You know it's Lent Madness when you get the likes of Dorothy Sayers squaring off against Enmegahbowh in the Lent Dome! An Anglican writer and apologist vs. the first Native American ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. It's a tough choice, but one must be made. Because that's how it works.
Yesterday, Joanna the Myrrhbearer routed Monica 81% to 19% to stave off a potential battle between Augustine and his mother.
Time to hit the polls!
Dorothy L. Sayers
If you’ve ever pondered that God works in mysterious ways, then look no further than God working through mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers. It’s no mystery that God calls all sort of people to serve in the church in different ways, but sometimes, some ways are more mysterious than others.
Dorothy was born June 13, 1893, in Oxford, England to Helen Mary Leigh and the Rev. Henry Sayers, a rector of the local church. Dorothy went on to study modern languages and medieval literature at Somerville College, but she was not satisfied with an academic life and throughout her career, pursued experience in copywriting, playwriting, translating literature, and teaching. Frustrated by her various professional endeavors, Dorothy turned to writing as a means of making ends meet, and she conceived her most famous protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey; a career as an award-winning mystery writer was born. Like her contemporary, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy’s fiction writing provided her with the economic independence to pursue deeper scholarly reflection on God, ultimately elevating her to one of the most well-regarded female theological thinkers of her time.
Unsatisfied by the weak and often shallow theology of the Anglican church during the 1930s and 1940s, Dorothy was a strong apologist who called for engagement not just in belief but also in dogma, traditions, and practice. In one of her most famous publications, Creed or Chaos?, Sayers exhorts the church to not bow in the face of the uncomfortable: “Let us, in Heaven’s name, drag out the Divine Drama from under the dreadful accumulation of slipshod thinking and trashy sentiment heaped upon it, and set it on an open stage to startle the world into some sort of vigorous reaction […] We do Him singularly little honor by watering down till it could not offend a fly. Surely it is not the business of the Church to adapt Christ to men, but to adapt men to Christ.”
While Dorothy was discovered as a mystery writer, her life and witness offers a surprise twist, shaping how we think, act, and live as members of the church today. She calls us to be uncomfortable, to be shocked, active, and engaged. Dorothy asks us to be so caught up in the mystery and drama of a God who would die on a cross that we cannot help but have faith.
Collect for Dorothy L. Sayers
Almighty God, who strengthened your servant Dorothy L. Sayers with eloquence to defend Christian teaching: Keep us, we pray, steadfast in your true religion, that in constancy and peace we may always teach right doctrine, and teach doctrine rightly; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Enmegahbowh
An icon of Enmegahbowh created in 1996 by iconographer Johnson D. Loud Jr. depicts the saint standing in front of an orange Minnesota sunset. He wears a surplice and tippet adorned with a traditional Ojibwe floral motif. The medicine wheel, which symbolizes balance and harmony in many Indigenous cultures, circles his head as a halo. In one hand, he carries a pipe, used in traditional Ojibwe spirituality. In the other is a flame, a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The image paints a picture of a Native Christian who held Ottawa and Ojibwe cultures in one hand and his Christian faith in the other.
Enmegahbowh, who was Ottawa and whose name means “The One Who Stands Before His People” (sometimes taking the connotation “Stands Before His People in Prayer”), was born around 1820 in what would, decades later, become Canada. While he was raised in the Midewiwin tradition, he later was baptized as “John Johnson.”
Enmegahbowh first came to Minnesota as a mission interpreter around 1832. Nearly three decades later, he became the first Indigenous deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1859 and, later, its first Indigenous priest.
Historian Theodore Isaac Holcombe writes: “Enmegahbowh was the herald of all our Indian work; the man who cried from the wilderness, ‘Come over and help us’; the man who first opened the door for all that has since followed of God’s work for the Indians, even to the Pacific Coast.”
Enmegahbowh and Episcopalian James Lloyd Breck co-founded a mission in Gull Lake, Minnesota. Although Breck was ultimately driven out of the community because of his refusal to adapt to Ojibwe values, Enmegahbowh remained with the people for another six decades. He moved west with them when they were displaced to what is now the White Earth Reservation, preventing an attack on U.S. soldiers at Fort Ripley to protect the people from retaliation and encouraging peace with the Sioux.
He died on June 12, 1902, in White Earth, Minnesota, and is buried on the property of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, which remains an active congregation. The Episcopal Church celebrates Saint Enmegahbowh on the day of his death. The White Earth Nation also remembers him each June, celebrating the powwow he started in 1873.
Collect for Enmegahbowh
Almighty God, who led your pilgrim people of old by fire and cloud: Grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of your servant Enmegahbowh, may lead your people with fiery zeal and gentle humility; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Dorothy L. Sayers: Public Domain
Enmegahbowh: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
119 comments on “Dorothy L. Sayers v. Enmegahbowh”
this is a hard choice. I need more information to make a firm decision. There is much harmful Indian history concerning the church and the native people, moreso in the US but also in Canada--moves to reservations, mistreatment, and all the rest that has been documented. But I look for those "saints" who had a visible and lasting effect on people as opposed to one whose words are there for anyone taking the effort to search and read.
This is another contest where I will be happy with either result -- much better than Augustine vs. Hippolytus, which was a day of "at least whoever wins is likely to get knocked out in the next round".
The photo of Sayers is captivating. She looks so familiar.
Enmegahbowh. Here's to fiery zeal and gentle humility--a wonderful but rare trait.
I believe that Enmegahbowh is an apt candidate for the Golden Halo because Indigenous people in North America had a deeper spiritual relationship with God as the Great Spirit than the Northern European colonists who became American Christians. The latter were more worshipers of an institutionalized belief system which had strayed from the basic teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, with this legacy, Enmegahbowh was more spiritual than religious, although he combined both as an Episcopalian/Anglican.
Emily McFarlan Miller had me voting for Enmegahbowh in the first paragraph. As an Episcopalian with high feeling for all things earth, I bow to the spirituality given to us by indigenous people.
If, indeed, we look to the lives of the saints to teach and inspire us, I look to Dorothy as the most needed model for me and for our Church today.
Come on now! Those are the two most interesting people in this whole Lent Madness. Why did you put them together. Puhleeeze do not torment us with these choices!!!!! We are suffering enough already.
Anyone who would say "Get up and do something" has my vote today. That is a message that must still be preached so that the practice of the church looks more like the Christ we profess. So there are plenty of places for standing up today. A British woman and a First Nations person of the Americas - a perverse match up.
Anyone who would say "Get up and do something" has my vote today. That is a message that must still be preached so that the practice of the church looks more like the Christ we profess. So there are plenty of places for standing up today. A British woman and a First Nations person of the Americas - a perverse match up.
Dorothy Sayers' book of plays for radio "The Man Born to be King" (1943) were given to me at my confirmation by my Godfather. I would love to hear them produced! Just reading them, with Ms. Sayers' notes on the characters and the time, really bring the New Testament to life.
Nothing I've ever read in the example of Jesus indicates to me that he came to Earth to become a tool of empire and subjugation. Enmegahbowh is my choice today because a decolonized Gospel is the only one worth proclaiming. Period.
lol
The toughest choice so far, in my opinion. While I agree with "shaping man to God and not God to man", I still had to go with the "Peace seeker".
Oh dear, I suspect that Dorothy's stay in Lent Madness will be short this year. Good as it is to meet Enmegahbowh, my vote goes to Dorothy and her trenchant defence of faith. "Let us, in Heaven’s name, drag out the Divine Drama from under the dreadful accumulation of slipshod thinking and trashy sentiment heaped upon it, and set it on an open stage to startle the world into some sort of vigorous reaction."
This is the third contest out of six where one of the contestants was eliminated much too soon!
Did your commentator not know of Dorothy L. Sayers's magnificent translation of Dante? I've learned a great deal from her Purgatorio and Paradiso, esoecially.
pick dorthy sayers
vote for dorthy sayers
These two are so diverse, and they had missions that also were diverse. It is difficult to compare them, and I struggled. It was an exercise worthy of Lent.
Another hard one but I voted for Emmegahbowh. He was the first Indigenous priest and never waived in his faith regardless of how they were treated.
"...not the business of the church to adapt Christ to men (sic), but to adapt men (sic) to Christ." There was a book a number of years ago about the 'dumbing down' of religion. It seems to me, theology, liturgy, dogma, etc. is more and more secularized every year. I was crushed by the Ash Wednesday worship service last week that was held in the church in which I hold membership. It was more 'new age' than Christ centered. Thank you for bringing Ms. Sayers into the conversation this year.
And she wrote this jingle:
One example was the Toucan, his bill arching under a glass of Guinness, with Sayers's jingle:[17]
If he can say as you can
Guinness is good for you
How grand to be a Toucan
Just think what Toucan do
How about that! I had to google this because it sounded more like Dorothy Parker than Dorothy Sayers!
“Truth is demanding. It won’t let us sit comfortably. It knocks out our cozy smugness and casual condemnation. It makes us move.” Was Madeline L’Engle writing about Dorothy sayers?
I am from Minnesota and absolutely HAVE to vote for Enmegahbowh.
I recently moved to Paola, Kansas. About 30 miles west is the town Ottawa. There is no Episcopal church in Paola, so I have been going to the one in Ottawa; therefore I must vote for Enmegahbowh. Even if my situation were not what it is, I would vote for Enmegahbowh.
Dorothy L. Sayers: While her mysteries caught the attention of the publishing world, she transitioned into spiritual writing. I've not heard of her...either her mysteries or her spiritual writing. However, the book she wrote, Creed or Chaos is only 85 pages and might be one to read. She argues, 'if Christians don't steep themselves in doctrine, then the Christian Faith - and the world outside the Faith - will descend into chaos." Not unlike the discussions we have had with our marketing team! Her quote," Surely it is not the business of the Church to adapt Christ to man, byt to adapt men to Christ, does catch my attention because some churches do try to make the whole idea of church entertaining. As I read about Dorothy Sayers, She called the church to tell the hard story of Christ through her spiritual writings. And in that respect, she used art, that is, her ability to write in a way that captivated her readers, to help people realize the power of the story of Christ.
Enmegahbowh: Enmegahbowh which interprets to 'He Who Stands Before His People' did stand before his people to help them find peaceful solutions to problems as he also, presumably, lead them to blend their spiritual ways with those of Christianity. He was the first native american to become an episcopal priest. He helped raise money for St. Columba Episcopal Church at White Earth and remained with that mission and church until his death. I had a hard time finding any specific information about his contributions, but one could assume that he was a role model for other native clansmen/women to become Episcopalians. I did find reference to the number of times he translated for both his bishop and other tribesmen/women and was the "herald" to those who came to convert the native americans to christianity. He was a quiet leader and well respected by church leaders. Little was said about how his clansman felt about him, but tribal celebrations are conducted yearly in his memory.
So, today, the choices are very even... both made contributions. I wanted to pick the native American because he was the first native episcopal priest. He was a spiritual role model for many of his clansmen/women. But I finally decided to vote for Dorothy Sayers because her writing not only inspired people from the 40-50's but still remains important today. Her book, 'The Man Born to be King' was read every Lent by CS Lewis and helped guide his thinking and his writing. Both authors had and still have an impact on our spiritual thinking and our current beliefs. I feel inspired to order that book and 'Creed or Chaos' to read for my own edification. So that pushed my vote for Dorothy.
I would appreciate some clue on how to pronounce the names of less-familiar-to-me contestants. What if we want to use the collects in worship? Thanks for your consideration.
My vote goes to Dorothy Sayers, my favorite mystery writer - certainly in the top 3 or 4 fav authors in any genre. And I wand to get a reading group to read "The Man Born to be King" & if she wins the golden halo, maybe they'll re-print it.
I may be a New Yorker now, but I love Minnesota. And I deeply appreciate the Ojibwe connection to Christianity that Enmegahbow witnesses to. He's my vote for today.