With yesterday's victory for Brigid of Kildare over Kamehameha IV, 55% to 45%, half the Faithful Four is set. Brigid and Francis are in with two remaining spots up for grabs. Today it's Bernard Mizeki vs. Molly Brant. Tomorrow Frederick Douglass faces Egeria. Things are fast and furious as we race toward the finish line of Lent Madness 2015! Oh, yeah, and Easter.
To get to the Elate Eight, Bernard defeated Margaret of Antioch and Jackson Kemper while Molly bested Swithun and Cuthbert.
Let's face it, some saints are more prone to kitsch than others. We're grateful to those Celebrity Bloggers who have not been dealt low hanging saintly kitsch fruit. Like those advocating for today's saints. Kudos for kitschy kreativity!
Bernard Mizeki
While not as plentiful as, say, Francis or Brigid saintly kitsch, those seeking South African martyr Bernard Mizeki items are not left completely bereft. If you too want to inspire thousands of people to love God and the Gospel get your Bernard M
izeki t-shirts and mug -- find either in this fashionable design.
Although Bernard was known to be sensitive to the ways of the local Spirit religion, he once angered local religious leaders when he carved crosses into some trees sacred to their ancestral spirits.
Start off the day right with a hot cup of coffee in your Bernard Mizeki mug as you plan out the best way to use wood carving tools to carve out crosses on trees just like Bernard! (Caution: this might anger some folks).
Tree carving not your thing? Then pick up this wonderful book and learn more about an amazing pioneer of the church.
Or hang this beautiful tapestry on your living room wall to remind you that true discipleship means that there will be times where your life will be in danger and instead of running away we must stand our ground and proclaim the Gospel at all costs.
Never be afraid to solicit information regarding your local Bernard Mizeki Men’s Guild or better yet let us start the Bernard Mizeki Women’s Guild so both male and females can sport this
lovely badge on our blazers.
Not ready to commit to an organization? Then simply carry with you this payer card with Mizeki's picture and recite the collect for Martyrs to remind you of the courage we all need in order to proclaim the gospel wherever we may be.
Molly Brant
Long before Sheryl Sandberg wrote Lean In and got the internet all abuzz, Molly Brant was already leaning in.
Long before networking became a skill at which extroverts excelled and introverts avoided, Molly Brant was already establishing connections and making deals.
Long before people turned to HGTV and Architectural Digest for design inspiration, Molly Brant was already wowing British and French nobility.
…And long before Route 5S became an often-traveled highway in upstate New York, Molly 
Brant was walking and riding its dusty paths as a business leader and a mediator.
In short, Molly Brant defies categorization. As one historian wrote, “Molly Brant…did not typify the acceptable metaphor. She was active and pragmatic enough to adapt to the shifting realities of her day…In short, she grew into her own voice, appropriating a role seen by Europeans as a function of masculinity.”
Unlike some of the other wonderful saints featured this season, Molly has not received a great deal of attention or acclaim in American history. No doubt, she made mistakes and was known for her dogged stubbornness and occasional defiance of political norms. She was, however, a woman who lived beyond the cultural, political, and religious limitations of her era. She faithfully integrated her Anglican faith with her Mohawk heritage without confusing the two.
While criticized for her support of Great Britain during the American War of Independence, such criticism is based on hindsight. Everyone wants to be on the side of the winner, of course! One cannot disregard how Molly and her family were able to create an alliance with the British that helped preserve what remained of Mohawk land and culture. As one scholar noted: “Viewed as a woman of her people, Molly Brant must be viewed as effective if not ultimately successful because she…understood that the Mohawk Valley would inevitably pass from tribal hands…She sought to carry something of the Mohawk/European past into a future stabilized by British military might.”
Molly was not without a playful side, though. Legend has it that as an older teen Molly drew the attention of her future husband, Sir William Johnson, by jumping out to surprise him from behind his horse during the militia’s muster. She was also known to intrigue dignitaries who visited the family home with her wit, wisdom, and impeccable graciousness as a host.
Long before it becomes too late, cast your vote for the one-of-a-kind Molly Brant.
-- Maria Kane
Vote!
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134 comments on “Bernard Mizeki vs. Molly Brant”
I'm grateful to the folks who write these saintly and kitschy bios. Have any of you had to support both of your saints in the same round? I've learned to love many of these 2015 saints while still remembering Queen Emma and Christina the Astonishing. Who wouldn't want to fly up into church rafters?
Oh, I loved Christina the Astonishing!
Mizeki seems saintly His story lacks the flaws of being on the wrong side of history with British rule and slavery. But Molly's faith and spirit is halo worthy. I vote time-relevant demonstration of how we should live by Brant over martyr Bernard.
Happy Birthday, Oliver ! I so look forward to your comments. I think the SEC needs to do an interview with you for their blog !
That sounds like great idea
That would be cool.
As a rookie to Lent Madness, I have to ask what is the schedule for next week? I take it that Monday and Tuesday will knock out the Faithful 4 round, so will the Golden Halo match up be on Wednesday? I am just wondering what in the world I am going to do on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday without a Lent Madness matchup.
All Saints Be Praised! I considered passing on this round because I didn't feel particularly moved by the candidates. I didn't want to show favoritism for sex or ethnicity because of the oversimplification of making a Saintly choice, despite the instruction to be as studious or superficial as we might choose. We are focusing on these wonderful, historical, iconic religious leaders and I suddenly felt emotional about it all. The Bernard cross on the tree. I have chosen to have it carved in granite five times now, just to the left and slightly above my dear departed's inscripted names. It's beautiful.
Are we voting on saintliness or the better politician and the rest of the world be damned? If it's saintliness, there's no contest, Mizeki is the one who put his faith first at the cost of his life.
So is there any lent madness Kitsch? Like a mug for my desk?
Yes, click on Lentorium on the website. I am the proud owner of two (2!!) Frances Perkins mugs. I bought one and the next year won one from my church's bracket contest.
This may be a bit off the topic, but if you have not purchased, or been given, a Saintly Scorecard booklet you might want to consider it, even at this late date. There are some saintly inspired recipes at the back and my aunt and I vote for the Medieval Gingerbread Cookies. They have been baked and shared and enjoyed by several with a very simple review: delicious! Thanks for including them in the booklet.
There's a slight problem with your suggestion. There are no Saintly Scorecards available no except the digital ones. Print ones haven't been available since about the first week of LM. Not all of us have the digital capacity so we're SOL.
Geoff McL, dude take a breath. It's just for fun!!! 🙂
Sorry, I don't find much fun about jingoism.
The burning of D.C. was revenge for the burning of York (Toronto), where I grew up. I suppose that gives me "good reasons" to dislike American revolutionaries of that era, but it would not affect my vote if we were talking about Seabury or White.
I voted for Bernard. I am mystified by the troubles some people have with Molly being on the British side and then therefore voting for Bernard. He was in Mashonaland precisely because he was (loosely defined) "on the British side" - having entered the region under Bishop Knight-Bruce one year after the colonizing column of settlers and soldiers that came in to Mashonaland with the British South Africa Company (BSAC). The people who killed him were rising up against the BSAC's rule there - which was highly extractive of both forced labor and goods, especially cattle. The participants in that rising conflated all Christian missions and their catechists (white or black) with the white colonizers. From the point of view of the people in Marandellas district where Mizeki was working, he was a foreigner. His story is inextricably linked with the larger tale of colonization and the imperial ambitions of Cecil Rhodes. Check out the news for how Rhodes is going down these days in South Africa and Zimbabwe!! All of that said, I voted for Mizeki because I perceive that he himself -- whatever larger forces swirled about him -- was a man of convicted Christian faith. He was willing to sacrifice his life to make his witness and stay near to the people in his pastoral care even though he surely knew he could be murdered. That to me is saintly. It is more saintly than I imagine I could be, though I would *hope* for that kind of clarity and courage in similar circumstances. I also respect the reverence in which his memory is held by the people in that district of Zimbabwe today, and trust their judgment on his worthiness for being held a saint.
Ah, the complexity of it all! Thank you, Wendy, for giving this perspective.
"[T]hey were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one, too!"
As much as I admire what Bernard made happen in his homeland, I have to go with Molly, our New York State gal! She walked in two worlds and brought the best of each together..................go Molly Brant!
Both today's candidates for advance to the next round illustrate the inescapable conflict between Caesar's rule and Christ's, the two cities of St. Augustine. While we are in this world we live in both. I'm thinking globally but today voting locally, because barring the unforeseen I'm more likely to find myself in Molly's situation than Bernard's.
I did not vote for Molly in the first round. As a Daughter of the American Revolution, needless-to-say, I felt that I had to be true to the American cause--Molly supported the British. I did vote for Bernard in the first round--you have to admire a man of faith and love who lived and spread his Christian faith in what could only be a hostile environment. However, I did vote for Molly this round. I like a strong woman!
Weeeeeeeellllllll --- after MUCH pondering I actually manually changed my vote to Bernard....to me, Molly is an inspiration, while Bernard is an icon, beckoning us further into the PRESENCE....
Starting to slip into LMW...
Tough decision... Hover, have to follow my strategy here... Molly it is.
This time I voted for Bernard, based on his life of service to God and his people, and extended witness even unto death.
I voted for Bernard because of the clarity of his saintliness--though after I read Oliver's post I softened toward Molly. What I really think is that Oliver should get his very own Golden Halo--what a kid!
How can you resist someone who,disappears in a flash of light and the beating of many wings? Alas, Bernard will also disappear from the next round.