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Florence Nightingale Wins 2017 Golden Halo!

The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness heartily congratulates Florence Nightingale on winning the 2017 Golden Halo!

To celebrate this momentous victory, the SEC has commissioned Lent Madness hymn writer extraordinaire, Sister Diana Doncaster, to pen a hymn for the occasion. Enjoy!

Ode to Flo
Tune: Hymn to Joy, Hymnal ‘82, 376, Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee

Joyful are the ones who voted for our Florence Nightingale.
Joyful more the ones whose lives and health she guarded without fail.
Joyful are the ones who’ve followed in her noble nursing ways.
Joyful we who still are learning how to live strong in our faith.

Florence won the Golden Halo long before Lent Madness came.
Faithful to her call to service, faithful to Christ’s healing grace.
Longed to serve the church, but sent home, went forth into battle’s roar.
So we offer God our praises for such saints who’ve gone before.

Let us join the happy chorus which Lent Madness has inspired,
With the saints who’ve taught us well that lived love is all God requires.
None are perfect, all have struggled, all have learned the ways of Grace.
May we fumble in their footsteps, ‘til we meet Christ face to Face.

What's nearly as important as announcing the Golden Halo winner? Sharing the Lentorium link to the winner's swag! Click here to pre-order your very own Florence Nightingale 2017 Golden Halo Winner mug (stethoscope sold separately).

Blessings to all as we head into the Triduum and enter into the death and resurrection of our Lord. It's been a privilege to have you join us on our Lenten pilgrimage!

 

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150 comments on “Florence Nightingale Wins 2017 Golden Halo!”

  1. Great fun and I learned a lot. Don't think I chose even one winner, except Flo at the end. Guess I'm a supporter of the underdog.

  2. This has been the most disappointing season ever. I think it could be the Lent Madness has lost its mojo. Peace and Blessed Triduum to you.

      2. You are the Mojo Masters! Thanks for another great season of Lent Madness. We appreciate the Supremes, the celebrity bloggers and -- newly this year -- Hymn Writer Extraordinaire Sister Diana!

      3. You still have mojo! Great season - I learned a lot, thanks! And this is one Pentecostal that will definitely be back next year to do Lent with you Episcopalians. How about William J. Seymour (preacher at the Azusa Street Revival) in the bracket next year?

      4. This Lent has been pure blessing for me. Not sure what mojo is, but joy and blessing, laughter and learning, extended community - oh yeah!

    2. Peace, brother. Again, I think the SEC is enlarging our category of "saints," and while that may be uncomfortable--and discomfitting--at first, I think we will grow because of it. I hope we may all come to experience wild joy in encountering such a diversity of saintliness in our world. I believe LM may truly be a "thin space" because of that stretching element.

    3. I had great fun reflecting on all the lives that were brought before us and learned a lot. Thank you, Lent Madness, from a big fan!

      1. I always have a wonderful time reading and learning about the saints. Some of whom I knew about and mostly those I don't know. I look forward to Lent Madness each year....

    4. I agree--but I still learned a great deal about the "candidates". So here's to 2018--!!!

  3. Thanks for all the information. I always learn so much through this madness and look forward to learning something new everyday. Florence has been a hero to me since I was little. My Grandmother was a healer before doctors were around in her area so praying and doing what one can has been a lesson learned early. I am looking forward to next year.

  4. THANKS to all who created and executed another engaging Lent Madness!! Learning about some lesser known saints is fascinating, especially from well researched and written materials! Thanks to each of you who made this exercise possible!!! I'll be looking forward to your continued writings'

  5. Kudos to the SEC! Lent Madness was edifying, educational and inspirational! "I sing a song of the saints of God!"

  6. The celebrity bloggers outdid themselves, they get better every year! Congratulations Flo! And let us not forget the winner of the silver halo Franz Jägerstätter--who most of us had never heard of before this Lent!
    May each of you have a Holy Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and an Easter filled with joy!!!

  7. Hurray for Fabulous Flo - a tribute to all nurses past and present, the nursing profession rocks!!!

  8. Thank you, Tim and Scott, for another inspiring and thought-provoking Lent Madness. It keeps me engaged in Lent and also teaches me about saintly souls I might never have heard about. Congratulations to Florence. Happy Easter to all.

    1. I'm with Jane. Thank you so much, SEC and all my "Madness" brethren!
      Happy Easter to one and all.

  9. A silver lining to Franz Jägerstätter losing is that he will participate in a future Lent Madness season.
    I am looking forward to reading more about him and introducing him to new Lent Madness followers!

    1. And a Silver Halo this year as well. I'm glad for Flo and even gladder to have learned about Franz and all the other dark horses this year. Thanks for this delightful way to attend to Lent, SEC and Celebrity Bloggers. And a special round of applause to Sr. Diana for her wonderful hymns!

      To all, have a blessed Triduum and a glorious Easter!

  11. Thank you SEC.
    Thank you celebrity bloggers.
    Thank you Diana the hymn writer.
    Thanks be to God for the imagination, dedication, and humor that go into creating Lent Madness. All the the bios are calls to humility and service. I have been blessed by every one of them and by the comments which have enlarged on the information in the bios. I would be equally blessed if we didn't vote, but just let the SEC toss a coin to decide each contest. However, then we would lose the satiric edge. Since I am not a sports fan I rather enjoy dethroning Bis Sports for a season. Thank you all!

  13. It's been a joy being part of this Lent community.
    Thank you to all. This is one of the reasons I' still an Episcopalian.

  16. It has been a fine Madness, and just as mojo-laced as ever in the eyes of many beholders. I hope all the fans of Florence and Franz will move on to Fifty Days of Fabulous, a daily dose of inspiration and interaction for the season of Easter. Thanks to all for sharing thoughts, laughter, tears, and faith. Bless us, one and all.

  17. Many thanks to Scott and Tim and all involved with Lent Madness, I looked forward to it every day.
    Education and fun all rolled into one!

  18. Franz Jägerstädter may not have won this year's contest, but his quiet example of doing what is right when all around are not is something that I will remember. The frog does not have to die a death by slow degrees if he is alert enough to recognize the pot and flames for what they are...and then jumps. For me the real value of saints is what they teach, and while Florence certainly has much to teach...Franz is teaching me. And frogs. Frogs should be listening to Franz.

    2. "I" too "SWYDT." All the Pepe the Frogs should be listening to all the saints and learning something about grace and tolerance and community. Integration is here to stay, and immigrants are a protected class for Christians. (You're subtle, Miss Jan, but I have to draw out meanings more fully.) "Mojo" means going out and making the world a better place, and I think LM served that purpose this year.

  20. Thank you, Tim and Scott for inventing and promoting Lent Madness. I look forward every season to live with and learn of our heritage through our Christian ancestors. Thanks to all the contributors whose imagination and research bring us together. I appreciate all the commentators whether I agree with them or not. God is Good, God Bless Us everyone. Easter Blessings and Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

  22. Another great hymn, Diana! I especially like the lyric "May we fumble in their footsteps". It reminds us that, on this side of Heaven, our walk with Christ will never be perfect, but we still travel a holy way, as Florence and Franz, and all the saints before us have done.

    1. Good to travel to Canterbury with you again this year, Harlie. See you next year. Have a great one.

        1. Addendum to Celia:
          I saw your post just as I was walking out the door, so I only had time for a short response, but I would like to expand on it.
          Celia, I appreciate your well considered comments, your responsiveness to other commenters, and the civility and respect you to show to all. Plus, I love the way you refer to Lent Madness as "Traveling to Canterbury". That just warms my lil' ol' Anglican heart!
          Thanks.

          1. Oh, thank you, Harlie. You have made my day. I'm merely a wanna-be saint, as is very obvious, but I am in good company here, and I love this little journey each year. Hopefully Chaucer will appear in next year's LM bracket! I look forward to the arguments over whether bawdiness is a form of Xian spirituality through the incarnation! I so appreciate your words. Celia

  24. geaux Flo! as we say here in New Orleans. or we might spell her name as FLEAUX. I loved the hymn and sang it in my head.

    1. But we don't want to spell her name FLEAUX because that means "scourge" in the French singular (with an accent on the "e").

      1. But that would be pronounced Flay-O, and people could sing a new song to her using Harry Belafonte's Day-O, the Banana Boat song. "Six-foot, seven-foot, eight-foot needles! Daylight's come and I gotta go heal."

          3. #ShePersisted

            Why it keeps throwing the extra code in I don't know. But I'll figure it out for next year. Y'all have a good one.

  28. We here at Xavier Catholic Middle School are concerned about Oliver. We've not seen him post in a long time. Where oh where is Oliver?!
    That being said we thank you for an exciting Lent Madness season!

    1. I'm missing Oliver too. Praying all is well with him and his family. And that they and all the Lent Madness family have a beautiful Triduum.

    2. I do miss Oliver Age 9, and hope to see comments by Oliver Age 10 in Lent Madness 2018.

  29. Thank you to all concerned! This was my first year of Lent Madness and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot and was entertained along the way. Well done and I'll be back for more next year!

  30. Sadly, I could not bring myself to vote yesterday. I could not choose between these two brave souls. Both stood their ground for their beliefs.
    I vote for a tie.

    1. Indeed and well said. Though my heart and vote were with Flo, I can certainly see your point.

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