668 comments on “Nominationtide has arrived!”

1. I would like to nominate Father Antonio Ravalli, S.J. who was recruited to serve at St. Mary's Mission (in Montana) by Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, S.J.
   From the Historic St. Marys Mission website: "A world away from his roots, Father Ravalli became the beloved priest, physician, pharmacist, sculptor, architect, machinist, and friend of the Native Americans of the Northwest from 1845 to 1884."

2. I would like to nominate Corrie Ten Boom who provided a hiding place for many Jews in WWII Holland. she rescued 100 Jewish babies from an orphanage before they could be slaughtered. She faced prison in death with a Bible page in her shoe. Surviving she continuedtospreach the love and redemptive power of Jesus all of her life, all through her love of Jesus own kindred.

3. I nominate (having not looked through all the comments to see if I am repeating someone else's nomination) John Calvin 1564.The celebration day of his sainthood is May 28th. His seminal "Institutes of the Christian Religion" is one of the important frameworks for the Reformation. And like all of us, he had his flaws as well as his better angels. I was able, long ago, to hold a xc of the "Institutes" first edition.

4. I nominate Episcopal saint, Pauli Murray, 1910-1985. I am inspired by her leadership in civil rights (founding member of CORE), feminism (founding member of NOW) and her work to overcome inequality wherever she found it. Although born into poverty and orphaned when young, she graduated from Hunter College and received a law degree from Howard and Yale Universities. In 1977 she was the first African American woman ordained an Episcopal priest. She was an acclaimed author of poetry and prose. She struggled with gender non-conformity throughout her life, but was not defined by it. Her celebrity blogger will have an easy task raising Pauli Murray up toward the Golden Halo she certainly deserves.

5. I nominate St Melangell (pronounced Mel-eng-eth) a 7th century Welsh abbess who eschewed father's urge for her to marry instead she vowed herself to God and sought solitary refuge in remote part of Wales. Per legend, a hunter pursuing a hare discovered her when he found the hare fearlessly sheltering in her robes. He offered her lands to serve as a refuge for all seeking asylum and her community grew.
   I'm nominating her in this age of little easy solitude and much needed openness to the needs of asylum seekers and all needing safe refuge

6. Clarence Jordan.
   He won't qualify; no church is celebrating him as a saint of the church. But we should use Lent Madness to raise our consciousness about people who should be saints of the church, not just rely on our institutions. There are too many people left out of institutions.
   Clarence Jordan knew that.
   He was from Georgia. And he decided to settle there. But the gospel and the book of Acts brought him to a decision. He would settle there, but only as a true Christian. One who lives in brotherhood with all people. One who renounces worldly possessions. One who lives out the gospel. He and his wife and another family founded Koinonia Farms. Despite intense pressure from the neighbors, the KKK, the local churches, the county, and the state of Georgia — social, economic, and violent pressure — Clarence Jordan lived out a life of Christian witness and example. He was funny. Smart. Whip-smart. Check out this audio — 45 minutes of him talking about the founding of the community and how he and his wife and other members of his community responded to the pressures around them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g1Z-v-TpI0. I can't think of a better example of a relatively unknown person who should be named a saint of the church.

7. I would like to nominate Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), who is recognized on the Episcopal calendar on March 10 - see pp. 174-176 of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, Conforming to General Convention 2018.

   Born a slave in Maryland, Tubman escaped from bondage to Pennsylvania and then returned to Maryland to rescue nearly 70 people from slavery, first family members then others. She worked actively with others along the Underground Railroad to help these people travel to freedom. She worked actively with many abolitionists, including John Brown. Once the Civil War began, she worked as a spy for the Union Army, and helped lead a raid that resulted in freedom for more than 700 slaves. After the Civil War, she lived in Auburn, New York, where she cared for her elderly parents. Late in her life, she became increasingly active in the women's suffrage movement, although she died before she could see votes for women included in the U.S. Constitution.

   Harriet Tubman may not be good enough for the Trump Administration to put on the $20 bill, but her life and work warrant her inclusion in the field of saints for Lent Madness 2020.

8. I would like to nominate a man loved and respected throughout the North part of Canada, the Venerable Archdeacon Robert McDonald representing the best of the missionaries.
   The follow is quoted from Wikipedia:
   Early life
   Edit

   A second generation Canadian, Robert McDonald was born in 1829 to Scots immigrant Neil McDonald, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, and his wife Ann Logan (daughter of a retired Hudson's Bay trader) at Point Douglas, Red River Colony (what became Winnipeg, Manitoba).[1] The second of ten children, McDonald attended the Red River Academy until he was 15, then helped his father on the family farm for four years before taking a position with the Methodist mission at Norway House.[2]

   Career
   Edit

   McDonald also studied at St. John's Collegiate School (predecessor of the University of Manitoba founded in 1877), which enabled him to take holy orders as an Anglican deacon in 1852. Bishop David Anderson of Rupert's Land ordained him as a priest in 1853. His first posting was at the White Dog (a.k.a. Islington) Mission at the junction of the Winnipeg and Lac Seul Rivers among the Ojibwe people, now known as the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations or Whitedog First Nation. Using a syllabic method and Latin alphabet, McDonald began translating the Bible into Ojibwe a.k.a. Ojibwa a.k.a. Chippewa, and completed the minor prophets before his next assignment.

   In 1862 the Church Missionary Society sent McDonald to the Yukon Territory, where he became the first Protestant missionary ever assigned to work among indigenous peoples of the Arctic. His work involved extensive travel in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, as well as what became Alaska. When gold was discovered, McDonald became the first missionary in the Klondike. He also interacted with Catholic and Russian Orthodox missionaries, sometimes sharing translators among the various tribes in his vast assigned territory. In over forty years, Rev. McDonald baptised over 2000 people, adults as well as children, and educated many at schools he established. His initial station, at Ft. Yukon, was thought to be in Canada, but turned out to be in Alaska. He later worked along the Porcupine River and established another base at Fort McPherson on the Peel River.

   McDonald spent most of the next four decades working among the Gwich'in people (who call themselves Dinjii Zhuu, and which was sometimes transcribed as Tinjiyzoo). However, in 1872, he accepted an invitation of the Church Missionary Society and took a working vacation in England, shortly after the Hudson's Bay Company sold its lands to Canada, leading to the Red River Rebellion of 1869 and finally the creation of Manitoba as the country's fifth province.

   In 1876, a year after McDonald received a promotion to Archdeacon of the newly created Mackenzie diocese, he married Julia Kutuq, a Gwich'in woman, with whom he eventually had nine children.[3][4]

   McDonald achieved lasting recognition for his translations, having established an alphabet for the previously oral Gwich'in. With the help of Julia and other native speakers, McDonald translated the Bible, Book of Common Prayer and many hymns into Gwich'in (which he called Takudh and, later, Tukudh).[5] His translation work helped unify the various tribes speaking similar Athabaskan languages. In 1911, McDonald published a dictionary and grammar for the language under the title of "A Grammar of the Tukudh Language".[6]

9. I would like to Nominate St. Jude aka Thaddaeus, a brother of St James the Less and a relative of Christ. St. Jude is the Patron Saint of Desperate Causes.
   I know that every time I have been in turmoil and asked for his intercession, he has granted my petition.
   St. Jude was one of the Apostles and preached to the churches in the East in the decades after Christ died . He suffered martyrdom in Armenia which at the tine was a subject of Persia.
   His feast day is on October 28.

10. Lydia of Thyatira! She was the first European convert to Christianity, and a woman at that.

11. Lydia of Phillipi, the first European Christian and the Writ's only businesswoman, as far as I can tell. A generous, hospitable, and remarkable Saint. Besides, she got the young-ish Paul to sit down with her, engaging in discussion and accepting her hospitality. In other words, behaving better than he -- or perhaps his pesudo-Pauline reputation -- behaves in other contexts.

12. I nominate John Henry Newman. His role in the Oxford Movement helped to initiate a shift in Global Anglicanism that is clearly felt in many Churches in the Anglican Communion. Although he swam the Tiber, he lasting influence on Anglicanism has left him as one of my favorite saints.

13. I nominate Saint Athanasius. I was in my twenties when I began learning about the Apostolic Church... and was never quite able to get my head around the trinity until I studied the Creed of Saint Athanasius... either I have a really thick head, or his rather wordy creed finally made enough twists and turns that it screwed the concept into my mind and heart. (By the way, Sister Athanasius of the Ursuline Center in Great Falls made a beautiful Rosary which I keep close at hand -- a treasured possession)

14. I would like to nominate a man not widely known and but a man who served the church as the 3rd bishop of Rome ( Pope ) and early martyr of the church under the Emperor Domitian. His name is Cletus, the middle name given to me at my baptism as a baby only 18 days old and the the name of a beloved uncle and priest of the church. for 63 years. The reason I am nominating him is even though little is known of him or of his accomplishments he is worthy to be considered for this honor because he loved and served Jesus and the church and gave his life for the One he loved and served. Anyone who loves and follows Jesus and gives their life for the One they love deserves to be remembered and honored as a saint of the church.

    Cletus was the 2nd successor of St. Peter as bishop of Rome from 76-88. In the historical annals his father was listed as Emelianus , was Roman by birth and belonged to the quarter known as Vicus Patric. . He ordained 25 priest and is buried in the Vatican near the body of St. Peter and St. Linus ( another early pope ) . In Eucharistic Prayer One in the Roman Catholic Church he is listed as a martyr and is known to have received the crown of martyrdom in the year 91. His relics still remain in St.Peter's Basilica and his feast day is celebrated on April 26.

15. I nominate Pelagius the great theologian who articulated good will and the inherent good of people in contrast with Augustan doctrine of original sin.

16. I nominate Bartolome de las Casas.

    His Feast Day is July 18th.

    Bartolome was a Spanish Dominican friar who traveled to the Americas with Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. Bartolome settled for a time in Hispaniola. After seeing the treatment of the indigenous peoples of Central America and Hispaniola by the Spaniards, he sold his plantations and freed his slaves. He wrote a book from the point of view of the indigenous and spent his life in the Caribbean advocating for them.

    1. Yes, but he was also the first person to suggest enslaving Africans, and although he recanted this view later in life, the damage was done.

17. St. Cyprian
    The Patron saint of the parish I was baptized and confirmed in. I really do not know much of his story and would love to learn more.

18. As have several others above, I nominate Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Have just finished watching the award-winning documentary "Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels" on vimeo.com. Please take the time to view.

19. I nominate St. Aurelia of Strasbourg. Aurelia was a princess who became a hermitess and her saint day is celebrated on my birthday, October 15. Yay!

20. I nominate Christina Rossetti,poet. She wrote Love Came Down at Christmas [#84 in the hymnal] and In the Bleak Mid Winter [ #112 in the hymnal]. Her feast day is April 27th. I am nominating her because of these two wonderful Christmas hymns.

    1. Marlene, even though I nominated someone else (Jonathan Daniels), if I could do another one, it would be my favorite poet, Christina Rossetti. As a church musician and parishioner, I've always loved these two hymns. Through the years I've come to appreciate so many of her other poems. What a wonderful gift she shared with the world.

21. I nominate John Wesley. He is known for being the founder of the Methodists but this information is wrong. He died an Anglican priest. Also his brother who has been one of the illegible saints, Charles Wesley (also composed gorgeous hymns).

    The name Methodist started when John Wesley was a student of Christ Church in the University of Oxford (or a Fellow at Lincoln College) and him and his friends were called Methodists because 9f their zeal

    John Wesley was one of the important figures in the UK battling against slavery. He travelled a lot to the US and was advocating the end of slavery here too.

22. I nominate St. Katherine Drexel - this was my niece’s confirmation saint this year and reading more about her I was fascinated by her work against racism and on behalf of African American and Indian children.

23. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/article/american-martyr-jonathan-daniels

    Jonathan Daniels worked for civil rights for African Americans, and was martyred for his witness.

24. I nominate Elizabeth Fry. She was a prison reformer in England in the early 1800’s. She also opened a homeless shelter in London. She was just added to the Episcopal calendar in 2018.

25. I nominate St. George, a soldier from Cappadocia and a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was martyred April 23, 303, probably at Lydda in Palestine, for refusing to recant his Christian faith. The story of his courage and the strength of his faith spread far and wide; within centuries of his death he was venerated across Europe, the Levant and in India, and is still today. In the Middle East he is held to be both saint and prophet; both Christians and Muslins revere him. He is the patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, and Venice, as well as Boy Scouts and soldiers, universities, and England’s royal family. His cross forms England’s national flag – and, of course, the emblem of the Episcopal Church!

    St. George has never appeared in the Lent Madness lineup…surely a regrettable omission for a man who is revered so widely across much of the world. As a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Belleville, Illinois, I nominate St. George for his courage, compassion, generosity and above all for his unconquerable faith in Jesus Christ.

26. I nominate Saint Zita. She is a patron of domestic servants, a bit naive, and generous to a fault. I particularly like her because she specializes in lost keys. What a market opportunity! St Zita key rings!

27. I nominate Lydia (in Sunday, May 26's first reading) who brought Paul to her home where she and her household were baptized.

28. I nominate Saint Nino from the Eastern Orthodox church. As I read in Wikipedia she was considered a saint and important in the 3rd century, particularly in Georgia. I saw a doctor recently whose name was Nino and I had not heard of this name previously and she told me about the saint and that many young women in Russia and in the Orthodox church are named Nino. I want to know more.

29. St Anthon of Padua. Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family and by the age of fifteen asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, the then capital of Portugal. During his time in the Abbey, he learned theology and Latin.
    Following his ordination to the priesthood, he was named guestmaster and was responsible for the abbey's hospitality. When Franciscan friars settled a small hermitage outside Coimbra dedicated to Saint Anthony of Egypt, Fernando felt a longing to join them. Fernando eventually received permission to leave the Abbey so he could join the new Franciscan Order. When he was admitted, he changed his name to Anthony.

    Anthony then traveled to Morocco to spread God's truth, but became extremely sick and was returned to Portugal to recover. The return voyage was blown off-course and the party arrived in Sicily, from which they traveled to Tuscany. Athony was assigned to the hermitage of San Paolo after local friars considered his health.As he recovered, Anthony spent his time praying and studying.
    An undetermined amount of time later, Dominican friars came to visit the Franciscans and there was confusion over who would present the homily. The Dominicans were known for their preaching, thus the Franciscans assumed it was they who would provide a homilist, but the Dominicans assumed the Franciscans would provide one. It was then the head of the Franciscan hermitage asked Anthony to speak on whatever the Holy Spirit told him to speak of. Though he tried to object, Anthony
    delivered an eloquent and moving homily that impressed both groups. Soon, news of his eloquence reached Francis of Assisi, who held a strong distrust of the brotherhood's commitment to a life of poverty. However, in Anthony, he found a friend. In 1224, Francis entrusted his friars' pursuits of studies to Anthony. Anthony had a book of psalms that contained notes and comments to help when teaching students and, in a time when a printing press was not yet invented, he greatly valued it.
    When a novice decided to leave the hermitage, he stole Anthony's valuable book. When Anthony discovered it was missing, he prayed it would be found or returned to him. The thief did return the book and in an extra step returned to the Order as well. The book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna today.Anthony occasionally taught at the universities of Montpellier an
    d Toulouse in southern France, but he performed best in the role of a preacher. So simple and resounding was his teaching of the Catholic Faith, most unlettered and the innocent could understand his messages. It is for this reason he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. Once, when St. Anthony of Padua attempted to preach the true Gospel of the Catholic Church to heretics who would not listen to him, he went out and preached his message to the fish. This was not, as liberals and naturalists have tried to say, for the instruction of the fish, but rather for the glory of God, the delight of the angels, and the easing of his own heart. When critics saw the fish begin to gather, they realized they should also listen to what Anthony had to say. He was only 35-years-old when he died and was canonized less than one year afterward by Pope Gregory IX. Upon exhumation some 336 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect were the teachings that had been formed upon it. He is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus and is commonly referred to today as the "finder of lost articles." St Anthony is venerated all over the world as the Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.

30. I nominate Trevor Huddleston, late Church of England Bishop of Stepney/Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. Huddleston served God and God's people in South Africa for 16 years, from 1940 to 1956, and was a fearless voice against the evil institution of apartheid. He greatly influenced such diverse people as Desmond Tutu and Khotso Makhulu, Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa, and was a close friend of ANC President O.R. Tambo. His book, "Naught for your Comfort" should be required reading for all Christians.