331 comments on “Nominationtide is upon us!”

1. So happy that both Sr Thea Bowman and Howard Thurman have been nominated and would like to also nominate Fr August Tolton(1854-1897) born a slave, suffering racism in repeated rejections by Catholic seminaries to finally be accepted into a Franciscan institution. An effective preacher and spiritual leader he attracted a diverse group of followers although later marginalized again by racism. A pioneer first black priest in America working on the true message of Christ's teachings. His legacy continues to inspire.

2. I nominate Vida Scudder (October 10 on the Episcopal calendar) fearless social and labor activist (she supported the workers of the 1912 Lawrence strike). She was an incredible liturgical and theological writer alongside her actual career as an English Literature professor at Wellesley College, and later in life an active pacifist. Though it was kept quiet at the time, she was in a relationship with fellow author Florence Converse.

3. I nominate Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. Fulton was a faithful Christian teacher and evangelist who pioneered Christian teaching on television.

4. St. John Baptist de La Salle. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (1651-1719) was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He was a pioneer in founding training colleges for teachers, reform schools for delinquents, technical schools, and secondary schools for modern languages, arts, and sciences. On May 24, 1900 de La Salle was canonized as a Saint of the Catholoic Church and on May 15, 1950 he was declared the Patron Saint of Christian teachers and all those who work in the field of education. With all the challenges teachers had to face and overcome to maintain the education of their students in the past 15+ months, they all deserve nominations. Let's nominate St. john Baptist de La Salle on their behalf.

5. I nominate William Augustus Muehlenberg - Feast day April 8
   Muehlenberg’s insistence on traditional Catholic elements—the Creeds, the Eucharist, and Episcopal ordination—together with the Reformation doctrine of grace, appealed to people of varying views. He emphasized the ministries of education, social service, and even tried to establish a Christian commune on Long Island.

6. I'm surprised St. Benedict of Nursia, Father of Western Monasticism, has not been on the lists. Not only has he been a singular influence on the development of monastic life, but his ethos strongly informed Anglican spirituality throughout the ages. His rule of life has inspired many ( including me) to sanctify the daily rhythms of life and to balance prayer, study, work and rest.

   1. He's been nominated before, however he's eligible again this year.

7. I nominate St. Anthony of Padua because he followed the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi (a favorite Golden Halo winner), was a gifted preacher, and when I lose things recalling his life helps me to slow down and let my brain search for serenity which usually leads to the lost being found.

8. I nominate Clare of Assisi (August 11th on the Anglican calendar) for her creation of an order of nuns committed to teachings of Francis of Assisi of extreme austerity and absolute poverty. Attracting other rich young women (much to the consternation of their parents) to join her as "Poor Clares". The order continues to this day.

9. I would like to nominate Deaconess Anne Pew. She is the namesake of the Deaconess Anne House, an Episcopal Service Corps program for young adults ages 21-30 in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Every year, young adults are invited to St. Louis, MO (and live in the same neighborhood where Deaconess Anne served) to live in a way that reflects the same ministry of presence, relationship, and service to others that Deacon Anne Pew dedicated herself to during her time running the settlement house in the early 1900s.

   More information about her life and years of service in ministry can be found here: https://www.esc-stl.org/our-namesake.html

   She is at least a saint with a feast day of Sept. 14th according to this site of Deacon Saints: https://www.episcopaldeacons.org/uploads/2/6/7/3/26739998/deaconsaints_plater.pdf

10. I nominate John Robert Lewis, congressman from Georgia, freedom fighter, civil rights icon, who called us to make "good trouble" in the battle to show love for all our neighbors.

11. I would like to nominate Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, an early Church Father and martyr. Born in 69 AD, he was a disciple of the apostle John. His martyrdom had a huge impact on the early Church and is quite a good story. I nominated him last and hope he makes it for 2022.

    1. oh...feast day February 23

12. Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, women's rights activist, Episcopal priest, poet and author. Drawn to the ministry in 1977, Murray was the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, in the first year that any women were ordained by that church. In 2018, Murray was made a permanent part of the Episcopal Church's calendar of saints (she is commemorated on July 1, the date of her death in 1985). She would be an outstanding choice for the Golden Halo award. I have nominated Pauli Murray in the past. Her inclusion in the list of nominees is long overdue.

13. I would like to nominate St. Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness and anxiety, who, according to tradition, built a hospice for the poor and sick in present day Belgium. Murdered by her father because she wouldn't marry him, (he was a little unhinged by the death of his first wife, aka Dymphna's mother), she was buried in a cave by the town's residents. A church named for her was built in the town in 1349, and by 1480, pilgrims seeking psychiatric treatment were coming from all over Europe. Eventually, as the church and expanded housing was filled to overflowing, townspeople began taking these pilgrims into their own homes as boarders, a tradition of ongoing care for those with psychiatric conditions that has endured for 500 years. A short life, but a big impact on the lives of many suffering from mental illness.

14. I second St. Dymphna. I just went in to suggest her and found Amy's post.

15. I nominate G.K. Chesterton. I figured he would be disallowed due to his appearance in earlier years, but I'm not seeing him on any of the lists. Among other things, he was at least in part responsible for the conversion of a past Golden Halo winner -- C.S. Lewis. He was also a common sense realist who has much to teach us today. Read any of his books, and the quotable passages tumble from every page -- including ones like this: “As an explanation of the world, materialism has a sort of insane simplicity. It has just the quality of the madman’s argument; we have at once the sense of it covering everything and the sense of it leaving everything out. Contemplate some able and sincere materialist . . . and you will have exactly this unique sensation. He understands everything, and everything does not seem worth understanding.” Also, if he wins, I will DEFINITELY buy his mug!

16. Is "modal monarchian" the opposite of "Nestorian"? Inquiring minds want to know. Also, if you ARE a "modal monarchian," can you also affirm the trinity? I am completely confused. I can see already that Lent Madness 2022 is going to be a blast. It's also going to be the midterm elections, so it may be a turbulent year for the US; hope Tim and Scott plan this bracket carefully.

17. "I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of plain, forgotten, workingmen." Social justice is part of loving one's neighbor. And today's saint always has a string of pearls and a chic hat.
    https://francesperkinscenter.org/frances-and-faith-introduction/

    1. Was she on a liturgical roster of saints? All you say is quite true, but the Quaker I nominated was for social justice as well. But as a Quaker is not eligible.

    2. Nominate your Quaker! and good luck to you. All you need to add by way of justification is that the Inner Light has revealed this person's saintliness, and that will suffice.

    3. Thanks!

    4. Yes, she is.

18. I nominate Justin Martyr. Today is his feast day. Justin lived 100-160 CE. He was one of the earliest theologians of Christianity. He wrote of the early “true religion,” believing that the “seeds of Christianity” or the Logos, acting in history, came before Christ’s incarnation. This meant that many early philosophers were unknowing Christians. He also revered the prophets as ancients esteemed by God, speaking the Divine Spirit and predicting the events which were happening and which had “kindled a flame” in himself. By his apologetics Justin tried to convince the Roman emperors to cease persecution, but Justin was martyred defending his students.

19. Any chance we could have a round of past Elated Eight winners that didn't receive the golden halo? I mean, people run for bishop more than once...

    1. Saints do get second (and third and probably subsequent) chances. Absalom Jones was nominated in 2016 and didn't get too far, then went all the way to the Golden Halo this year. That's part of the fun of Lent Madness, seeing how far a saint will get in a given year.

       1. And Absalom was also nominated in 2013 and 2010. In at least one of those years he was knocked out in the first round.

          Lent Madness Trivia: what year saw 3 nominees who did not win in that year but who achieved the Golden Halo in subsequent years of Lent Madness? Bonus points if you can name them.

20. Any chance we could have a round of past Elated Eight winners that didn't receive the golden halo? I mean, people run for bishop more than once...

21. I nominate San Isidro well loved saint in the Hispanic community. Patron of Farmers.While he prayed angels tilled the soil....

22. I nominate San Isidro well loved saint in the Hispanic community. Patron of Farmers.While he prayed angels tilled the soil....

23. St. Jude! The patron saint of lost and desperate causes seems oddly relevant during a global pandemic (plus he received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, it doesn't get cooler than that). I've always loved the story that he was rarely invoked for fear of calling upon Judas, instead of Jude, and therefore he became eager and willing to help anyone who asked him. St. Jude my beloved I hope you're having a wonderful day.

24. I nominate Father Emil Kapaun, Servant of God.

    In the direst circumstances, when he was called upon to be another alter Christus, Father Kapaun responded to the fullest. On the battlefield, he went under fire to rescue the wounded and minister to the dying. In the prison camp, enduring utterly brutal conditions, he encouraged men with a prayer, tended to the sick, shared his meager rations and gave away articles of his clothing to the most needy. When the future seemed nonexistent, he instilled hope in the men and gave them a reason to live.

    In the years since his death on May 23, 1951, the deeds of this heroic, soldier-priest have been chronicled and recognized. President Barack Obama in 2013 awarded him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military tribute for valor “above and beyond the call of duty”; Pope St. John Paul II declared him a Servant of God in 1993; a man of faith, service, and prayer of our time.

    While hundreds of prisoners died in that prison camp, his fellow POWs have attested that because of Father Kapaun’s faith and steadfast service to others hundreds more survived.

    The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints is investigating his life for possible advancement toward sainthood, temporary is on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic. His feast day is May 23 on the Roman Catholic calendar.

    To learn more about Father Kapaun please refer to: https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/father-kapaun

25. I would like to nominate Father Stanley Rother, the first US-born martyr. He was killed in Guatemala in 1981. He served from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and was recognized for beatification by Pope Francis in 2016. A group of villagers made a pilgrimage, walking over 2000 miles from Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, to Okarche, Oklahoma, to honor his beatification in 2017.

26. I nominate Bishop Barbara Harris, the first woman consecrated as Bishop in the Anglican Communion. She is currently recognized in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, and I hope she is soon recognized more widely. She is an amazing inspiration to all women. She was also an amazing Civil Rights leader and spoke out against racism, sexism, and gay rights in the Episcopal Church. She truly deserves the Golden Halo!

27. I nominate Saint Oscar Romero. His feast date is March 24, the day he was assassinated while saying Mass in El Salvador. He used his position as Archbishop of San Salvador to be a voice for the voiceless, the poor, and oppressed people of El Salvador. He was not afraid of death threats but continued his mission of promoting nonviolence and social justice.

28. Frances Perkins is on the Episcopal Calendar of commemorations I believe

29. St Hilda, Abbess of Whitby in Bede's words: "All who knew her called her mother because of her outstanding devotion and grace". With the words of my old school song: We children of a later day, Hild's banner raise on high - by her example grand inspired our very best to try; we emulate her strength of mind, her bent to will and do - the pure the good the beautiful - and ever speak the true. Go Hilda!

30. Harris spoke out AGAINST racism and sexism but ON BEHALF OF gay rights. Prepositions are so important.