The Episcopal Church's General Convention is now gathered in Louisville, KY. Laypeople, bishops, priests, and deacons from all over the USA and several other countries come together to deliberate on matters that concern the church. These folks also worship together, enjoy fellowship, and go on wild shopping sprees in the exhibit hall. It's epic.

Lent Madness has a long tradition (since 2012) of having a presence at General Convention and this year is no exception! Today and today only, there is a play-in match. The winner will earn a spot in the bracket of Lent Madness XVI in 2025. That's right, the voting public can decide who makes it into the bracket.

The Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky is hosting General Convention, and they are celebrating local saints, folks with Kentucky connections. If you are in town, you should visit their booth to learn about the saints they are celebrating. You can even get your photo taken with one of the life-size cutouts of four different saints. Two of these have walked over to the Forward Movement booth today.

If you are reading this in Louisville, go visit the Forward Movement booth TODAY to cast your vote. If you are reading this from somewhere else on the planet and you know someone here, urge them to cast their vote right now!

So who's in this hotly contested match-up, you ask? Today's vote is between Emily Cooper and Thomas Merton. Cooper was a deaconess in the Episcopal Church in the 19th century. Merton was a monastic and writer in the 20th century. Want to know more? Google is your friend! We don't have celebrity bloggers for play-ins, so you're stuck with cryptic summaries and Google.

Some people say that Lent Madness is the most important vote of General Convention. If you are a person who says that, notify all your Episcopal church-nerd friends in Lousiville to go visit the Forward Movement booth right away to cast their vote!

And while voters are there, they can pick up some classic Lent Madness merch. Rare collectibles are for sale, today only!