And then there were eight. Through your voting and politicking and advocating and agonizing, we have collectively whittled down the field of 32 saints to a mere eight as we continue our march to the 2013 Golden Halo. Welcome to the Round of the Elate Eight, aka the Round of Saintly Kitsch.
Here are the match-ups for the rest of the week: today it's modern Civil Rights martyr Jonathan Daniels vs. the 2013 Lent Madness Cinderella, Frances Perkins. Wednesday: Florence Li Tim-Oi vs. Oscar Romero. Thursday: Harriet Tubman vs. Hilda of Whitby. Friday: Luke the Evangelist vs. Dorothy Day (who defeated Benedict yesterday). Good luck with that. With all of these match-ups, if you need a refresher on these saints beyond the kitsch, simply click on the Bracket 2013 link and scroll down -- you'll find hyperlinks to all of the previous battles listed by round.
Jonathan made it to this point by defeating Macrina the Younger and Janani Luwum while Frances earned her spot in the Elate Eight by overcoming Damien of Molokai and Martin Luther King, Jr. One intriguing thing about this particular match-up is that both have New England roots and Massachusetts connections. Daniels hails from Keene, New Hampshire, while Perkins is from Newcastle, Maine. Daniels attended Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge while Perkins is an alum of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. However, as far as Tim knows, neither one ever stepped foot in Hingham.
Last year the Supreme Executive Committee responded to those who didn't appreciate our kitsch in a post titled Kitsch Cranks. Sure, it's a bit snarky but it's a pretty good statement about where we stand on the issue. If there's anything we'd do differently, it would be to title it "Kitsch Kranks" because the "K's" form a better visual. Alas.
And finally, if you missed yesterday's Monday Madness video, Tim and Scott talk kitsch and even suffer through a certain holy "interruption." Oh, and like us on Facebook -- the Surgeon General insists it's good for your mental health.
Jonathan Daniels
From a series of exhaustive searches through the seedy underbelly of the internet that is Etsy and Pinterest, one might conclude that the Lent Madness kitsch cause for Jonathan Daniels is lost. In fact, Zazzle, that monumental edifice to internet kitsch, the site which is dedicated to the proposition that your cat, Mr. Biggles, is not only worthy of her own iPhone case – but that other people want to buy it – returns no results!
One might begin to think hope is lost. But lo, out of darkness, a light breaks from Jonathan Daniels Elementary
School in Keene, NH. On the walls of the school hangs a very brightly colored mosaic of the school’s namesake, no doubt lovingly crafted by its students. (According to a story from the Keene Sentinel – unfortunately located behind an internet paywall - one student at the school has proposed the building of a museum dedicated to Daniels – a worthy cause indeed, and worth the Lent Madness public rallying around, if it is indeed still in the works.)
While there isn’t much kitsch for Daniels personally, various aspects of his life are very well represented in the kitsch-o-verse. In what is either a deep act of homage or a statement of extreme passive-aggressive feelings towards the Granite State, one may buy this lovely cutting board of Daniels’ home state.
If framed NH-themed art is more of your thing, I suggest this stunning image, entitled “Moose in the Moonlight.” For the record, we have no idea whether Daniels had a pet moose as a child. (You can also find various Moose-Themed Coffee Mugs, but we wouldn’t dare undercut mug sales over at the Lent Madness “Lentorium.”)
College kitsch is, of course, relatively easy to procure. Daniels’ alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, offers this one-
of-a-kind “We’re Number One” flashlight keychain. When looking at a “left-handed” version of the keychain, we note it looks much like Daniels’ home state of New Hampshire – no doubt in homage to one of VMI’s most distinguished graduates.
Perhaps one of the most common threads in New Hampshire kitsch – from the state’s license plates, to trucker hats with bears, and everything in between – is a devotion to the state’s motto: “Live Free or Die.” That seems to be the right note on which to end: Jonathan Daniels ultimately gave his life in the service of God, and of that ideal – that all of God’s children should enjoy equal rights and freedoms given to them for the service and glory of Jesus Christ.
-- David Sibley
Frances Perkins
For a Celebrity Blogger, the Elate Eight round is fraught with fear. What if there IS NO SAINTLY KITSCH? After all, Frances Perkins was a serious woman who took her faith and her public service seriously.
Q: How many kitschy items could there possibly be for Secretary Perkins?
A: A fair few.
First, to help children learn about heroes of history, there is the “Color Me Perkins” coloring sheet. You can download it here.
To help you start your day, there’s the Frances Perkins mug. Available for $12.95, it’s “the perfect gift for the coffee and tea drinkin' feminists in your life.”
Let’s say you’ve put the finishing touches on the most influential legislation of the 21st century and would like to send it off with a friendly handwritten note to the Congressional leadership, you could not go wrong with a Frances Perkins notecard.
There is also a Frances Perkins cartoon by Michael 
McLean at Mini Dove Comics and, for the more serious among us, a lovely poster.
But the mother-perkins-lode may be found on the Mount Holyoke College website where some good soul has gathered no fewer than 57 (57!) examples of First Day Covers (FDC) of the Frances Perkins postage stamp issued to commemorate her 100th birthday on April 10, 1980.
Having studied all 57, I can assure you that not all FDC art is created equal. Here are two of my favorites. The first makes
her look like she’s playing Mel Gibson’s mother in “The Patriot,” and the second, besides being a little goofy, gets her birth year wrong.
To see them all, click here.
“But these commemorations are all secular!” some may say. “What do they have to do with serving God?”
When Frances Perkins said, “I came to Washington to serve God, FDR, and millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen,” she demonstrated by her life and work that there is no secular world. It all belongs to God.
-- Heidi Shott
Vote!
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118 comments on “Jonathan Daniels vs. Frances Perkins”
The closest I ever get to suffering for the sake of the Gospel is getting up at 6 AM every Sunday morning, and while I am sure God loves me anyway, I know real martyrs are in a different league altogether. Daniels gets my vote.
This is a very hard day. I will have to wait until later in the day as I continue to ponder, can I vote for both?? Please!!!
If you vote for neither, it's the same as voting for both, in a way.
Live free or die.
Frances did great work, but did she ever face the business end of a firearm--whether or not it was fired?
Jonathan DANIELS......I think there might be some big money on Frances....Lets hope that the point spread is not enough to carry Frances..The Holy Fool goes with Jonathan Daniels.
"There is no secular world...it all belongs to God." Wow. Words for any civil servant to live by. Heidi, I will vote for you for anything good. As for today's match, it has to be Francis: she was smart and able and willing to let others take the credit for her work just so good could be accomplished. That's something we could use more of in both church and state these days.
Barbara - where were you in 1979 when I lost the run-off election for student council at Holland Patent High School?
Srsly, though, remember this isn't about the SEC, the CBs, or the spectacularity of the kitsch, it's about choosing a saint who moves you most and spurs you on "to run the race with endurance set before us." That choice may be different for each of us, and even at different in various points in life a certain saint may whisper more intently in our ear. As the Canon for Social Justice in the Diocese of Maine, I hear the whisper of Frances, who also walked the main street of my little town every summer of her life, most clearly today.
It doesn't mean I didn't tear up when I read JD's first bio a few weeks ago while sitting in my car drinking coffee outside the Wiscasset Irving station.
“There is no secular world…it all belongs to God.” Our traditional prayer endings all translate (and in different ways) the Latin (and equivalent Greek) assertion that God lives and reigns 'per omnia saecula saeculorum' and any good English dictionary will show that this is still the primary meaning of secular -- NOT ''ungodly', 'but 'in the world', which, of course belongs to God, even if we sometimes choose to ignore that.
OK, I grant that it has become common, probably under the influence of so-called secular humanism, to use the word that way and it is probably a lost cause, but misusing perfectly good words is a pet peeve of mine, so forgive me if I am venting too much. Yes, I know perfectly well that words do change meanings, and often this enriches the language, but here I think we are creating precisely that barrier between God and the world that FP sought to overcome.
I love Frances Perkins, but c'mon people -- Daniels literally put himself in the line of fire and DIED in order to save the life of one of God's children! Vote for martyred Jonathan Daniels!!
At 14, the Civil Rights movement and New England's contributions to it made a huge impact on me. I wanted to be a Freedom Rider, wanted to register voters, anything, but my parents prevailed, perhaps wisely. And we have family friends - the Myricks of New Hampshire - who must be related in some way. So my vote is going to Jonathan. But oh, it was a tough choice, for in my college years and ever since, I have been inspired by those who work for the betterment of all people. Frances Perkins is also a hero to me, even when I was not Episcopalian. Something tells me, it's going to get tougher as the days go by.
Although I grew up in Fairfield, VA, just 12 miles north of Lexington, where VMI is located, and enjoyed dating several different cadets during my college years (at Madison College, which is now James Madison University), I have read and reread the bios of Jonathan and Frances and am now prepared to vote--for Frances. I admire Jonathan, but revere Frances for her service to God and humanity.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Must decide between giants of faith and action, character and amazing witness. With heavy heart that I cannot vote for both, I stand with Jonathan today, and pray that his staring down the barrel of a gun gives strength and hope to all who are unprotected by the violence and hatred still rampant in the world.
I'm relieved to find that our beloved and revered NH martyr isn't entirely kitsch-less!
In addition to the school there's another building, very non-kitschy, named for Jonathan: The Daniels Building, the annex of his home parish St. James's, Keene, which houses community nonprofits and more. Also there's an official State of NH historical marker commemorating Jonathan on the church grounds.
The state's Historical Society frequently issues bobblehead dolls (Gen. John Stark, who uttered "Live Free or Die," Sarah Josepha Hale, Pres. Franklin Pierce, the Chinook--state dog breed, astronaut Alan Shephard, "Peyton Place" author Grace Metalious).
A pity there is as yet no Jonathan Daniels bobblehead available. Perhaps his inclusion in the Elate Eight will spur action on this front.
I'm forever grateful to him for promoting the "freedom" part of our state's motto.
One set of my grandparents knew and worked with Frances Perkins. There's a huge courage needed to get through the toils of everyday life, especially when so many people around you denigrate you or what you believe in, try to stop you and tear you down, even if you don't get shot for it. I admire J. Daniels and this was a tough call, but I'm going with Frances.
FP for the major kitcsch win!
This is going to be such a tight race. At least, I hope it will. Either outcome is fine with me.
Personally, I think the kitsch is fun, but I don't think it should influence anybody's vote. Like...who has the best bobble head just shouldn't matter, except in the world of bobble heads, right?
Bless my ex-Catholic heart! A kitsch competition is the best way to choose a Saint ever!
I have been inspired by Daniels since my becoming a Rat at VMI. I had to vote for him whether other cadets and alumni do or not. I am so happy more people are getting to know about him. I hope his legacy grows.
Really tough call, and yet I did not hesitate when voting. A life cut short is a powerful witness to faith, but few of us are offered the crown of martyrdom. My vote goes to Frances, who served in ordinary times as described by Milton in "Paradise Lost": "So shall the world go on: to good malignant, to bad men benign."
PS: In a post-modern world such as ours, kitsch is a wonderful meeting-ground for people of all faiths and none, so it opens up opportunities for random acts of evangelism. Think of it as the weed-strewn back 40 of your mission field!
Last year I crocheted 2 Mary Magdalene figures (finger puppet sized) and mailed one to each of the SEC to start a Golden Halo Hall of Fame. (I did 2 because I did not want to give the SEC any more fodder for their ongoing battles - lesson learned by raising 2 boys.) So at this point in the bracket I depend on the kitsch to plan my designs for this year's Golden Halo winner. Modern saints are more challenging to crochet than the flowing robes of saints in the past. So it is Frances for me - I want to crochet a little hat. Besides, I love the quote: “There is no secular world…it all belongs to God.”
Seriously? How is this even close? Jonathan Daniels!
This is the hardest day for me. My parents' seminary friend and co-traveller to Selma (my mom's last work was to get General Convention to consider Jon for the calendar, in 1991), or my personal hero Frances, who actually tackled structural roots of poverty on a mass scale. Lent Madness, I shake my fist at you!
By the way, great job, bloggers, for finding saintly kitsch for two New England Yankees. That's a feat! Would have been so much easier if we still had half-mythical Diocletian martyrs in the running, but you guys stepped up nonetheless.
I cannot do anything but vote for Jonathan Daniels. I agree whole heatedly with Sister Winifred! Plus he paved the way for the success of Francis. IMHO!
FrancEs belonged to a generation or two before Jonathan. How did he pave her way?
Yeah, I noticed that too. Thanks for bringing it up.
I am wildly conflicted on the whole kitsch thing (last year, reactions from "Gotta have!" to "Abomination!") so I appreciate the refresher links to the more serious material. I thought both these write-ups were excellent - the perfect LM blend of madness and meaning. And of course both contenders are spectacular examples of lived faith.
I'm giving my vote to David and Jonathan (!) today, for Jonathan's witness and for David's reminder of the important theological principles of "via negativa" (if kitschians are speechless before Jonathan Daniels...I'm good with that) and "creatio ex nihilo" (well done, good Sir - talk about making something out of nothing!).
Also I loved the kids' mural. Beautiful! : )
Mosaics rock! well, this one does, at least. My guy is Jonathan Daniels, kitsch or no kitsch!
I was going to vote for Daniels; his physical martyrdom moves my heart. But Francis is, I think, largely forgotten and did so much to secure some tiny measure of dignity for people. So, I've decided to vote for her to make it a more even contest.
Today's gonna be a close one. I've been with Frances Perkins all throughout Lent Madness, and I'm with her now. "There is no secular world...it all belongs to God." Don't we need more of that thinking? "I came to Washington to serve God, FDR and millions of forgotten, plain, common workingmen." And I feel these forgotten, plain, common workingmen were/are the backbone of our country and built it from the wilderness that it was. Now, I come from a family that were NOT supporters of FDR, but I've been a forgotten, plain, common, stepped-upon, kicked-to-the-curb workingwoman, and Frances had the strength to stand up for little ole me. Besides, I always did love Lobster!
Daniels was also a friend of a VMI grad friend of mine. I know that Perkins had a career that helped so many, but in his short life and tragic martyrdom, Daniels demonstrated a capacity that may have led to similar results. Gotta go with D!
Props to David Sibley for making the best of a bad kitsch situation!
I see that Prof. Michael Magazine [I am not making that up] of The U of Cincinnati is teaching a business course this semester called Bracketology, where students spend the semester "trying to make sense of ...the art of filling out a NCAA tournament bracket." I hope Prof. Magazine [IANMTU] has included the Lent Madness Bracket, which would add clarity to an otherwise difficult and perplexing task. One wonders if any kitsch is involved in that class.
I have read most of these posts and agree that this is the most difficult decision to make. Like many of you I wish we could vote for both, but my vote will be for Frances. As a Mainer, I learned a great deal about this lady who until Lent Madness I had not heard of. I went on the website and found out more about her and plan on taking a day trip to The Frances Perkins Center. Thank you to Heidi for sharing so much about a lady that worked silently and hard to help many people.
Once again, martyrdom is being trumped by New Deal politics. Unutterably sad.