Next up in the Elate Eight is the highly anticipated matchup between two modern saints, Emily Cooper and Sundar Singh. Good luck choosing between these two!
Yesterday, Zechariah narrowly defeated Irenaeus 52% to 48% to snag the first spot in the Faithful Four.
Here's your Daily Lenten Showdown...
Vote now!
Emily Cooper
Emily Cooper, Deaconess and Saint, spent her adult life dedicated to the children of Louisville, Kentucky. Because she is a fairly recent saint in the calendar of saints and a modern saint, the traditional saintly kitsch – garden statues, gilded devotional candles, and fringed holy pillows – is somewhat lacking.
Never fear, though. Another Emily Cooper, who is better known as Emily in Paris, inspires us to take a look at the saintly Emily Cooper’s beloved Kentucky. Without further adieu, we present Emily in Kentucky.
Emily was a woman of her time in one of Kentucky’s premier cities, Louisville. She graced the Episcopal Church’s General Convention held in Louisville this past summer, where she soundly defeated several other notable Kentucky saints to be included in Lent Madness. Here she is hanging out with Thomas Merton, another Kentucky saint, as she shares how she won the General Convention saintly smackdown. Go Emily!
Emily lived in Louisville. During her lifetime, a new game was taking the United States by storm – baseball. Baseball and Emily both had a profound impact on Louisville. Emily through her ministry with the Home of the Innocents and baseball with the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory. You can almost imagine Deaconess Emily and the other deaconesses playing a great game of baseball on a warm Kentucky evening.
Emily’s Kentucky is rich in kitsch, but the Vent Haven Ventriloquism Museum has been named by several notable sources as the kitschiest (or creepiest) in the state. Over 1,100 dummies grace the walls of this museum, all ready to creep you out and invite you to pray none of them come alive and follow you home.
Emily’s Kentucky was and remains horse country. Kentucky is among the top five states for horse breeding and training. Emily without a doubt would have known of the annual Kentucky Derby, run not far from her residence in Louisville. While Emily’s habit would have been her Derby Day finest, you could wear these stunning earrings to watch the horses Run for the Roses.
Horses and holiness and Kentucky are almost the complete summary of Kentucky.
Almost.
Kentucky has been a major distiller of bourbon since, well, bourbon was a thing. Emily and everyone else in Louisville would have been aware of the major impact bourbon distilling and sales had on Kentucky, including the distillers who were major contributors to area charities. While bourbon may be the elegant, smooth adult beverage, it is not without its tacky side. Just don’t think any bourbon that comes in this is worth drinking.
For all the fun kitsch is, Emily’s beloved Kentucky is currently experiencing a very unfunny reality with massive flooding. Emily’s Louisville saw at least three major floods during her lifetime, so she would have been familiar with the devastation flooding causes, especially to the poor. This is a current image of flooding in Louisville. The damage is significant all through the state, so if you’re able, please consider a contribution to Episcopal Relief and Development in memory of Emily and all those she helped during her life.
Sundar Singh
By now, we’ve all come to love Sundar Singh’s passion, compassion, and his iconic yellow Sadhu robes. He’s a favorite of Fr. Michael, as we’ve seen in the Monday Madness videos, but how can we incorporate more Singh into our lives? Thankfully, we live in 2025.
You’ve likely seen this image around Lent Madness, and it’s an image created by Redbubble creator LansingCreative, and you can get it made as a print, sticker or magnet and place it wherever you might need to be reminded of Sundar Singh’s great and powerful witness.
But Lent is a time for doing, not just seeing, so if you want to emulate the ways in which Sundar Singh became the “apostle with the bleeding feet,” can I interest you in these Sadu Boards for your feet? Don’t worry, they use smooth, flat nails.
Or perhaps you would like to lean into a more meditative path around Sundar Singh’s teachings, maybe this pillow could provide support, but you can also get this icon as a phone case, notebook, or tote bag.
One thing is true–in this house, we support artists, so if you connect with any of the icons, prints, or representations of Sundar Singh, go support their work. This block print quote and icon of Sundar Singh on Etsy may or may not be your style, but it is a good reminder that the Saints guide us to orient ourselves to God.
And lastly, the gift of these more recent saints is that we can read them in their own words; Sundar Singh wrote eight books between 1922 and his disappearance in 1929 in Urdu and have been translated widely. There are many versions and compilations,
"One day I saw a flower and began to contemplate its fragrance and beauty. As I thought more deeply, I recognized the creator of such wonders- not with my mortal eyes but with my spiritual eyes. This filled my heart with joy, but my joy was still greater when I recognized that same creator at work within my own soul. How wonderful is God, separate from creation yet ever filling it with his glorious presence."
May we all see this world not with our mortal eyes, but with spiritual ones this last week of Lent.
From the Supreme Executive Committee:
Some tech hiccups today inadvertently resulted in voting going haywire for a bit. Not to worry, no votes were lost. We've created a new poll reflecting all the votes that have been cast so far.
53 comments on “Emily Cooper vs. Sundar Singh”
Great kitsch for both, but I'm going for Sundar Singh and (eventually, hopefully!) The Golden Halo!
This match up is difficult, because the witness of both saints is beautiful
Love the pillow.Sundar Singh!
At this time, this Nation (and I), need to be reminded that one can follow the Christ while still remaining true to one's cultural roots. And that one does not have to be a "great white Anglosaxon" (or model oneself to that) to be a child of G-d.
(This is not about politics really; its about the self that G-d made each of us to be, and that all are invited to feast the Table.)
Please UPDATE THE 2025 BRACKET! You are WAY behind. Hay You -- Bracket Czar. Are you asleep. Wake UP and DO Your Job. Are YOU overworked. I Doubt It. !!!
I hope you actually do have a problem with robots voting, because your captchas have destroyed any uplifting thoughts I had in reading about the saints.
Shoutout to Laurie Brock for creativity with kitsch. But I voted for Singh. Faithful witness comes in many colours (such as saffron).
For all of he life he would bring
The knowledge that Jesus is king
To the subcontinent
And that's why, come this Lent,
It is Sundar whose praises I "Singh"
Much as I find Emily Cooper's compassion moving and saint-like,I find Sundar Singh's bravery (and yes, it took bravery to do what he did for Christ) and dedication to both his Lord and the people he served even moreso, so it's Sundar for me today.
I had to go with Emily. Deaconess! A woman who dedicated her life to poor children. A person who took care of the poorest of the poor in so many respects.
Women in ministry probably more than than now epitomize the quality of humility.
Lift every voice and Singh
‘Till earth and heaven ringh
Although Sundar Singh was inspirational in true kitsch form, Emily C won my vote by her uniquely elevated kitsch - the call out for Episcopal Relief and Development donation for flood relief to her beloved Louisville.
Sundar Singh endured rejection by his family in order to convert to Christianity, and he suffered torture for spreading the word about his faith and converting his fellow Indians. He gave his life for Christianity on his last missionary expedition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundar_Singh_(missionary)
It had to be Sundar Singh for me today, because God's precious children come in a rainbow not only of skin colors, but traditions, art and music, histories and stories -- all to be recognized, honored, and learned from.
If we don't learn from history -- all of it from all over -- then we are the poorer; and also fated not to learn from its mistakes.
For all of Emily's loving care of children in need, they were likely all white children (I would dearly love to be proved wrong!), and Black children of those times in America were dying or orphaned at greater rates and with way fewer safety nets. It was the Jim Crow era, and many fathers of Black children were dragged off the street just for walking on it or for some fabricated offense, and lynched or disappeared into brutal prison farms. Now ICE is doing the same thing on a massive scale to mostly documented immigrants, refugees, and foreign students -- with our tax dollars.
Oh my, I'm sorry to see that Irenaeus lost yesterday, and even sorrier to see that Sundar Singh is behind Emily. The quality of the kitsch in his collection is all about HIM, while Emily's is hardly anything to do with HER. I would disqualify her based on the thinness of materials. But Sundar's epic work in his short years lives on not only for the Indian sub-continent, but in the greater western religious tradition which he shared and molded. Sundar for the win.
Both of these are saints for these times, when the values they espouse are under attack. But I will go with Singh, because the Gospel is universal, and should be proclaimed in a way that is meaningful to the hearers.
I had not heard of Sundhar Singh before Lent Madness but I have really been taken by his faithful witness to Christ in a his culture and context. The little bit of his spirituality introduced in the brackets has made want to learn more. Even his kitsch is good. Sundhar Singh for the Golden Halo!
I'm just thinking of the flooding in Louisville and around it, so Emily gets today's vote!
I truly admire Sundar because he recognized you have to meet people where they are and teach in a manner that respects their culture. He also rejected western Christianity that veered from the true message of Jesus. However my vote goes to Emily because of her ministry to children. Nearly all of my career and volunteerism has served children. For 25 years I worked in the educational field with children who had learning disabilities. Emily had a heart for children and she put that into action, serving the most vulnerable of God’s beloved.
There's a grace for us,
Sundar can trace for us--
Peace and beauty and incensed air
Wait for us somewhere.
There's a time for Singh,
This Lent a time for Singh,
Time for voting with time to care
Time to find him but who knows where?
Some day
Some how
Sundar...
(To the tune of "Somewhere" from Westside story)
Emily Cooper for the win. Her care of children got me but bourbon and horses too. Sorry Singh, cooper for me ,
I like his color scheme.
Being a Presbyterian, I felt compelled to vote for Louisville...er, uh, Emily Cooper. Though really, I would be happy to see either with a Golden Halo.
@poetpotterpriest
Speak, sister.
Kitsch for both was so creative and I was especially touched be the plea for the current KY flood victims, but I still have to vote for Sundar Singh for his dedicated Christian faith in a land where he was in a tiny minority.
I know the saintly Fathers are rooting for Singh, but I have to stay with my hometown saint! I know about her work and orphanages and her work at Holy Innocents. Just like with my childhood memories of The Louisville Sluggers, I say "Root, Root, Root, for the home team". Amen to that dear Emily!
I gave my vote to Sundar Singh, who seemed to be wholly invested and risking all. I am inspired by his determination to serving Christ within his own culture and respecting the culture of the people he met on his journeys. Alas, it looks like I'm going to continue my habit of picking the loser of each matchup this Lent.
I like both the Saints in today's race. As a "little kid" person I won't be unhappy of Emily wins. But I voted for Sundar because he did not yield to the pressure to Anglicize himself and met his people as one of them.
I was all for Emily Cooper but in the end had to go with Sundar. It was his quote about flowers that grabbed me. I too have had similar spiritual experiences when looking at flowers. How incredible.
The voting button is not on this webpage. Is there a problem with the site?
There's no ballot my post. How can I vote?