And then there were eight. With Dietrich Bonhoeffer securing the eighth and final spot with a victory over Barnabas 68% to 32%, this is the list of the eight saintly souls remaining in Lent Madness: Constance, Vida Dutton Scudder, Albert Schweitzer, Julian of Norwich, Columba, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sojourner Truth, and Absalom Jones. Quite a stellar list for the Elate Eight!
Veterans of Lent Madness know that this round is also known as the Saintly Kitsch round. After basic biographies, quotes and quirks, what else could there be? There are always some folks who take offense to this approach — we call them Kitsch Kranks and have written about this phenomenon in years past. This is not to belittle or demean our saintly heroes but to have some fun and gaze in wide wonder at the breadth of devotional practice. So kindly relax and enjoy the spirit of the Madness as we push ever onward to our goal. The Supreme Executive Committee addressed this very issue in yesterday's epic edition of Monday Madness.
Today in a matchup of two modern-ish saints, Constance meets Vida Dutton Scudder. To get to this point, Constance defeated Dominic and Helena while Vida got past F.D. Maurice and Clare (click the Bracket tab and scroll down to see previous battles and read the earlier write-ups). And we're reminded, as ever, that some saints lend themselves to kitsch more than others...
Constance
It is 1878 and yellow fever has hit your home in Memphis, Tennessee. The town has tagged your household with a "Yellow Jack" flag to announce to all visitors that the epidemic has descended upon your home and all who enter, enter at their own risk.
A traveling door-to-door salesman is feeling bold as brass and stops by with a box of Sappington's Anti-Fever pills to protect you from what is sure to be death. You wisely tell that joker to get off your front porch or you will breathe yellow fever all over him.
Next, the quack doctors arrive, with Hungarian leeches. Evidently, Hungarian leeches like yellow fever and will suck that evilness right out of your body.
If leeches gross you out (like me), then you can always have the quack doctor bleed you into your tin coffee cup to balance your humors. I am not sure about you, but bleeding of any sort, does not leave me feeling humorous, and there better not be anything in my coffee cup other than good ole joe.
If you are really, really smart, you will tell those quack doctors to get a life too. What you need is not a doctor; it is Constance and her Companions! Constance and her companions will bring care, comfort, warm compresses, broth, love, and prayer to your bedside. If you live, they leave a "Team Constance" shirt for you to wear during your recovery.
If you die, you can be buried with Constance and her Companions in Elmwood Cemetery in the shape of a cross. Inquiring readers wanted to know: What happened to the prostitute that helped Constance? Well this famous madam was known as Annie Cook. She was originally buried in unconsecrated ground due to her profession, but can now be found in Elmwood Cemetery as well. Annie's fans felt that she deserved to be buried on hallowed ground for her helping hands during the epidemic.
Now, imagine googling images of "yellow fever" for two hours. If you are as stressed out as I, you may need to arm yourself with a "Yellow Fever" cocktail before voting:
1 1/2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Galliano® herbal liqueur
1/4 oz lemon juice
2 oz pineapple juice
Now that you have armed yourself with liquid courage, remember as you vote, #ConstanceWouldGo
Vida Dutton Scudder
Vida Dutton Scudder lives on in her work.
There aren’t many images of Vida in the public arena. There aren’t depictions of her in stained glass windows in churches or college halls. There aren’t mugs or t-shirts emblazoned with her visage or heralding her name.
Vida is a quiet saint. Hers is not a household name or an easily recognizable face. Nonetheless, her drive is felt everywhere, even after more than 60 years following her death. Her legacy is ubiquitous and discreet. Her quiet influence and deep commitment shine through in all that she touched.
Rather, Vida is found in her books. In her writings. In her thoughts. In her dreams that she converted into action and activism. Her unabashed dedication is evident in her lifelong work of social conscience and deep spirituality. Her legacy is apparent in her work that lives on – the books, the movements, the organizations.
Vida was an Episcopalian who lived out her Christian beliefs as a social reformer, writer and editor, professor, lecturer, prominent lesbian author, groundbreaker in addressing social and women’s issues, untiring welfare activist, and peace proponent.
Her open-minded heart was non-stop: founder of the College Settlements Association; member of the Society of Christian Socialists; associated with the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross; advocate of the settlement movement and founder of Denison House in Boston, MA; active in organizing the Women’s Trade Union League; founder of the Episcopal Church Socialist League; a 1930s lecturer at the New School for Social Research in New York.
Add to all her social activity is the fact that she wrote more than three dozen books, essays and commentaries; 16 books were penned during her retirement years. The titles of her works speak to her zeal and spirituality: The Witness of Denial; Socialism and Spiritual Progress: A Speculation; Christian Simplicity; Saint Catherine of Siena as Seen in Her Letters; Socialism and Character; The Church and the Hour: Reflections of A Socialist Churchwoman.
So it appears that Vida didn’t have time to pose for photos or portraits or stained glass. Rather, peek into her books and writings and movements, and you see her heart, her face, her image, her likeness as an untiring child of God.
Vida Dutton Scudder lives on in her work.
[poll id="165"]
191 comments on “Constance vs. Vida Dutton Scudder”
I voted for Constance in memory of my Aunt Connie, nurse and lover of such kitschas t-shirts that seem to say Ford until you look closely and see they say Fart. Connie died last Saturday. I hope she's chuckling with the saints.
Team Constance rules.
Boy this was the toughest one by far! I really wanted to go with Constance but went with Vida. I felt her social change was on a larger scale than Constance. Needless to say, both ladies were tremendous individuals that we could All aspire!
Such a tough choice. The intellectual Episcopal socialist in me leans to Vida, but the coward in me is in awe and admiration of Constance and her companions, who answered the call of Jesus, despite great personal risk. Will probably just close my eyes and point!
Visa, against all odds. Imagine you're an immigrant woman living in a tenement working seven days a week in a clothing factory to support your children, and Vida and the Companions of the Holy Cross create refuges and make it possible for you and your children to escape for a vacation in the open air.
I voted for Vida - Intellectual, writer, socialist, lesbian supporter, and Episcopalian! Mind you, the native Memphian with the "Yellow Fever Cocktail" named in her honor almost got me.
As a nurse I had to vote for Contance. My sister's name is Connie. The drink clinched it for me.
Two American Episcopalian women with a social conscience who lived in the modern era. Each has had their enthusiastic supporters in earlier brackets. I don't see either as an automatic favourite or "underdog". I voted for Constance because her faithfulness claimed her life, and because her ministry was carried out in the midst of the social hostilities of the Reconstruction-era South.
Constance -- her back-breaking work and commitment to those who suffered was admirable and convinced me. Hers was the "hardest" life.
I voted for Constance, but I like the smaller photo of Vida, with the faint smile upon her face. Smiling was a rare thing in photos of that era.
A toast to Constance!
I can see Lent Madness producing a Saintly Cocktails Book... I hope some of the recipes will be mock tails so that everyone can join it the tasty frivolity. Go Constance!
I voted for Constance because she helped people with yellow fever and whether I live in Louisiana there was a bad yellow fever epidemic.
For a moment I thought one of Vida's books was The Church and the Coffee Hour -in which case I would have voted for her.
Ah, the Coffee Hour….The Eighth Sacrament.
I'm with you, Oliver!
Betty, I'm glad to read your thoughts on this vote. I too have voted again for Vida and want to look into her writings again. When I sponsored a friend to SCHC, she regaled me with what she's learned from Vida.
Judy
Constance Would Go! The "Yellow Fever Cocktail" and the bumper sticker got me. Also her nursing the sick. Thank you, Oliver.
Where is Sarah 15 years old? I haven't seen any comments from her in a while?
The Victorians liked punch, although it was out of favor by the mid nineteenth century, when our intrepid women were at their prime. According to National Public Radio, British sailors were entitled to 10 pints of beer per day. But when they sailed into the tropics, the beer spoiled, so they turned to punch. Punch recipes serve a lot of people, and that fuels a lot of activism.
Here’s a Victorian gin punch recipe from The New York Times (serves 20):
Ingredients
• 3 lemons
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 750-milliliter bottle gin
• ½ cup orange liqueur
• 1 liter seltzer, chilled.
Preparation
1. Use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of pith-free skin from the lemons. Place peels in a bowl, add sugar, muddle vigorously and allow to steep 2 to 3 hours. Juice lemons to obtain 3/4 cup. Pour lemon juice over peels and stir to dissolve sugar. Transfer to a 3-quart pitcher half-filled with ice.
2. Add gin, liqueur and seltzer. Stir and pour into punch cups or short-stemmed glasses, and serve.
Here’s a recipe for Bombay Government Punch, from NPR (also serves 20, or according to NPR, 10 journalists):
To prepare, first stir 2 cups of Demerara or Turbinado sugar in 1 cup water over a low flame until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes). Let this cool. Then squeeze 12 limes and combine the juice in a large bowl with 12 oz of the Demerara sugar syrup and stir. Add 2 750-ml bottles of fragrant, Navy-style rum or 1 bottle of rum and 1 750-ml bottle of VSOP-grade cognac and top off with 2 quarts water or, for a more stimulating concoction, cold black or green tea (use 2 1/2 tablespoons loose tea or 8 tea-bags). Stir again and refrigerate. Half an hour before serving, add a large block of ice (this can be made by freezing 2 quarts of water in a bowl overnight), taste and adjust for sweetness, if necessary, with the additional syrup. Grate nutmeg over the top.
NPR recommends a rum that is “rich and funky.”
Here is a non-alcoholic wassail punch from All Recipes (must like spices!):
1 1/2 cups white sugar
8 whole cloves
3 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1 gallon apple juice
1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cloves, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool for 1 hour.
2. Stir in the orange juice, lemon juice, and apple juice. Return to the heat, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cloves and cinnamon sticks before serving.
Remember to drink and pray responsibly.
Sorry, I got carried away by the kitsch. That's way longer than it looked in Word. However, I enjoyed the research.
Wunnerful!
founder of the College Settlements Association; member of the Society of Christian Socialists; associated with the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross; advocate of the settlement movement and founder of Denison House in Boston, MA; active in organizing the Women’s Trade Union League; founder of the Episcopal Church Socialist League; a 1930s lecturer at the New School for Social Research in New York.
Hmm, you'd think there would be some kitsch associated with all those places & programs!
Vida's book on Catherine of Siena appealed to me too. 🙂
Greatly enjoyed the Constance writeup! and love the idea of a Constance Would Go tin cup if she wins (or if she comes in 2nd... would follow precedent set by Brigid's pint glass!)
For all the women religious, in every denomination, whose value has historically been considered to be far lower than their male counterparts, who quietly step in to teach, to nurse, to comfort, to pray, and finally to bury us, yet rarely are recognized beyond their convent walls by any but their Maker, I vote for Constance and her Companions. Vida worked in the world and chose her path. Constance followed the path set for her by God.
Ack. Too late to vote, but I'm glad to see that Constance won, as I was intending to vote for her. Kudos to Anna Fitch Courie, who did a lovely job digging up historical nuggets from the time of the yellow fever epidemic. Very creatively done!