Dateline: Commuter Stations Everywhere

Based on the overwhelming response to last year's Brackets to Go, it was decided to offer it again this year. You know, it's important to take the brackets to the people, rather than expecting the people to come to the brackets. Spreading the good news of Lent Madness at train stations 'round the world is just part of how we roll.

In the photo on the right, you'll notice that the bracketifer has even colored the train's map sign purple. It's another way of proclaiming Lent Madness to a world in search of voting direction.

People were, as you'd expect, moved by the experience. One recipient said, "With St. Chad of Lichfield in the bracket this year, I've been so worried about dimpled chads that I was afraid to print my own bracket," adding, "you've taken my fear away." Another person, named Martin, was thrilled, saying, "I'm so excited that the people of Lent Madness would seek out wandering souls like me, eager to make connections with first-round saints, such as Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin of Tours" In a flat rebuttal to those who think Brackets to Go is trite, Martin continued, "I will come to adult formation at the nearest Lent Madness parish, because I'm really confused about whether to vote for ML or MLK or MOT."

One clergy bracketifer shared her experience, "It was so moving to tenderly place the brackets into people's outstretched hands." Her lay assistant said, "Setting aside that egregious split infinitive, I agree. This was an amazing experience of providing reassurance that Lent Madness encompasses an inclusive array of saints, with at least one saint to which each person can connect." The bracketifer nodded in agreement, also impressed by the assistant's grammar.

The Supreme Executive Committee declined to issue a statement, seeking to empower the bracketifers, whether lay or clergy, to speak for themselves. Seeing an opening in the media limelight, another bracketifer contacted the reporter. "I don't understand why anyone would oppose this amazing experience of taking Lent Madness out of the interwebs and into the streets. Lent Madness is too important to keep to ourselves."

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NOTE: The SEC is having a bit of fun with the Ashes to Go media sensation. We're not mocking it, but rather riding the coattails of this internet meme. One member of the SEC has gone on record in support of Ashes to Go. So there.

As many Lent Madness fans will know, the whole thing is run by the modestly named Supreme Executive Committee. Composed of Tim and Scott, the SEC works tirelessly throughout the year to bring you Lent Madness. But there are sometimes grave challenges between these two, as they have mutually declared the other to be an archnemesis. This archrivalry began on their two blogs, Seven whole days and Clergy Family Confidential.

Anyway, because of their love of Lent Madness and you the global public, the SEC has agreed to set aside their differences for the Lenten season. Look for a (temporary) spirit of amity and cooperation.

Today both Tim and Scott have posted a notice on their respective blogs. Please go visit their blogs and leave comments of encouragement or derision. You are also welcome to take sides, if you so choose. But come Lent, let us all unite behind the banner of purple in the glow of the Golden Halo.

This rapprochement means Lent Madness can go on without melodrama inside the SEC. It also gives each of them about 47 days to scheme for advantage when the détente ends at the Great Vigil of Easter. For now, as we bury the alleluia on Shrove Tuesday, the SEC is burying the hatchet of enmity.

The anticipation is palpable. Lent Madness 2013 begins in just three days, on Ash Thursday. Go ahead and set your alarms now: the voting kicks off at 8 a.m. Eastern time on February 14, 2013.

Here's this week's episode of Monday Madness. If you love our new theme music, make sure you watch the "Making of" video.

While you wait, this would be a good time to go over your preparations. Now's when you should be ordering your Lent Madness 2013 mug (and a poster-sized bracket, too!). If this is your first time at Lent Madness, you might want to review Maple Anglican's excellent Voting 101 video.

Yesterday, we shared some Lent Madness buzz that we noticed on the interwebs. Today we thought we'd share the excitement that's building for Lent Madness in the form of Purple Fever. Make sure you tell all your friends to tune in on Ash Thursday (February 14) to vote in Lent Madness 2013!

Top Ten Signs of Purple Fever

10. People are eating purple food.

9. Large crowds are forming. We don't know if the guy in front is "blowing up the trumpet in Zion" per the Ash Wednesday readings, or trying to get the crowd to sing the Lent Madness theme music.

8. New York City is taking Purple Fever to the sky.

7. At least one member of the Supreme Executive Committee regularly uses a purple bridge.

6. People have started wearing purple hats to show their enthusiasm for Lent Madness. Others actually wear purple shirts.

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Around the globe, excitement is building as we approach the tip-off of Lent Madness 2013. We expect most sermons tomorrow will be about Lent Madness, so we're providing some fodder for you last-minute sermon writers. However, we do not encourage a reading from USA Today in lieu of the Gospel, as tempting as that might be. Here are some buzzing bits from around the interwebs.

On Thursday, hotel guests around the world had their breakfasts interrupted with a photo of the Supreme Executive Committee on the pages of USA Today, along with a pretty great article. Tip of the hat to Jim Naughton from the Episcopal Café for mentioning the story to the right people at the right time. We expect that, due to incredible Lent Madness fandom, everyone at the Episcopal Café is now sipping their coffee from Lent Madness mugs. They are a café, right?

In a more sober and inspiring vein, someone struggling mightily with disease has been looking to Lent Madness to provide her some joy in the weeks ahead. Out of respect for her privacy, we won't link to her journal, but we ask your prayers for her and for all those seeking hope. May Lent bring renewal to us all, and may Lent Madness bring joy.

We're glad to see some dioceses on the Lent Madness bandwagon. The dioceses of Newark, Arizona, Lexington, Washington, and Texas are on board. Perhaps we're most impressed by the Diocese of Hawai'i, which has Lent Madness front and center. Last year they got behind local hero Queen Emma, and she went all the way to the championship. This year, it looks like they're rallying behind Damien of Molokai, who has a firm connection to Hawai'i.

Last year, we thought it was cool when we appeared on the pages of the Washington Post, but we're more excited this year to appear on the pages of St. Paul's K Street monthly newsletter. Yep, you heard it right. Being Anglo-Catholic, how long can it be before they have Solemn Evensong and Benediction of the Golden Halo, or the until the choir leads the congregation in chanting of the Litany of Saints (In The Bracket)?

Minnesota is a big Lent Madness stronghold. We've heard from St. Clement's and St. Paul's on-the-Hill, both in St. Paul. Purple fever is strong there. You can see a photo from St. Paul's on-the-Hill on our Facebook page. Of course, it's not just Episcopalians who get Lent Madness, as evidenced by a certain Methodist congregation in the distant realms of Idaho. In the heartland, you'll find plenty of Lent Madness fans at St. Thomas, Overland Park, KS. Back east, you'll be able to have a big debate over the merits of various saints at coffee hour if you show up at Cunningham Chapel in Virginia.

Our own Celebrity Blogger is rocking both Lent Madness and clerical fashion, as evidenced by a photo and story on Kentucky.com. Laurie Brock is doing Lent Madness in style here on www.lentmadness.org, and also in her parish, St. Michael the Archangel, Lexington, KY.

We've been mentioned on a bunch of blogs, including RevRuth's Rantings, Building Faith, Fr. Jonathan's Blog, and Word and Table. In case you were wondering if we are really important, we've been labeled as an official Vital Practice. There are lots of others, so if we missed you, please leave a comment to alert our readers. We'll do another round of shout-outs in a bit.

Oh, and in crossover appeal, we're apparently popular with Detroit Tigers fans.

Last, but not least, we've received what we consider to be a celebrity endorsement. Barbara Crafton has gone on record about Lent Madness, saying, and we quote, "You guys are wacko."

After a brief hiatus for a bit of national media attention, Celebrity Blogger Week both continues and ends with the Rev. Adam Thomas. While not technically a Celebrity Blogger this year, Adam Thomas is a former CB (2012) who enjoys the lofty title of "Bracket Czar." Adam's one of the unsung heroes of Lent Madness who quietly goes about creating and updating brackets from his Czar-like lair.

The Rev. Adam Thomas, Lent Madness Bracket Czar, was a 2012 Celebrity Blogger (most closely identified with upstart Philander Chase) who has morphed into our keeper of the bracket. He is associate rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Cohasset, Massachusetts, which is about ten minutes away from the church of our illustrious leader, the Rev. Tim Schenck. Adam is the author of Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in the Virtual World (Abingdon 2011), which you should read since you are using the Internet right now and you are more than likely a Christian. Adam just celebrated his second wedding anniversary with his wife Leah, who is wonderful and lovely and every other good adjective you might think of. He is busy being married, serving God at his church, and writing a novel, which is winding its way through the editorial process right now. Check out his website WheretheWind.com, for nearly five years of content. You can fan Adam on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @RevAdamThomas.

How long have you been a CB? What do you like about doing this or what have you learned along the way?

Throughout the world, people are wondering how they will manage to wait until Ash Thursday. Just one week from today, Lent Madness 2013 kicks off on February 14, 2013. In an effort to serve our global audience, the Supreme Executive Committee hereby shares the Top 10 Ways to Pass the Longest Week of the Year.

10. Get your bracket for Lent Madness 2013. Print it out. Start picking your saints.
9. You'll need to do some research to succeed at number 10. Besides Wikipedia, there are some great resources listed on this site. Naturally, we especially recommend The Calendar of Saints: Lent Madness 2013 Ultra-Revised Edition.
8. Go on a worldwide Lent Madness pilgrimage. Build an itinerary with St. Louis, St. Bart's, San Francisco and other saint cities and/or islands.
7. Sip coffee from your official Lent Madness 2013 coffee mug. Just please do not put lousy coffee in it. Life is too short, and the mug is too great.
6. Plan to take part in Brackets to Go this year on Shrove Tuesday. It's important to take the brackets to the people, rather than expecting people to come to the brackets. Print out some brackets and hand them out at train stations or street corners.
5. Watch the entire corpus of Monday Madness episodes again. If possible, get the director's cut on Blu-Ray. Make sure you learn our new theme music so you can hum it constantly.
4. As you know, the SEC does not condone gambling. However, we do encourage fund-raising for charity. Start up a betting pool, and give the proceeds to a great cause such as Episcopal Relief & Development.
3. Plan to hijack the pulpit at your church on Sunday. Get everyone rallied up. Suggest various places where brackets could be placed (the front of the altar, on the back of the celebrant's chasuble, or projected onto giant screens).
2. Connect with other Lent Madness fans by liking our page on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or getting Pinterested in our other social media.
1. Tell your friends about the good news of Lent Madness. Why keep the joy to yourself?

Before you know it, it will be time to cast the first votes in Lent Madness 2013. Who will win the Golden Halo? No one knows, but it will be a grand competition. Expect laughter, learning, inspiration, and no small amount of snark.

Celebrity Blogger Week winds up with the Rev. Chris Yaw. Actually that's not entirely true since we're sticking in Bracket Czar Adam Thomas tomorrow -- we need to keep him happy. But Chris is our eighth and final Celebrity Blogger this year. He's so busy that he kept his answers brief; however we have read through the lines to determine that he won't be giving up chocolate for Lent.

The Rev. Chris Yaw lives in Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten. He serves the good people of St. David's in Southfield, Michigan who have yet to figure out his three-year-old actually writes his homilies. Chris is thrilled to be entering his second year of celebrity blogging (sure, he writes those too...) and is actually quite enthralled with online Christian learning. Visit the experiment at churchnext.tv

(Editor's note: Chris is too humble to mention that he won an Emmy Award in a previous life as a TV journalist, writer, and producer. We translate this to mean that Lent Madness has won an Emmy. Take that, Susan Lucci!).

How long have you been a Celebrity Blogger? What do you like about doing this or what have you learned along the way?
I love this job! And since I'm in my second year, Tim has doubled my pay. The best part of this job is being around some of the most gifted and energetic voices in the church who have a deep love for God despite her obvious bias for female saints.

Celebrity Blogger Week continues with our penultimate CB, Neil Alan Willard. Besides being the only Celebrity Blogger with four (count 'em!) "L"s in his name, Neil is related to most of the clergy in the Episcopal Church. Also, we like to use the word "penultimate" whenever the opportunity arises.

The Rev. Neil Alan Willard, one of the original Celebrity Bloggers and an early adopter of Lent Madness, is Rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota, a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. His study there overlooks beautiful Minnehaha Creek on its way to the Mississippi River. He’s married to Carrie, also beautiful, and they have two sons and a Labrador Retriever in the household. Outside the house are chipmunks, raccoons, and coyotes. No kidding. Last bit of trivia: his father-in-law and his sister-in-law’s husband are both Episcopal priests at different congregations in Aiken, South Carolina, and his brother-in-law is also an Episcopal priest, previously in Wasilla, Alaska, and now in Kapolei, Hawaii. No kidding. Follow him on Twitter @neilwillard and be sure to check out his blog Laughing Water.

How long have you been a Celebrity Blogger? What do you like about doing this or what have you learned along the way?
As someone who was raised on “Tobacco Road” and attended Wake Forest University, I know a little about ACC basketball and religious devotion to a favorite team. I’m not only a Demon Deacon but also the Rector of a church named for St. Stephen, and a member of the Martyrs, our men’s group. I really got into the first tournament of Lent Madness as soon as I realized that our patron saint, the first martyr and one of the first deacons, needed a boost in the second round. While that was a tough loss for us, we had made a strong, last-minute effort. So the next year I gladly accepted an invitation to become one of the original Celebrity Bloggers. I took C.S. Lewis all the way to the Golden Halo in 2011 and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to the Faithful Four in 2012. I’m proud of that record (but not too proud, of course, since that would be unsaintly). What I’ve learned is that birds of a feather do indeed flock together. Last October, for example, I had the opportunity to meet Garrison Keillor backstage at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul after a live radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. It may take a moment for you to connect the dots, but it seems obvious to me that this gathering of celebrities in the Land of Lake Wobegon was a direct result of the blessings of Lent Madness.

What should the Lent Madness faithful know about you?
My congregation is located in Edina, which is the childhood home of Ric Flair (a.k.a. “The Nature Boy”). Fake-sports-oriented Episcopalians will surely remember him as the most stylish “pro wrestler” of the 70s and 80s. My family, however, lives in neighboring St. Louis Park, hometown of the Coen Brothers, Senator Al Franken, and Nordic Ware, which produced the original Bundt Pan in 1950. So when members of the House of Bishops choose the Nordic Ware Cathedral Bundt Pan as a gift for their clergy, they are indirectly helping to ensure that snow-covered streets are plowed between my house and my church throughout Minnesota’s harsh winters. I would tweet my thanks to them, but the mitred ones tend to react to that sort of thing like Mr. Carson did when he first saw an electric toaster at Downton Abbey: “Is it not enough that we are sheltering a dangerous revolutionary, Mrs. Hughes? Could you not have spared me that?” *sigh*

Due to celebrations of the triumph of purple, the Supreme Executive Committee will not be releasing an episode of Monday Madness this week. Tim was busy writing an article for the Huffington Post about Ray Lewis and his brilliant theology.

Tim has also issued a video statement which may be found on Maple Anglican's excellent video for the week. In this video, you will find reporting on the recent play-in between John Donne and T. S. Eliot, as well as a particular football game. The SEC is grateful to our neighbor to the north for this and for all his good work. We view this as evidence of the worldwide buzz around Lent Madness.

Tune in next week for a new episode of Monday Madness. If you're not sure what to do with yourself, why not spend some time in the Lentorium buying mugs, bracket posters, or ebooks for your Kindle or Nook? And of course it's still Celebrity Blogger Week, so there's that.