Kemper vs. Kempe. Sometimes matchups exist solely because the SEC likes the names involved. Sure, there's always prayerful discernment that takes place in the formation of the bracket. But still, how could we not pair these two against one another? Only a single "r" separates Jackson Kemper and Margery Kempe, missionary bishop and 15th century mystic. Who will ride on? Who will be left in a vale of tears? That, dear friends, is up to you.
Yesterday, Brigid of Kildare soundly defeated Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist 68% to 32%. Fortunately, no silver platters were involved.
In case you missed it, we offered everyone a brief peek behind the Purple Curtain of Lent Madness, sharing some insights into how the annual bracket is formulated. A rare glimpse into the mind of the SEC.
Jackson Kemper
The seemingly inexhaustible Jackson Kemper served as the first missionary bishop in The Episcopal Church,working over the course of a thirty-five-year ministry in such untamed wilderness territories as Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and especially Wisconsin, where he established the Nashotah House seminary and eventually made his home.
Born in 1789, Kemper served as a priest for many years in Philadelphia until the deaths of his wife and his mother led him to new fields of service. In 1834, Kemper traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin. At the same time, a committee of bishops was considering how to approach the western frontier. In 1835, General Convention appointed Kemper as missionary bishop of Indiana and Missouri (with Wisconsin and Iowa thrown in for good measure) and assigned him the tasks of establishing and organizing parishes, recruiting clergy, and fundraising, all at a time when travel was daunting and communication was spotty.
Kemper was up to the challenge due to his “indefatigable zeal and amiable manners,” adding to his portfolio the establishment of schools to train young men and clergy, since he found that many Eastern-trained priests weren’t able to hack it in the harsh midwestern climate. In his spare time, he expanded his Missionary See to more distant territories such as Minnesota, Nebraska, and even further west, making regular visits to parishes and clergy throughout much of this vast region.
Notably, Kemper ceded power and oversight as dioceses became established, turning over territory to duly-elected diocesan bishops in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Kansas, and declining numerous offers of more comfortable episcopacies elsewhere.
He was also famously generous. His biographer wrote, “so simple were his tastes and so perfect was his economy that out of his annual missionary stipend of fifteen hundred dollars, he was able to give largely to struggling missions in his field; there was probably no one in the church who gave away more in proportion to his income than he.”
After twenty-four years as a missionary bishop, Kemper retired at the age of sixty-nine in 1859, only to take up the role of diocesan bishop of Wisconsin. He continued to make regular visitations within the diocese and further afield for another decade, when failing health forced him to stay near the Nashotah community where he had resided for many years. At the age of eighty, his final episcopal act was a confirmation near his home in April 1870. He continued official duties with the aid of a secretary until days before his death on May 24, 1870.
Collect for Jackson Kemper
Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first missionary bishop in this land, and by his arduous labor and travel established congregations in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Margery Kempe
The first autobiography written in English is something of a mystical revelation, travel diary, opinion essay, theological discourse, and personal diary all in one. Margery Kempe, who lived in the late-fourteenth to early-fifteenth century, was a middle-class woman living in Norfolk in eastern England.
She began The Book of Margery Kempe recalling a series of crises during and after her pregnancy. She felt tempted by the devil not to confess her sins. In response, she fasted, performed acts of charity, and devoutly prayed, to no avail. She eventually sent for her confessor and confessed sins from “her whole lifetime.” After her confession (of which she was not complimentary of the pastoral skills of the priest), she was disturbed and tormented for almost a year by visions of devils. In a moment of great crisis, she had a vision of Christ but did not fully embrace her mystical deliverance. Only after several business failures did Kempe surrender to a life of mysticism and Christian devotion.
Kempe experienced the gift of tears — frequent sobbing, weeping, and wailing at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, while engaged in prayer and meditation, or engaged in other acts of devotion. Throughout her book, Kempe remarked at the discomfort others had at her expression of this holy gift. She shared her thoughts and visions of heaven freely, as well as her conversations and visions with our Lord. Kempe, like many medieval mystics, was attached to meditations on the events of Christ’s life and had many visions associated with these events. She also found sexual relations with her husband disgusting and eventually took vows of chastity, after giving birth to fourteen children.
Kempe then began a series of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Assisi, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela, as well as several holy sites in England. She wrote of her encounters with several historical figures, including the Archbishop of York — who questioned her as a heretic, found her unorthodox, and told her to leave York and never return. She spoke with Julian of Norwich. She called out the Archbishop of Canterbury for the behavior of his clergy. Perhaps in a related story, she was almost burned as a heretic while in Canterbury.
Kempe, who likely dictated her book to a scribe, wrote with a mystical stream of consciousness. She was not concerned with narrative timelines; she did not write a text primarily concerned with intricate depictions of her mystical experiences. She wrote about the exhausting attitudes of others who criticized her life and expression of faith and of moments where she was vindicated for being true to herself. She shared the raw (sometimes outrageous) aspects of all that was her life.
An admission to the Guild of the Trinity at Lynn in 1438 is the final historical mention of Kempe. Her book, known only in excerpts until a manuscript was found in a private collection in the twentieth century, has become a key reflection on the life and spirituality of a middle-class woman in the Middle Ages.
Collect for Margery Kempe
Gracious God, we give you thanks for the life and work of Margery Kempe, hermit and mystic, who, passing through the cloud of unknowing, beheld your glory. Help us, after her example, to see you more clearly and love you more dearly, in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Vote!
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220 comments on “Jackson Kemper vs. Margery Kempe”
"The gift of tears"? Ha. Margery Kempe comes off as an attention-needy neurotic wrapped in medieval piety. Bishop Kemper, please.
Not directly about today's vote (though I voted for Bishop Kemper) - but noticing that the percentages in yesterday's vote stayed absolutely steady all day long, and were the same as the final result, even though there were thousands of votes being cast all the time. I haven't kept track that closely before - this time I was rooting hard for Elizabeth, so I kept checking frequently - but I wonder whether that happens often, that the early trend is maintained? Perhaps the SEC knows the answer?
In my experience with about 4 Lent Madnesses (and wow - I like the plural!), it happens almost every time.
The exceptions are when there's a voting bloc of some sort - the Philander Chase bloc, or the Queen Emma bloc; the latter was an effect of differences in time zones.
But usually, what you see at 10 a.m. is very near to what you're going to see the next morning at 8 a.m. It's sort of uncanny, really.
Thanks for the information!
Don't forget the Frances Perkins block! THAT was amazing!
Wow, how could I have forgotten that one? You're right, Ann!
I should add, though, that if it's close, all bets are off. Leads change, and there's no predicting the winner. I can't remember who it was, but once somebody won by a really tiny margin. Anybody recall?
I believe it was one of Hilda of Whitby's runs last year. Or perhaps the St Martha one. I remember it being so incredibly close on one of those-- 50/50, only a handful of votes separating the two running. I need to go back and look- you're right, it really was something!
Thanks, Kat! I'll go back and look too. Ah, the Lent Madnesses of yesteryear.....
😉
when margery began her series of pilgrimages who was taking care of those 14 children? did she abandon them? did her husband care for them?
as for the "gift of tears" the poor woman was depressed... in my opinion.
i want to give her a "pity" vote, but i just have to go with the one with the R in his last name.
My question too, who took care of the children? Did any live to adulthood? Most mothers would mention these things in an autobiography.
My vote goes to Jackson!
I admire contemplatives too but the C hristian who rolls up his sleeves, steps into the hurly burly of life and does the Lord's work gets my vote. our west and Midwest back then could not have been a pieceof cake
Too bad Green Bay didn't name its football team the Kempers!
And who raised those 14 children? And I guess she wrote in her autobiography that she then decided to have a vow of celibacy? Come on! Pretty self absorbed to me, and not all there!
Women in the Middle Ages (and still in many countries) were not allowed to refuse sex from their husbands. Taking a vow of celibacy was one of the only ways for women to avoid marital rape. And I wonder if we'd ask the same question about who raised those 14 children that she may or may not have consented to having if this were one of the many male saints who had a large number of children.
Great post.
I did not feel a connection to either of today's candidates, but give the sympathy vote to Marjory Kempe because...my God, 14 children!
Seriously!
This is cruel! I am a Julian associate, and a member of the Diocese of Milwaukee!
I will have to ponder awhile . . . 🙁
This priest who drives all over Western Kansas votes for her predecessor! I hope that this saint will reward our votes by stopping the snow out here....
Baptized & Confirmed in Minnesota I have to vote for Kemper. The upper mid-west also had a catholic, Father Baraga that also might be a great candidate for a future LM contest. Braraga translated the bible into multiple native people languages and did his winter travel on snow shoes. He spent some time in Apostle Islands working with the natives. For Kemper to move out of Philly for the mid west is a testimony to God's call to tell the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Being the loyal Sewanee grad that I am, it pains me to vote for Jackson Kemper, but Marjory is way too cray-cray for me.
Hi Sarah! This Nashotah AND Sewanee grad appreciates your magnanimity. (And I second your motion re: cray-cray -- the probably oppressive marital norms of the day notwithstanding.)
Several of our rectors in Tokyo, St. Alban's, have come to the ministry via Nashota House, and each has been a blessing to us. Bishop Kemper it is...
Margery's life was varied. Fourteen children, weeping, writing her autobiography. Definitely unique to her times. Gets my vote.
Bishop Kemper is the “youngest” saint we’ve had in Lent Madness so far. And he may have been the most active, too! There is little question that he founded the church in the west. He was the first clergy to preach west of the Alleghenies and invested decades of tireless, faithful service on behalf of God’s mission in the frontier states.
The presiding bishop said, “Never has a Bishop had a larger field, never one more truly and permanently successful in cultivating it.”
When appointed missionary bishop of the northwest (an area of more than 450,000 miles) there was one missionary and no church in Indiana, one church and no clergy in Missouri, one missionary in Wisconsin, and in the rest of the area neither church nor clergy.
As the first missionary bishop, Kemper logged more miles than Paul, confirmed 10,000 souls, ordained more than 200 clergy (including the Native American deacon Enmegahbowh, of prior Lent Madness fame), founded eight dioceses, six missionary jurisdictions, and three colleges (including Nashotah House Seminary). He supported the Oxford Movement, but also supported translations of the Bible and the BCP into the tribes’ languages ~ indeed, he consistently reached out to the Native American population.
It was said that, “He was the soul of honor, integrity and benevolence. His purity of speech and thought was as unsullied as the snow upon the brow of Diana, and to these were added an unfailing cheerfulness of spirits, good conversational powers, and a gentle humor crowned his talk.”
Bishop Kemper practiced self-denial. He had no home for the first 11 years of his episcopate, and he gave away 2/3 of his income to missions, Sunday school libraries, church buildings, redeeming church property from debt, and founding institutions of Christian education. He also took particular care of his clergy, and watched over them closely, knowing their hard work and limited means.
Surely a Golden Halo is out there for the good Bishop!
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a Facebook page ~ Action Jackson Kemper: https://www.facebook.com/ActionJacksonKemper
Bishop Kemper gets my vote! I am a graduate of Nashotah House Seminary--a truly holy place--and Kemper is well known there, of course. Thx to Linda Brown for all the additional information about Jackson Kemper.
This was hard! The influence of Kemper's pastoral leadership is undeniable, but my heart went with a woman who wrote (and cried)--in her spare time, while mothering 14 kids! I so identify with a spiritual life that includes temptations, writing, and tears--though not the 14 pregnancies.
Margery, wrestling
with domestic sins, prayed, wrote,
wept. Been there, done that.
Love, love, love the poem, Mary -- blessings!
Being a Midwesterner, my first thought was Kemper, but in my own life I can relate much more to Margery.
Not a tough decision today. We studied Margery Kempe in our adult class this winter. Love the Mystics! But, I voted for Kemper because: 1) He helped to found the seminary I attended in the eighties, 2) He officiated at the first BCP service in the community I serve, which eventually became the congregation of which I have been pastor and priest for over twelve years, and 3) Our parish has a wonderful icon of him in our library (painted by priest/artist Johnson Loud).
Somebody check me out; all of this year's winners, so far, have been the "top button" in the voting. Does the SEC know something about preference for the first button to push?
I would put nothing past those wily rascals.
My thoughts exactly....
According to the official chart, seven of the first ten winners were on the second line, three on the first line. My count can be checked at https://www.lentmadness.org/bracket/.
My vote goes to Jackson Kemper. He was brave enough to venture into the untamed wilderness and worked hard to recruit priests and establish parishes. He sounds like a very kind and generous soul.
Once again, I'm already in the minority in today's Lent Madness. However, I can't not support a woman who not only wrote the first English-language autobiography that shared her deeply personal spiritual experiences, but also a brave and intelligent person who traveled the world and was not afraid to criticize high and mighty people when they needed it.
My vote is for Margery, the mystic, doubtless most misunderstood.
I'm frankly surprised at the nasty comments directed toward not just Margery, but other female mystics. in general, *by* women...Sheesh, vote for whichever saint moves you, but wow, some venom out there.
I am also really astonished at the venom...add another sheesh from me!
My heart wants to vote for Margery because I am a student of autobiography and hers is sometimes seen as the 1st such work in English. The self-assertion necessary for a woman to write of her own life at a time when women were usually consigned to the private arena is impressive. And I love mystics. But Kemper gets my vote. Not only was he a powerful evangelist and supporter of education, but he also lived a life of great charity. For me it's not mystic vs. doer, it is doer vs. doer.
Bishop Kemper reminds me of the work of one of my dear Bishops, so he gets my vote.
As a writer and a traveler, I cast my vote for Margery.
The first autobiography written in English? A successful woman author?!? She's got my vote. I celebrate the women writers of early times, and can now add Margery to my list of favorites: Isabella Whitney, Mary Sidney (Countess Pembroke), and Marguerite Porete.
I would also suggest you take a look at Christine de Pizan (1364-c. 1430), the first woman to make her living as a professional writer. Her "Book of the City of Ladies" (Le Livre de la Cité des Dames) still stands up as an amazing Christian take down of misogyny and promotion of the rights and dignity of women!
Thank you Nathaniel - I will!
This was an easy call, and I enjoyed the comments. I request the SEC to find a format to "approve" comments so we can see which comments are most appreciated. Ms. Miro's comment seems spot on to me. On Kemper! On Wisconsin!
As a former CheeseHead , long before I became a Tarheel, Jackson Kemper has my vote. Anyone able to tackle those harsh Midwest winters is entitled to the warmth and glow of the Golden Halo.
So it is On Wisconsin, Bucky Badger, the Green Bay Packers and Jackson Kemper.
As a daughter of the House, class of 1987, how can I not vote for Jackson Kemper?
Jackson Kemper travelled more miles in his missionary work than did Saint Paul. Probably made more converts and certainly founded more churches!