A day after Stephen became the first saint to make it to the Faithful Four, by defeating Augustine of Canterbury 62% to 38%, the Elate Eight rolls on!
Today it's Martin Luther taking on Florence Nightingale in a matchup featuring two saintly heavyweights of kitsch. To make it to this point, Martin defeated David Oakerhater and Joseph Schereschewsky while Florence got the best of Anselm of Canterbury and Henry Beard Delany.
Yes, folks, March Madness may be done (congrats to the North Caroline Tar Heels) but Lent Madness is just heating up!
Martin Luther
Martin Luther loved life! He loved to drink beer. He loved to eat. And, he loved to wrestle with his faith with other clever, inquisitive people.
As we commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, the creation of Martin Luther kitsch (or lovely commemorative keepsakes, depending upon your perspective) has cranked up.
If you make the pilgrimage to Wittenberg, Germany you’ll certainly want to taste some of their famous Luther Biere which you may drink from a Luther stein!
And, since you wouldn’t want to drink too much beer on an empty stomach, you might as well purchase some Luther wurst topped off by Lutherbrodt (Luther bread) for dessert.
Of course, you’ll want to bring home a souvenir or two from your sojourn. There are plenty of t-shirts to be found, as in any town catering to tourists. 
But, for something truly special, you’ll stand proudly in your “Here I Stand” socks. Or, for warmer weather, Luther flip flops.
Scholars may think that Brother Martin never actually stated “Here I Stand, I can do no other” at the Diet of Worms, but it is popular and we aren’t going to let go of this catchy phrase anytime soon!
Or, perhaps you could tuck small souvenirs in the corners of your suitcase for the kitchen workers in your church back home; a Martin Luther cookie cutter!
Courtesy of several websites, you don’t have to go to Wittenberg to collect Martin Luther paraphernalia. In February 2015, the Playmobil company announced that their then newly launched Martin Luther Playmobil figure had sold out of the first 34,000 figures manufactured in less than 72 hours! Sales are now over 500,000 of the little plastic reformer!
If you’d like something equally fun, but a bit more edifying, you’ll enjoy Papa Luther: A Graphic Novel or, The Life of Martin Luther: A Pop-Up Book.
A popular decorative element on a wide range of Luther kitsch is the Luther Rose. This seal was designed in 1530 for Martin at the behest of Luther’s protector, John Frederick, Elector of Saxony.
Earrings? Tie? Pillow? Temporary tattoo? (you just can’t make this stuff up!)
Martin Luther had a sense of humor, so while I’m guessing he would be astonished by the fuss in this 500th year after he hoped to share some reforming ideas with other scholars, I think he’d chuckle and go right along with the jokes! And, he’d especially enjoy the fact that Pope Francis and Protestant leaders from around the globe are commemorating this 500-year milestone together.
-- Beth Lewis
Florence Nightingale
If you have a nurse in your life that you’d like to thank, here are the top 10 “Florence Nightingale” gifts that you can give!
1. Every nurse secretly wants to be the original Florence Nightingale. For just $19.99, you can give your special nurse that opportunity with his/her own special Florence Nightingale costume:
2. Is your nurse not the type to dress up? Never fear, you can get your special nurse their own troll doll dressed like Florence to ride on the dash of their automobile for a cheap $10.00 on Etsy: 
3. If you really love your nurse, grab that special person a 1st edition copy of Florence Nightingale’s “Notes on Nursing.” Drop your bid over on Ebay for a mere $625.00. Every nurse should have a copy of “Notes on Nursing.”
4. If your nurse likes to show his/her Nightingale pride, this shirt is just the thing for $21.99.
5. Every nurse today needs a Nightingale lamp for those graveyard shifts when the generator fails. For just $18, your nurse can let their light shine, just like Florence Nightingale.
6. Many nurses take, or have taken, the Nightingale Pledge when they graduate from nursing school. You can purchase your special nurse this beautifully framed copy of the pledge that shows their dedication to their fellow man:
7. Have you been so moved by the story of Florence Nightingale that you’d like to encourage your son or daughter to follow in her footsteps? Start telling them the story of Florence Nightingale and her courage during the Crimean War. It’s now on SALE in the Easy store.
8. Share the prayer of Florence Nightingale with your special nurse and let them know that they touched your life in a special way.
9. After a long shift at work, what every nurse really wants is a foot rub. Known as the “Nightingale Special,” a foot, back, or any kind of massage is just the ticket to show your special nurse that their work matters.
10. Finally, while someone is giving your nurse a foot rub, whip up the “Nightingale cocktail” to help your special nurse unwind:
The Nightingale cocktail recipe is made from banana liqueur, triple sec, light cream and egg white, and served in a chilled sherry glass.
Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled sherry glass and serve.
More seriously, forget the kitsch and craziness above, if you have ever been sick, or injured, or afraid, and have been blessed by the caring hands of a nurse, say a prayer of thanks for Florence Nightingale. Every nurse today has been influenced by her legacy. Thanks Flo, the love of God is indeed in the face of every patient we touch.
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238 comments on “Martin Luther vs. Florence Nightingale”
I had to go with Florence Nightingale but I want those Martin Luther earrings!
As a retired nurse how can I not vote for Flo! I graduated from Trenton State College in 1973 and the faculty gave each of us a copy of "Notes on Nursing", I still treasure me.
For
Anna (who was hospital-trained)
Christine (a doctor of nursing)
Emily (and her multiple tours of duty as an army nurse)
Mark
Norma
Paul
For all them and all those nurses and students of nursing I have known and/or have been cared for by, I shall go with the Flo!
"Go with the Flo"-- I wish I'd thought of that!
Martin Luther without a doubt has the best kitsch since Lent Madness began. But, for many reasons (including not wanting my brother and sister in law, both nurses, and my older daughter, a CNA, to be mad at me), I voted for Florence.
Flo for the gold! I have the troll doll -someone gave it to me- and it's just as ridiculous as it looks in the picture.
I voted for Flo- can't get over Luther's attacks on Jews. I lived in Nice, France for six years and was deeply disturbed at how hatred and distrust of Jews is taught in a Christian context in many branches of Christianity in Europe. Watch The Sorrow and the Pity- documentary on the Holocaust- and see what the French member of the SS has to say. He learned to hate Jews in church. Ugh. On the other hand, watch Weapons of the Spirit, a documentary about the little Protestant town in France where everyone risked their lives to shelter thousands of Jews because it was their Christian duty.
Thanks for the video recommendations. I'm trying to build a small DVD library about resistance to evil, about forgiveness and compassion in the hardest times. These will be helpful additions.
Christine, with the town in the film you mentioned, as the people were French Protestants, they were more likely to be Calvinists than Lutherans and, thus, would have always had been taught a more positive view of Jews.
Correcting my grammar: "... always HAVE been taught...".
That is so cool! I'm gonna check out your Community website right now!
We'd still have had a Reform of theology, liturgy, spirituality, church politics, etc. in the 16th-17th centuries, as it was necessary. However, if Luther's innards behaved (and if he kept his drinking within safe limits), the Reform may not have been accompanied by a tragic breach of communion and fellowship within the Western Church, a breach that sadly continues to our own day.
Luther didn't cause that breach- he was only trying to correct some of the man-made wrongs that the popes & MEN had brought into the Catholic church that burdened the people with works-righteousness.
But the pope try to have him murdered and he would not back down from the truth he rediscovered. Therefore the breach!
She had a pet owl, Fiona???? That is seriously cool!
Yes, the owl's name was Athena. One of my nursing students gave me a small watercolor painting of Athena as a gift (which she had painted herself)....still hangs in my office. I already have Notes on Nursing but now I need the troll doll! Luther is a towering figure in our church history, and has some fabulous kitsch, but I started my bracket eith Florence for the Golden Halo, and I won't stop now! Go Flo!
I think it's called beer (or biere, for our German-speaking friends). 😀
Good one, Doris! You're wittier (or Wittenbergier) than I.
I appear to be having trouble voting on my phone today. I have tried twice, and fear the outer darkness if I try again. If my vote has not gone through, put me down for Florence.
If the voting options appear on your phone at https://www.lentmadness.org/2017/04/martin-luther-vs-florence-nightingale/ your vote hasn't registered yet Nolan.
What no Luther bobble head doll! Even we lowly Methodist have a Wesley bobblehead.
I voted for the nurse and her dedication to serve others. In honor of my mother.
Florence Nightingale was also a leader in public health! Her realization that the fighting man was more likely to die of disease than bullets lead to her working with the British high command on ways to promote sanitation in Army camps. They realized it was less expensive to keep them healthy than to train new soldiers (whatever it takes, right?). Florence all the way! #OnceaNurseAlwaysaNurse
I truly had to draw straws! The more I learn about Luther I think he must have been a great guy to hang with. These days I need the care of a devoted nurse more than I need an intellectual drinking buddy. You all see where this is going?!
in honor of my friends Dale, Millie, Ginger, and my grandmother who would have been a nurse in another time my vote is for Florence!
Go with the Flo!
I'm going to be checking back in during the day to see if Martin can inch his way up into another of those nail-biter close finishes we had last week. With all due respect to Florence Nightingale (if she loses, I'd like to see her back in another year's Lent Madness soon), this is the 500th anniversary of the 95 theses. From my first look at the brackets last November, I had Martin Luther for the Golden Halo!
can't get to the voting web page.
It is https://www.lentmadness.org/2017/04/martin-luther-vs-florence-nightingale/
Florence is winning (as of 7:52 a.m. PDT), so my vote for Martin won't hurt. This is his year--and I want some of that Lutherbrodt!
But I will be delighted if Florence gets the halo; she made a huge difference, also.
Oh look! Lutherbrodt in a decorative tin: https://www.amazon.com/Original-Wittenberger-Lutherbrodt/dp/B003V02HFC. 🙂
"Nailed it! " Until. Then, I was keeping Flo at the top of MY list.....but , Go , Martin!
Martin Luther definitely has better kitsch. He gets my vote!
Cecil Woodham-Smith's biography about Florence Nightingale cites a letter she wrote about trying to follow her calling through the church. In it she said: “I would have given her [the Church] my head, my hand, my heart. She would not have them. She did not know what to do with them. She told me to go back and do crochet in my mother’s drawing-room; or if I were tired of that, to marry and look well at the head of my husband’s table. ‘You may go to the Sunday School if you like it,’ she said. But she gave me no training even for that. She gave me neither work to do for her, nor education for it.” Florence Nightingale in a letter to Dean Stanley, 1852.
Florence heard a call from God and, tragically, had to go outside the church that should have supported and encouraged her holy vocation in order to respond. Yet she persisted. Sometimes I am simply overwhelmed with gratitude for the strong, courageous women who have "followed the right for Jesus sake" and made possible so many of the rights I could too easily take for granted.
Just amazing, Diana. 🙁
Woodham-Smith's biography is a classic! I was given an old edition (still have it!) as I began my nursing education in college. Thanks for quoting it. #GoFlorence
I agree. That book is an absolute treasure. When looking for the quotation from Florence's letter, I was surprised to discover that Cecil Woodham-Smith was a woman. I never looked past what I thought was a masculine name and have learned yet another gentle lesson about not leaping to conclusions without anything or anyone.
That should be ABOUT anything or anyone. Why do I always catch my errors when it's too late to edit?
Wow, I'm honored. Thank you so much. You've provided me with some much-needed encouragement.
To be clear....Martin would never have had my vote but for the kitsch today. It was really the t-shirt that won! The Catholic Church had truly lost its way in many areas and desperately needed reforming. But not the knowledge of the Eucharist, given to us by Jesus Himself and emphasized and retaughr by His disciples for centuries.....and Martin's anti Semitism was deplorable. But, wow...the shirt is brilliant! Flo's troll was a saintly second.
Lent Madness was already a pretty wonderful experience. And you have just made it that much more wonderful this year, Diana. Thanks so much.
Amen.
Amen, Jennifer.
Did you see the Episcopal Café report yesterday on the people defined by "Love Jesus not the church"? A large majority of that demographic are women. Apparently Florence would understand.
There sure are a lot of nurses doing Lent Madness. As with yesterday ( and I lost that one, too), I tend to go with the person whose greatest impact was spiritual rather than secular. Florence Nightingale was an amazing person whose work is lasting, but without Luther, there would be no Protestant church.
a really really tough one. I love Florence Nightengale, but in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I'm going with Luther this time.
Florence my Grandmother was a nurse and I NEVER know what to give her for her Birthday.
Difficult choice. Had to go with, "once a nurse, always a nurse". Go Florence.
Florence is my heroine these days ... she and Dawn Staley (who, also, by the way, helped us work our way through March Madness, SEC folks! Go Lady Gamecocks, who I am sure had a nurse or two help them through all the injuries their careers thus far have endured.) Thank you, Florence, and thank you to all the nurses helping my parents through their current crisis. On to the Halo, I say!
Martin Luther, how I love that man. As a teen I read "Here I Stand" and subsequently several times since - he was a phenom to be sure! He literally changed the fabric of the Western world and he is most worthy of the Golden Halo.
Alas, during the last round I was bummed that focus on his anti-Semetic views - which were universally held at the time - disqualified him for so many people. Since medieval times there has been a great awakening and most every Christian sect has sought forgiveness and actively works towards reconciliation. That said, I'm glad Martin will go down to his worthy opponent today. Primarily, I'm happy not to witness a Championship pairing of Luther v. Jagerstatter. Anti-Semite v. Nazi martyr. We'd all go out of our minds!
The other reason I'm happy about Martin Luther's defeat: it comes at the hands of Florence, and I have no doubt - Martin would be proud, too.
Isn't this an interesting pairing, in that both Martin and Flo shed much light on the spiritual significance of our secular work? One of Martin's epic contributions was to reconnect faith to everyday life. "Vocation" was expanded ("restored") from priestly duties to domestic, civic and employment duties. You can even take vocation camping! Here's a quote, "Works of monks and priests, however arduous they may be (thanks you SEC guys!) do not differ on whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or woman going about her household tasks. All works are measured before God by faith alone."
THANK YOU, Martin Luther for that lovely segue to Florence Nightingale! A woman who eschewed the easy life of the Uptown Girl for the Call to service, Florence connected her faith in God to her work in life. Faith must be lived out in the world. Our lives must reflect God's glory by making the world a better place with practical achievements. (OMG! Was she a Girl Scout as well?!) To Florence, healing the sick was doing this - showing God's goodness by doing His work in the world. The faith of an activist! As a sidebar, When seeking practical experience in her nurse training, where did Florence turn? The Institute of Lutheran Deaconesses in Kaiserwerth, Germany.
Congratulations on your big win today, Florence!
Flo for the win.
This was a tough one, but since I have a Martin Luther bobble-head staring down at me from the shelf in my office, Luther got my vote today. I wish I could add to the kitsch as the bobble-head is quintessential Luther swag.
He's got 95 problems but a nail ain't one.
(Love that joke. Still voted Nightingale)
Come on Brother Martin. This was really hard, I'm a retired Lutheran advanced practice nurse.
Martin has much better kitsch.
Love the "Sin Boldly" beer glasses.
What about the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks? Huh?