She paused. 

"On my wedding ring, it says: 'How would love respond to this situation?' That's usually my answer."

To that, I would say: Love would respond however Ms. Rachel would.