668 comments on “Nominationtide has arrived!”

1. I would like to nominate a worthy Canadian woman, Hannah Grier Coome (1837 - 1921), founder of the Anglican Sisterhood of St. the Divine in Canada -- to this day a thriving and creative community of women in Toronto, Ontario and Victoria, British Columbia making an active contribution to the emerging church, the new monasticism, spiritual formation, and pastoral care.

2. I would like to nominate Sir Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador. While he is not well known today, I remember growing up with Sunday School stories of his work amongst the fishermen and inhabitants of the isolated coastal communities where he helped establish hospitals, nursing stations, schools as well as other social services which were desperately needed. My elder siblings went to Sir Wilfred Grenfell elementary school in Vancouver, so it was another connection for us. His feast day in the Episcopal Church (USA) is October 9th (unfortunately not in the Anglican Church of Canada!).

3. I am nominating St. Anne of David's house, mother of Mary and grandmother to Jesus. When burdened with the weight of my worries I say the nine day novena to Anne and my troubles are gone. She always intercedes for me!

4. I would like to nominate Blessed Father Stanley Rother who was recently beautified in Oklahoma City his feast day is July 28th on the calendar of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. He was and continues to be an example of living a Christian life, persevering to the end, and dying as a martyr. For it was on the blood of the Martyrs that our faith is founded.

5. I would like to nominate Hannah Grier Coome who in 1884 founded the only Anglican Sisterhood which was founded in Canada. She appears on the Ordo of the Anglican Church of Canada. The Sisterhood was founded " to do anything a woman can do" which in our day is everything. A sampling of how they have met the needs of people irrespective of race, colour, or creed is they have worked in schools, homes for the elderly, missions to the poor, retreat houses, they do spiritual direction and anything which comes to hand to help feed the spiritual hunger so prevalent in our world of today. Mother Hannah was an expert in Church Embroidery and for the first 100 years the community made vestments. Until a few years ago, they had an active white embroidery department which made the linens for many churches. Since 1885 to the present day they have worked in health care founding a field hospital during the Riel Rebellion which has grown into the Moose Jaw General Hospital of today. In the late 1930's, they founded St. John's Rehab, where they still work, a flourishing hospital in Toronto. Her legacy of courage and vision is great and I think that she deserves the recognition of being in Lent Madness.

6. I would like to nominate Jonathan Daniels from Keene New Hampshire,a seminarian and Civil Rights worker who gave bravely stood in front of a black woman she was about to be shot, and thus lost his own life.

7. Henry Martyn, a young academic who devoted his life to mission, and learned multiple languages to translate the Scriptures and the BCP into people’s own languages for them to understand and appreciate.

8. I nominate St. Barnabas (June 11), the first apostle (Acts 14:14) from outside of the Holy Land (he was from Cyprus), who set a precedent that people who the Church leaders discerned were "full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" could be leaders regardless of where they were from. Leadership was therefore not restricted to people from the same geographic area as the original leaders (or even related to them). He discerned that Paul's conversion was genuine and "sold" the original disciples on that. He was generous ("he sold a piece of land belonging to him and took the money and laid it at the apostles' feet"). He was secure enough to hire St. Paul as his curate (think about that) while serving as the "first missionary bishop" (to Antioch) where he led an extremely cosmopolitan church, including a black man as second-in-command. He then went on the first systematic journey of evangelism into pagan territory in Asia Minor, and was not seduced by being addressed as Zeus (people have swooned for far more modest titles). His name was a nickname -- "Son of encouragement," and do we ever need encouragement these days. And, he gave it all, dying as a martyr.

9. Can Holy Mary, Mother of God, be nominated? If so, I would like to nominate her as Our Lady, Untier of Knots. I love the painting of her by Johann Georg Schmidtner, c. 1700.

10. I nominate Enmegahbowh Priest and Missionary.
    John Johnson Enmegahbowh, an Odawa (Ottawa) Indian from Canada, born in 1807,
    was raised in the Midewiwin traditional healing way of his grandfather and the Christian religion of his mother. He came into the United States as a Methodist missionary in 1832.
    Enmegahbowh invited James Lloyd Breck to Gull Lake, where together they founded St. Columba's Mission in 1852. The Mission was later moved to White Earth, where Enmegahbowh served until his death in 1902.
    Enmegahbowh was consistant as a man of peace, inspiring the Waubanaquot (Chief white Cloud) Mission, which obtained a lasting peace between the Ojibway and the Dakota peoples.
    Enmegahbowh ("The One who stands Before his People") is the first recognized Native American priest in The Episcopal Church. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Kemper in 1859 and priest by Bishop Wipple in the cathedral at Fairbault in 1867. Enmegahbowh helped train many others to serve as deacons throughout northern Minnesota. His understanding of Native tradition enabled him to enculturate Christianity in the language and traditions of the Ojibway. He tirelessly traveled throughout Minnesota and beyond, actively participating in the development of mission strategy and policy for The Episcopal Church.

11. I would like to nominate Johan von Hulst, who died recently at the age of 107. Director of a Protestant religious seminary in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, he saved more than 600 Jewish children by smuggling them through a hedge to his seminary from the center where they awaited deportation to concentration camps. Describing one rescue, he said: "Try to imagine 80, 90, perhaps 70 or 100 children standing there, and you have to decide which children to take with you... That was the most difficult day of my life.... You know for a fact that the children you leave behind are going to die. I took 12 with me. Later on I asked myself: ‘Why not 13?'" That "Why not 13?" could be words to live by. I am not sure if Johan van Hulst is eligible, but he was named one of the Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem; the Episcopal calendar of saints includes Righteous Among the Nations (Righteous Gentiles) as the July 16 Feast Day. However, if Johan von Hulst is NOT eligible, I don't want to waste my one nomination and would nominate instead St. Gregory of Narek, Armenia's first great poet, who lived at about 1000 A.D. and was also a mystical philosopher, theologian, composer and saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Catholic Church. Known for his lamentations, when asked ""What can one offer to God, our creator, who already has everything and knows everything better than we could ever express it?," he answered, ""the sighs of the heart." P.S. I am not nominating 2 people, only one and a Plan B, so please do not disqualify this entry!

12. I would like to nominate Anna Julia Cooper. Feb 28th is AJC day in the prayer book. She was an incredible force in the areas of Women's Rights and African American advancement. She also was an educator who had a school in Washington DC.
    A deep thinker, she graduated from the Sorbonne. A wonderful quote of hers appears on the
    US passport. There is also a special Episcopal school in Richmond VA named for her that serves students from public housing with difficult home situations.
    While not well known, she lived a life that made a difference and changed the lives of many.

13. I would love to nominate RAHAB for the 2019 Lent Madness list. Who is Rahab? She was a harlot who lived with her family upon the walls of the walled Canaanite city of Jericho. She had heard powerful stories of the God of the Israelites so when their spies entered her city to destroy it and claim the city part of their Promised Land, she protected them, and thus saved herself and her family from complete destruction. The scarlet cord she was instructed to hang in her window signaled to the Israelites to spare her and her household. She holds a place in the family tree of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.

14. I would like to nominate Hermano Pedro de San Jose Betancurt, a little known saint at least to me. Here in Antigua, Guatemala where he lived and served as missionary in the 1600’s I see the fruits of the seeds he planted daily. He aspired to be a priest but could not master the academics ( learning disabilities?) but served faithfully as a deacon, tertiary Franciscan and founded the order of our Lady of Bethlehem. He embodied the Beatitudes as he served the poor, the sick, and the incarcerated.

15. I would like to nominate the Bishop Paul Jones, remembered on the calendar of saints of the Episcopal Church on Sept 4.
    Bishop Paul Jones was forced to resign in 1918 as Missionary Bishop of Utah due to his stance on war being "unchristian". His passion for social justice and peace called him to be one of the founders of FOR/Fellowship of Reconciliation and the then Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship now EPF/Episcopal Peace Fellowship.
    Bishop Paul Jones is remembered on Sept 4.

16. I nominate Ananias of Damascus. His feast day is January 25. He is one of my favorite Biblical characters. When God told him to go minister to Saul of Tarsus, he said, "Um, isn't that the one who's here to persecute the church?" But when God insisted, Ananias not only went, but he greeted the other as, "Brother Saul." What faithful obedience.

    I also want to say that I LOVED the new bracket quadrants this year. Please organize an equivalent grouping for 2019. So many saints that would otherwise never have made it out of the first round were still under consideration in the Elate Eight. Delightful.

    1. '+1 on the brackets. That was a great idea....

17. I nominate William Wilberforce. He did much to fight against slavery and lost his health, reputation and a great deal of money to do so. the movie Amazing Grace, which was about his story, reduced me to slobbery tears.

    1. Yes, he was truly a saint. I'd like to see him in the mix next Lent.

18. I was very impressed with the church and monastery dedicated to St. Francis Solano in Lima, Peru.
    St Francis was a 16th century Franciscan friar who practiced strict habits of poverty. After much ministry in Spain, he was sent to South America where he was an effective evangelist among the indigenous peoples. One tale of his life is that he entered a gathering one Christmas Eve and played his fiddle with such joy that soon everybody there was dancing and celebrating. I would like to nominate him for Lent Madness 2019.

19. I want to nominate Jose Sanchez Del Rio who was a martyred Mexican cristero at age 14 in 1928 because he would not deny his Catholic faith. Good example.

20. I nominate St. Apollonia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Apollonia
    She was one of the early martyrs who died for refusing to renounce her faith. Not unimportantly, she is the patron saint of dentists! Her portrait has been painted by no less than Andy Warhol and James Christiansen. Her images are all over old churches in Europe (Toothaches must have been a common ailment).

21. Saint Sr Mary Ann Cope should be considered: she left her home, and the East coast of the US and set up health and education and living services for residents of Molokai; she worked with Saint Father Damian de Veuster (sp), and recruited workers to provide compassionate care to the inhabitants of the colony

22. Would like to learn more about Christina Rosetti, commemorated today.
    Just read an intriguing article in Episcopal Cafe referring to her as a mystic, possibly lesbian, "queer mystic."
    That might be a first...or not.
    In any case:
    https://www.episcopalcafe.com/feast-day-of-christina-rossetti/

    P.S. Is there a way to immediately move to the Comment section without having to scroll through?
    Thanks for the fun learning yo bring us every Lent...and beyond.

    1. Just realized my two typos: "you (bring us)" but more importantly,"Rossetti."
       Thanks.

       1. Thanks,Maya.

23. I’m nominating Benedict of Nursia, a 5th-6th century Christian monk, who is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion. He is a patron saint of Europe. Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule of Saint Benedict", containing precepts for his monks. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of Western Christian monasticism. The later founded Order of St Benedict continues today with both monks (male) and nuns (female) monasteries.
    The main mission of these orders today is education .

24. I am probably wasting my one nomination because I am nominating a Quaker. Since Quakers don't use titles and are not in favor of pomp in any aspect of life, I seriously doubt that they have "saints." But I would like people to know about this person.

    I nominate John Woolman, often called the Quaker Saint. He lived from 1720 to 1772, originally from the New Jersey colony.

    He was a strong advocate against slavery and was instrumental in having Quakers abolish slavery. When he visited plantations to encourage slave owners to give up and free their slaves, he refused to stay in their home and be served by slaves. Instead, he stayed in the slave quarters.

    He was also a strongly opposed to economic injustice and oppression. He advocated for Native Americans. And he was on of the first voices in our country to oppose the cruel abuse of animals. He also advocated for better conditions on mercantile ships, where filth, disease and even piracy took place.

    Even if he is not already a "saint," he should be!

25. Our world filled with the loud beating of the drums of war needs a counter melody to woo us back to our senses. Perhaps the pen of a poet could do it. Please consider including Christina Rossetti next year. The church would benefit from a good soak in the words of our poets who call us to live life more deeply.

26. Saint Nicholas would be my pick!

27. I nominate Mother Hannah, Hannah Grier Coome, who in 1884, founded the Anglican Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in Toronto. Her willingness to step forward in new fields is an encouragement to all who strive to listen to God's voice. Not only those who have joined the Order as Sisters, but many hundreds of others have walked along her path as Associates and Oblates and Retreatants.

28. Helder Camara. Archbishop Roman Catholic Church in Brazil 1964-1985.
    Known for his progressive views on social questions. Quote attributed to him, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

29. I also nominate Mother Hannah Grier Coome founder of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, an Anglican women’s order whose Mother House is in Toronto, Ontario. The order continues today as a mixed active/contemplative order whose guest house offers quiet days and retreats to busy men and women who need time apart to listen to God. The order also provides spiritual care for patients and their loved ones at St.. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital which the sisters founded.

30. I would like to nominate Mary Baker Eddy. We recently took a trip to Boston and visited the exhibit of the world globe. As we walked around the museum, I was very taken by the information about Mary Baker Eddy and her founding of the Church of Christian Science. She was instrumental in many religious charities that offered help to the whole world. She was a remarkable woman.