What's up? On Ascension Day, it's Jesus! And also it's the start of Nominationtide!
For ten full days, the Supreme Executive Committee will be accepting nominations for Lent Madness 2020. The nominating period will remain open through the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, May 31, at which point this brief exercise in Lenten democracy will go up in smoke like the hair of the disciples when the tongues of fire descended upon their heads.
Usually we only allow a week for Nominationtide, but this year we are generously allowing you ten days. We know that conferring on nominations might take longer in a time of social distancing. Please note that the Lent Madness website has been thoroughly disinfected, so there is no risk as you read this post or browse the online Lentorium.* Unfortunately, all Lentorium store locations remained closed at this time.
To insure your successful nomination, please note the Nominationtide Rules & Regulations, which reside in an ancient illuminated manuscript tended to by aged monks who have been set aside by saints and angels for this holy calling.
There is one other way to get your nomination considered. As we have said for years, you can attach your nomination to a $20 bill and mail it to us for immediate and full consideration.** For the first time, we received such a nomination this year. However, we are sorry to say that the nominee has not been deceased long enough to appear on a church calendar yet.
We are huge fans of the amazing Verna Dozier though, and one day, we're sure she will do very well in the bracket. We hope you'll read about her and what she did to claim ministry of the laity and to encourage scripture study. If you want to make a $20 nomination, do check to make sure your nominee is eligible.
As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smackdown.” Based on longstanding tradition, this includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2020, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2019 and 2018, and those from the 2017 Faithful Four.
Needless to say Jesus, Mary, Tim, Scott, past or present Celebrity Bloggers, and previous Golden Halo Winners are also ineligible. Below is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations. Do not waste your precious nomination on an ineligible saint!
The Saints of Lent Madness 2020 (ineligible)
Junia
Elizabeth the New Martyr
Florian
Elizabeth Fry
Evelyn Underhill
Romanos the Melodist
Brother Lawrence
Eva Lee Matthews
Julie Billiart
James Solomon Russell
Margaret of Castello
Elizabeth
Harriet Tubman
Bartimaeus
Clare of Assisi
Joanna the Myrrhbearer
Simon Gibbons
James the Less
Hildegard
Thomas More
Gregory Nazianzus
Eustace
Joseph
Herman of Alaska
Elizabeth of Hungary
Isidore of Seville
Joshua
Andrew
Patrick
Margery Kempe
Jude
Hervé
Past Golden Halo Winners (ineligible)
George Herbert, C.S. Lewis, Mary Magdalene, Frances Perkins, Charles Wesley, Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Florence Nightingale, Anna Alexander, Martha of Bethany, Harriet Tubman
From 2017 to 2019 (ineligible)
Photini
Ignatius of Loyola
Gobnait
John Chrysostom
William Wilberforce
Zenaida
Pandita Ramabai
Egalantyne Jebb
Martin de Porres
Maria Skobtsova
Phocas the Gardener
Richard Hooker
Peter
Esther
Stephen
Franz Jägerstätter
Amelia Bloomer
As you contemplate your (single!) nomination, why not aid and your reflection and sharpen your focus with a hot mug of
your favorite beverage? The most effective way to do this, of course, is by reverently sipping out of a Lent Madness mug from the Lentorium. We assume you've already ordered your Harriet Tubman 2020 Golden Halo winner mug, but if not, here's the link.
Now put your thinking halo on and get to work. Time is already running out to nominate your favorite (eligible) saint for Lent Madness 2021!
* The website itself is fine, but we can't be responsible for your computer. Clean those keys! Wipe that screen!
** Depending on where your $20 bill is sent, it will be counted as a donation to either St. John the Evangelist Church in Hingham, MA or to Forward Movement in Cincinnati, OH. While the SEC is arguably corrupt, we do not actually want to profit from electioneering or graft!
266 comments on “Happy Nominationtide!”
I nominate Mr. Rogers. He is recognized on the calendar of St. Mary Magdalene Lutheran/Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh, every Sunday according to the Rev. Natalie Gessert Hall. Mr. Rogers cared about "the least of these", the children of the world. He was an ordained minister, but he didn't preach Christianity on his PBS television program. Instead he exhibited the best of what Christ taught every day. He meets all the Nominationtide Rules & Regulations, and in addition he is beloved by all children and their parents.
Thank you for considering Mr. Rogers. Won't you be his neighbor?