Today's match-up features two amazing people with six names between them (insert Trinitarian reference here). Charles Henry Brent, bishop and missionary vs. Julia Chester Emery, lay woman and organizer of what we now know as the ECW (Episcopal Church Women). We hope you enjoy getting to know them and then, well, sending one of them into Lent Madness ignominy.
Yesterday's Lent Madness 2014 kick-off was a historic day in the annals of the Saintly Smackdown. Record turnout saw Basil the Great live up to his name while Christina the Astonishing was sent packing (given her penchant for levitation, we hope she's aware of those steep extra baggage fees). Nearly 7,000 votes were cast as Basil defeated Christina 55% to 45%. He'll now advance to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen to square off against the winner of Antony of Egypt vs. Mary of Egypt.
For those new to Lent Madness, congratulations! You're now a seasoned veteran. If you tracked the nearly 300 comments you also know that Lent Madness isn't just voting and learning about saints -- it's an online community where people share some pretty personal stories and connections as well.
Of course yesterday also saw the emergence of our first controversy. In the opening ceremonies video there was lively debate over whether Dean of the Washington National Cathedral Gary Hall's cassock was purple, as he claimed, or blue. It's a Lent Madness scandal!
Are you curious about when the various first round battles will take place? We thought so. Thus, you are invited to check out our handy Match-Up Calendar. Go ahead and print it out. Have a teenager add all the dates to the calendar on your smart phone. Put it on your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror, or have it tattooed to your spouse's forehead. Once you do, you'll know that tomorrow's battle between Alcuin and Ephrem is the only Saturday pairing in the entirety of Lent.
Charles Henry Brent
In 1901 as the Philippine-American War drew to an end, Charles Henry Brent was elected as the first missionary bishop to the islands, arriving a year later on the same ship as its Governor-General, William Howard Taft.
Bishop Brent brought with him $100,000 that he had raised before his departure in order to build churches, schools, and a hospital. Instead of staying within the American enclave, Brent worked with a wide range of people, including the Chinese community in Manila and the Igorot people. He fought tirelessly against the opium trade, chairing the U.S. delegation to the International Opium Conference.
Twice elected bishop of Washington, D.C. and once of New Jersey, he turned down these appointments to remain in the Philippines. After the first election, he sent a telegram to the head of the standing committee that read, “Must decline. I would have gone, but God bids me stay. John 3:30.”
After serving as the senior chaplain of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, he became bishop of Western New York. Prior to this, he established himself as a leader in the ecumenical movement, having attended the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910. He continued to work for the cause of Christian unity, presiding at the World Conference of Faith and Order in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1927. He died in 1929.
Bishop Brent may be best remembered for this prayer that summarizes well his life and ministry:
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.101)
Collect for Charles Henry Brent
Heavenly Father, whose Son prayed that we all might be one: deliver us from arrogance and prejudice, and give us wisdom and forbearance, that, following your servant Charles Henry Brent, we may be united in one family with all who confess the Name of thy Son Jesus Christ: who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Julia Chester Emery
Julia Chester Emery (1852-1922) was an extraordinary woman. At age 24, she took over from her sister Mary the job of national secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Episcopal Church. It was the only ecclesiastical post she ever held, and she held it for forty years (and not the Biblical kind of “forty years,” either). She was a missionary whose calling was to do the often unglamorous work of organizing, administering, educating, and supporting. Her work enabled thousands of women to realize their potential for ministry at a time when women’s roles were severely limited. And she encouraged the church to broaden its own understanding of faithful lay ministry.
The Women’s Auxiliary of the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church was created by General Convention in 1871 mostly through the work of the four Emery sisters. Mary Abbott Emery was the first national secretary, and Julia stepped into the job in 1876. During her tenure, she visited every diocese in the United States and helped organize branches of the Women’s Auxiliary in more than 5,600 parishes—nearly two-thirds of all the parishes in the U.S. Many of these branches continue today as the Episcopal Church Women, or ECW.
The primary focus of the Women’s Auxiliary was to empower women for mission and address the issue of funding for women who felt called to dedicate themselves to mission work. Chapters raised money and awareness for the support of local, national, and international mission. The Auxiliary sought to connect women one to another, to encourage them to know that they each had something to do for Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God, in the company of Episcopal women everywhere. “There are hundreds more earnest, faithful, devoted women who would be cheered if only they knew what is being done by their sisters in the church and see their offering, small and insignificant as it seems, increased and multiplied by the union with the gifts of others” (Spirit of Missions, volume XXXVII, 1872).
Emery also created The United Thank Offering, represented today by small blue boxes with slots for coins to encourage daily giving and thanks to God. The UTO is still under the purview of the ECW, having awarded $1,517,280 in grants for mission in 2012. Thanks to Emery’s foresight and diligence, the work continues.
Collect for Julia Chester Emery
God of all creation, you call us in Christ to make disciples of all nations and to proclaim your mercy and love: Grant that we, after the example of your servant Julia Chester Emery, may have vision and courage in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our light and our salvation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Vote!
224 comments on “Charles Henry Brent vs. Julia Chester Emery”
This was a hard vote for me. The Emery House (a retreat center in West Newbury, Mass. run by the SSJE Monastery in Cambridge) is named after Julia. I spent a weekend there a few months ago, and it was a powerful experience. I'm surprised that collect from Brent was so recent; goes to show that liturgy doesn't have to be ancient to pack a punch. Solid witnesses to the faith, both of them.
Did you happen to notice that yesterday's scandal was in Washington DC? Enough said.
It is great to have two saints who chose the hard and humble road of service, dedicating their lives to realizing the Reign of God for many. Both are examples we can hold up for our youth, "Now that's one way to follow Jesus!" But our church wouldn't have the reclaimed sub-basement now transformed into a full-service Food Pantry, with elevator access for the disabled --which serves the community twice a week, bringing help and hope to marginalized and discounted people-- if it weren't for the United Thank Offering. So just out of direct personal gratitude, today I'll vote for Julia Chester Emery.
Another tough choice. This one came down to a coin toss for me and Charles Henry Brent won the toss. Although it looks like he may have won my coin toss but won't be moving on to the Saintly 16. Maybe I should have done best 2 out of 3 on my coin toss and come up with the winner.
As a female clergy person I owe a lot to Julia for her hard work and persistence, over 40 years in the church! In the end, though, as a former Peace Corps Volunteer, I had to go with Charles. Love that he lived with the locals and not in a grand expat castle. What tipped the balance was his refusal to conclude his ministry to serve as a Bishop, until the time was right. For opting not for not come back until the work was done, I vote Charles.
Julia visited EVERY diocese in the US?!?! My vote goes to her. That's perseverance.
An unfair match-up in Round One, especially compared to yesterday's. This one was like pitting two number one seeds against each other in the NCAA brackets - a definite no-no.
I have a feeling today's the day my bracket gets busted, but I have to cast my vote for CHB the ecumenist. His prayer feeds my conviction that being in Christ means "reaching forth our hands in love to bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you." Every Friday morning (and many other mornings besides) I pray with CHB be clothed in Christ's spirit.
Plus I used to work with a guy who called himself "the world's tallest Filipino," so there's that, too.
Today I'm uncomfortable with the "who had the more thankless job" strain in the comments. Missionaries may be glamorized, but their day-to-day work is often thankless behind-the-scenes drudgery, as well. Although of course Bp. Brent had the privilege associated with being a man at the time...
Thank you, Charles, for uniting denominations in the work of the church.
Thank you, Julia, for influencing the work of women in the Church Universal so that even the Catholic Church, when I was a child, finally allowed girl altar servers. (And for those of you who are curious, I was born in 1987, so this change came to the Archdiocese of Atlanta in the early-to-mid-90s!) I still remember how excited I was as a five-year-old, when I first saw a girl altar server at my parish, and how much being an altar server for nine years influenced my spirituality and religious practice.
Given the contributions in advancing the social and economic causes in Philippines by Robert, whom I share the same surname, I am challenged in how I could possibly not vote for Bishop Brent, However, Julia Chester Emery was "Leaning In" long before it was stylish. And, let's face it, my Mom will be happy with my vote.
Read more about what July Chester Emery accomplished in "A Century of Endeavor, 1821-1921" where she documents the tireless work women did on behalf of missions everywhere, and is still ongoing. She raised the dignity of the ministry of women in the church by shinning a light on their efforts. It was a lot harder to do than it seems now... something about having to do it 'backwards and in high heels'
This is a tough one. Both were employees. The Bishop sacrificed a lot going to the Phillipines, he went beyond the scope of his duties, he went out into the poor and less fortunate. Julia was an ee of the Church and traveled this country. Yes, she was a woman but I'm voting for the one who I feel did the most for humankind. Go Bishop Brent.
While Christina levitated, Julia kept her feet on the ground and got the work done. A bit more astonishing in my book, so she gets my vote today.
How cruel and heartless the person must be that paired these two together! I'm voting for Bishop Brent as a champion of Christian unity and invite all of you to prayerfully reflect on this quote of his:
The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The world will go limping until Christ's prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.
Indeed, a beautiful prayer.
Julia.
I voted for Julia in honor of my mother and all the wonderful ECW ladies who kept the church running. They were not allowed to have a role in the worship services but did the work of the church not only on Sundays but on all the days in between.
Both good and admirable, but the tiny thing that confirmed my vote was that Charles forged ahead and took on a job not knowing what might occur, while Julia took over from her sister. Results on both sides were great benefits to all of us and deserving of halos.
I am torn on this one. Having been a beneficiary of the UTO grants when my husband and I lived in Alaska in the 50's, and an ardent admirer of the courage of the early women missionaries in our church history, I honor Julia Emery. But I grew up in a rectory in which my father had a devotion to Bishop Brent. When Dad went to Okinawa after World War two to establish the work of the Episcopal Church there Bishop Brent was his model for doing missionary work. Dad found Bishop Brent's untended grave in Switzerland and lovingly cleaned it up. So I had to go for the Bishop.
"Who was Julia Chester Emery" was one of the "coffee hour questions" I missed on my GOEs. I'll never forget her again.
Both excellent choices but I voted for Julia because the ECW at my home parish was so generous in there support for me when I was in deacon formation for two years.
Could you come up with a harder choice? Truly missionary Bishop or early promoter of the ministry of women and laity more broadly? Geez!!!
What a blessing to have such a challenge to make a choice. How truly blessed the Church is to have so many who have served God and humanity. I am thankful for all who are in the "Madness" event. Julia opened the way for a large part of the Body to become more involved in servant ministry through ECW. God bless her and Charles and God bless us everyone!
I love reading respondents' personal connections to these two saints. It shows that their work has ripples that continue today, probably not what either of them expected. My connections are that my grandfather returned to the Philippines after the Spanish American War to live and work for some twenty years, and my father was baptized there by Bishop Brent. I myself was a missionary-teacher in Liberia for several years, and the ECW gave us a great deal of support, including the gift of a Land Rover to me personally (well, ex officio). So I'll be happy whoever wins, which is probably as it should be.
This vote was particularly difficult for me, as I strongly believe in total inclusion as a result of religion, and the empowering of all women.
Happily difficult.
For me, it is Brent today. He so strongly modeled following the Holy Spirit, not the ego. He could have responded to appointments, greater recognition, power, and probably money. He recognized his calling.
I'd like to vote for Laura Darling! She is reading and replying and is willing to say she wishes she had represented Brent in a more complete way!
However, in the choice between to the two goods (after all that is what Lent Madness is really about, learning about all the goods!) I decided I'd vote in honor of my dear dead Mother, Mary Asmussen of Agar, SD. She loved Brent's prayer and had it on a plaque that hung in our house for years and now hangs on my husband's wall. And my Mother was very active in ECW and a worker for women's rights. So where does that leave me?
I am still pondering the astonishing Christiana. Any chance of a wildcard entry later in the proceedings?
Charles Brent's beautiful prayer sealed the deal for me
Another tough one, but after reading most of the comments, my vote goes to Julia. I see how far women have come over the years and for that I must say Go Julia!!
Having been priest in charge or rector in two parishes that have greatly benefited from support of UTO-funded outreach projects, how could I NOT vote for Julia? No, she didn't buy my vote, but her idea that small gifts offered in Christ's name to the Church's work could add up to something big--that's so in keeping with the idea that God abundantly provides.