For most people, "Oklahoma" evokes images of cowboys, surreys with fringes on top, and perhaps Sooners. The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, however, are not most people. Mix in 1,000 teenagers and 100 degree weather and the SEC sees nothing but Lent!

That's right, Tim and Scott are in Oklahoma City for the Episcopal Church's triennial Episcopal Youth Event and they are busy spreading Lenten joy wherever they go. "Oh, what a beautiful morning," indeed. But handing out hundreds of Golden Halo Flying Discs and taking selfies with throngs of young Lent Madness fans is a mere precursor to the main event: a play-in match to determine the first saint to make it into the 2018 Lent Madness bracket.

The young people here at EYE will soon be casting what will likely be the most important vote of their lives as they help shape next year's Saintly Smackdown. On Thursday at lunch they will decide between two "badass saints" -- Longinus and Quiteria. According to the Internet, these two saints are the most truly badass saints in Christian history. Who are these two saintly souls? Tim and Scott explain in a video that will be shown on the big screen to the 1,400 youth and adults here in Oklahoma. Check it out!

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The Supreme Executive Committee has just concluded its annual spring retreat. After hours and hours of hard work -- interspersed with flipcharts and breakout sessions -- Tim and Scott have arrived at the list of saints for the 2018 bracket. Stay tuned (until November 3, All Brackets' Day) for the results. They did take a little time out to record a video update from the SEC yacht, the S.S. Penitence.

Don't forget to visit the Lentorium, and you might like to buy a 2017 Golden Halo Winner Florence Nightingale mug for yourself and all your friends.

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In the fullness of time, the Supreme Executive Committee rests from its Lenten labors and begins accepting nominations for Lent Madness 2018.

In other words...

Welcome to Nominationtide!

For one full week, Tim and Scott will be accepting nominations for Lent Madness 2018. The nominating period will remain open through the evening of Monday, May 22. At which point the window will unceremoniously slam shut.

Please note that the ONLY way to nominate a saint is to leave a comment in this post. Nominations will not be accepted via social media, e-mail, carrier pigeon, brick through a window at Forward Movement headquarters, singing telegram, sky writer, or giant billboard along I-95. Also, at least officially, bribes are discouraged.

As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smackdown.” This includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2017, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2016 and 2015, and those from the 2014 Faithful Four. Needless to say Jesus, Mary, Tim, Scott, 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.

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The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness heartily congratulates Florence Nightingale on winning the 2017 Golden Halo!

To celebrate this momentous victory, the SEC has commissioned Lent Madness hymn writer extraordinaire, Sister Diana Doncaster, to pen a hymn for the occasion. Enjoy!

Ode to Flo
Tune: Hymn to Joy, Hymnal ‘82, 376, Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee

Joyful are the ones who voted for our Florence Nightingale.
Joyful more the ones whose lives and health she guarded without fail.
Joyful are the ones who’ve followed in her noble nursing ways.
Joyful we who still are learning how to live strong in our faith.

Florence won the Golden Halo long before Lent Madness came.
Faithful to her call to service, faithful to Christ’s healing grace.
Longed to serve the church, but sent home, went forth into battle’s roar.
So we offer God our praises for such saints who’ve gone before.

Let us join the happy chorus which Lent Madness has inspired,
With the saints who’ve taught us well that lived love is all God requires.
None are perfect, all have struggled, all have learned the ways of Grace.
May we fumble in their footsteps, ‘til we meet Christ face to Face.

What's nearly as important as announcing the Golden Halo winner? Sharing the Lentorium link to the winner's swag! Click here to pre-order your very own Florence Nightingale 2017 Golden Halo Winner mug (stethoscope sold separately).

Blessings to all as we head into the Triduum and enter into the death and resurrection of our Lord. It's been a privilege to have you join us on our Lenten pilgrimage!

It's hard to believe our Lent Madness journey is nearing its inevitable end. We kicked things off over five weeks ago on “Ash Thursday” with 32 saintly souls. With your help, the field has now been whittled down to just two: Franz Jägerstätter and Florence Nightingale. Who will be awarded the coveted 2017 Golden Halo? That, friends, is up to you.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we’ve met some truly remarkable holy people along the way. Perhaps you learned about some folks you’d never heard of or maybe you renewed acquaintances with saints who have long offered inspiration. Of course the entire notion of placing saints in a bracket is absurd — each “contestant” has already earned a crown of righteousness in addition to a “golden halo.” But at the heart of Lent Madness is the abiding conviction that encountering those who have come before us in the faith enriches and enlivens our own walk with the risen Christ.

In the process of this whimsical Lenten devotion we’ve all made some new online friends, encountered a community of believers who take their faith but not themselves too seriously, learned some things, were inspired by saintly witnesses, and hopefully had some fun along the way.

Of course we literally couldn’t have done this without our amazing Celebrity Bloggers to whom we offer sincere gratitude: Amber Belldene, Laurie Brock, Megan Castellan, Anna Courie, David Creech, Neva Rae Fox, David Hansen, Beth Lewis, Hugo Olais, Derek Olsen, and David Sibley. Thanks to Bracket Czar Adam Thomas for his stellar behind-the-scenes work in keeping the bracket updated daily. You all rock!

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Who will face Franz Jägerstätter in the Championship Round of Lent Madness 2017? That's the question of the day following Franz's narrow victory over Stephen 53% to 47% in the first of two Faithful Four matchups.

Two things are certain: 1) Franz's opponent will either be Amelia Bloomer or Florence Nightingale. 2) Today's Celebrity Bloggers, Laurie Brock and Anna Courie, are terrific writers and we're grateful for their witness.

To make it to the Faithful Four, Amelia Bloomer stymied Philipp Melanchthon, Fanny Crosby, and Raymond Nonnatus while Florence Nightingale made it past Anselm of Canterbury, Henry Beard Delany, and Martin Luther.

In case you missed the final in-season Monday Madness episode of 2017, watch it here. Tim and Scott are not BOTH in the Holy Land for Holy Week, but one of them is. And it's definitely not Tim. Because he's busy.

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Scott comes to you live from Jerusalem while Tim is (still) in Hingham for this special Holy Week episode of Monday Madness. The Supreme Executive Committee is not kidding when they refer to the "Lent Madness GLOBAL viewing public."

This week, in the last in-season Monday Madness of the 2017 season, Tim and Scott discuss the match-ups of the Faithful Four. They also point out that this Wednesday's championship match comes on a day with a special name: Spy Wednesday. How will you know why it's called Spy Wednesday? The SEC gives you a hint (written on the bottom of the screen when you watch) of where you can get the answer.

Of course it wouldn't be a complete episode without a plug for the Lentorium. You might also like to follow Scott's time in Jerusalem for Holy Week via Twitter. You can also follow Tim's quest to write 17 sermons and produce a multi-volume set of bulletins on his Twitter. Finally, we hope you'll take a moment to learn about the work of St. George's College in Jerusalem, which was kind enough not to kick Scott off their roof while he was recording this week's edition.

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Welcome to the Faithful Four! From an initial field of 32 saints, we are down to a holy four: Stephen, Franz Jägerstätter, Amelia Bloomer, and Florence Nightingale. The spiritual nets have been cut down and one of these saintly souls will, in a few short days, be awarded the coveted Golden Halo.

The odds-makers in Las Vegas are working overtime as people everywhere are putting their ecclesiastical coin on one of these four remaining ponies of the faith [here endeth the bizarre mixed metaphors].

While much remains a to-be-revealed penitential mystery, one thing about today's match-up between Stephen and Franz Jägerstätter is clear: Celebrity Blogger David Hansen will be participating in the Championship Round. How are we so sure of this? For the first time ever, David will be advocating for BOTH of his remaining saints who just happen to be named Stephen and Franz.

To make it to the Faithful Four, Stephen got past Alban, Henry Budd, and Augustine of Canterbury while Franz defeated Joan of Arc, Sarah the Matriarch, and Mechtild of Magdeburg.

Throughout Lent Madness, our saintly heroes have battled via basic bios, quirks and quotes, and event kitsch. In this round, we let our remaining Celebrity Bloggers loose as they answer the question “Why should Saint XX win the Golden Halo?” In other words, they’ve been charged with letting us know why their particular saint is so awesome. We have also invited them to share their two favorite images of their saints. Away we go!

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With the final battle of Elate Eight week, we will head into the weekend with the full slate of the Faithful Four. After yesterday's victory by Franz Jägerstätter over Mecthild of Magdeburg 67% to 33%, three of the four tickets have been punched. Franz will join Stephen and Florence Nightingale while we await the outcome of today's battle between Raymond Nonnatus and Amelia Bloomer.

To make it this far, Raymond defeated John of Nepomuk and Moses the Black while Amelia made it past Philipp Melanchthon and Fanny Crosby.

Are you ready for the final three days of the 2017 Saintly Smackdown? Here's how it will go: On Monday Stephen will face Franz. On Tuesday today's winner will face Florence Nightingale. On Spy Wednesday, we'll send one of the two remaining saints to (additional) eternal glory by awarding the coveted Golden Halo. There's a lot more Madness to come but that's how next week will go.

In the meantime, vote! And spend the weekend preparing for next week's final flourish.

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Holy upsets, Batman! Florence Nightingale has spoiled the 500th year of the Reformation with a 54% to 46% victory over Martin Luther. That sound you hear? Brackets being busted everywhere and fans of Luther crying in their beer steins. Florence has joined Stephen in the Faithful Four with two more spots remaining open.

Speaking of Luther and Lutherans (and Germany, for that matter), our two Lutheran Celebrity Bloggers, David Hansen and Beth Lewis, are going head-to-head today. Now, some saints have an incredible amount of kitsch in their kollective kupboards. Franz Jägerstätter and Mechtild of Magdeburg are not those saints. But does this stop our Celebrity Bloggers from scouring the internet? Of course not! They are always looking for the next kitsch to die in.

To get to the Elate Eight, Franz beat Joan of Arc and Sarah the Matriarch while Mechtild got past Isaac the Syrian and Odo of Cluny. Who will take the third spot in the Faithful Four? Well, that's up to you.

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