"Is there a doctor in the house?" One of the reasons we invited Derek Olsen to join us on this Lenten journey as a Celebrity Blogger, was to be able to answer this question in the affirmative. If the excitement of the saintly smackdown causes you shortness of breath, be sure to call on Dr. Olsen. He'll leap in to save the day by blogging about obscure liturgical minutia with reckless abandon. We're glad to have this new life-saver on the Lent Madness team!

Dr. Derek Olsen is a layman within the Episcopal Church with a Ph.D. in New Testament and an interest in most things medieval, monastic, and liturgical. He is the liturgical editor of the St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, and the author of Reading Matthew with Monks, an investigation of early medieval reading and preaching. Forward Movement will be publishing his book on the spirituality of the Book of Common Prayer near the end of 2015. Derek currently serves on the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission for Liturgy & Music. An IT professional by day, Derek is also the mastermind behind St Bede Productions which is responsible for the St Bede’s Breviary, Forward Movement’s Daily Prayer site, and the St Bede Blog (formerly haligweorc). He lives in Baltimore with his wife, an Episcopal priest, and their two daughters. He spends most of his spare time driving his daughters to and from ballet.

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You think the Lent Madness publicity machine is impressive? I mean, what other online Lenten devotion has been on national TV, NPR, Sports Illustrated, and USAToday? Neva Rae Fox isn't just a Celebrity Blogger but a public relations professional who has assisted the SEC in getting the penitential word out over the years.

We're grateful for her expertise but we're most impressed that she serves on the Altar Guild at her own parish. All clergy know the cardinal rule of parish ministry: Never. Cross. The. Altar. Guild.

Neva Rae Fox is honored, thrilled, and downright delighted to return for a second year as a Celebrity Blogger. Neva Rae is the Public Affairs Officer for The Episcopal Church and many many people at General Convention 2015 identified her as nrfox@episcopalchurch.org. However, to her surprise and delight, she has also been recognized as a Lent Madness Celebrity Blogger on assorted occasions. Still the Jersey Girl of the bunch (you got a problem with that?), Neva Rae remains active in her own Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey, serving on the communications committee, Altar Guild, ECW and as a reader, preacher, and lay Eucharistic minister. She is a frequent presenter in dioceses and organizations throughout the Church and is dedicated to other volunteer and philanthropic causes. She remains a diehard Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles fan – thereby proving she knows how to suffer. During the 2015 baseball season, she and her husband Bob were able to check off Fenway Park from their “bucket list.” And the great things continue — while her cat Duke adorned the back cover of the 2015 EpiscoCats calendar, Neva Rae has been informed that her other cat Bugsy will grace the February pages of the 2016 EpiscoCats calendar.

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Another day, another Lutheran?! Yup. Two of our new Celebrity Bloggers this year are Lutherans. David Hansen joins Beth Lewis as part of the Lent Madness Lutheran contingent. Fortunately, they will be using their respective computers to advocate for their respective saints rather than nailing theses to church doors around the country (not that there's anything wrong with that).

David has the distinction of being one of the few pastors around with an actual punctuation mark in his parish's name. We may or may not be changing our official name to "Lent Madness!" Read on...

The Rev. David Hansen, despite growing up as a pastor’s kid, turned out okay. An ELCA pastor, he serves at Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church in The Woodlands, Texas (outside of Houston), where he lives with his wife Megan, their daughter, and their menagerie of pets. When not preaching and teaching for the Lutheran diaspora in Texas, David is helping to drag the church into the digital age – teaching congregations and leaders to make use of online tools for ministry (You can catch David this year leading an Intensive as a part of the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza. He is a regular contributor and moderator in the Church Social Media (#chsocm) community, and wrote the forward to Celebrity Blogger alum Meredith Gould’s The Social Media Gospel. He is an occasional contributor to The Lutheran magazine and Living Lutheran, and blogs at Pastor David L. Hansen. Connect with him on Twitter @rev_david and Facebook.

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One of three Celebrity Bloggers named David (shockingly we have none named Goliath), David Creech is entering his third year as a Lent Madness contributor. As a professor with a fancy PhD, he makes us all appear to be smarter than we actually are. We are grateful for that, even if we've never been able to figure out why his blog is named Dying Sparrows.

Dr. David Creech is Assistant Professor of Religion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. A student of early Christianities, David knows a lot about saints—they anathematized many of his research subjects. He is a product of an Evangelical seminary and a Catholic PhD program and now teaches at a Lutheran college and worships with Episcopalians. For those looking for the ecumenical voice (read: objective and unbiased/quite confused) in this year’s competition, he’s your man. Although he does dress in robes from time to time, David brings the unique perspective of a layperson. His book title is long and boring (The Use of Scripture in the Apocryphon of John: A Diachronic Analysis of the Variant Versions) but nearly sold out of its initial print run of 200 copies. You can follow David on Twitter @dyingsparrows and read his oftentimes provocative posts at his blog by the same name. When not teaching and writing, David enjoys owning his three kids Ian, Ela, and Dylan at Sorry.

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Don't let looks deceive you. Megan Castellan is a battle-hardened veteran of Celebrity Bloggerdom. Last year she shepherded Brigid of Kildare to the first ever Silver Halo, thus inspiring the popular Lent Madness Brigid pint glass.

Along with her fellow long serving (suffering?) Celebrity Bloggers, David Sibley and Laurie Brock, Megan was recently awarded the title Distinguished Celebrity Blogger. This title, graciously bestowed by the Supreme Executive Committee after they drank way too much coffee, will allow these three dedicated Lenten heroes to write their own ecclesiastical tickets.

The Rev. Megan Castellan, Distinguished Celebrity Blogger, is Assistant Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Missouri, and diocesan youth coordinator for the Metro Kansas City area. Previously, she has lived and worked in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Arizona, and that period of time in the West Bank that the government can’t know about. Her ongoing adventures and strong opinions are chronicled in her blog Red Shoes, Funny Shirt and on Twitter @revlucymeg. (From time to time, you can also catch her writing in various other places, like House of Deputies News, Episcopal Café, or Fidelia’s Sisters, though the snark factor is significantly lower there). In her spare time, she enjoys singing, playing with yarn, throwing jellybeans at politicians she disagrees with on TV, and cheering on KC-based sports ball teams.

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Although not technically a Celebrity Blogger, we are using the term "Celebrity Blogger Week" to highlight all the members of the Lent Madness Team. Maria is our Resident Foodie whose recipes, or Saintly Sprinkles, can be found in the Saintly Scorecard: The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2016.

What's that you say? You haven't yet ordered your copy? Act now -- they've sold out the last couple of years. Don't be the only Lent Madness fan on your block without one. It will make you feel marginalized. And hopeless.

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On the second day of Celebrity Blogger Week Lent Madness gave to me...not two turtle doves but a single Lutheran! Beth Lewis is what you might call an overqualified Celebrity Blogger and we're delighted she agreed to join us for the 2016 Lenten season. Read on!

But first, in case you missed yesterday's edition of Monday Madness, be sure to tune in as Tim and Scott highlight the start of Celebrity Blogger Week and explain why Westminster Abbey is basically a monument to Lent Madness.

Beth Lewis has served as President & CEO of Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, since September 2002. During this time, the company has transitioned into a leader in delivery of digital content for congregations, higher education and families through their Augsburg Fortress, Fortress Press, sparkhouse, and Sparkhouse Family imprints. This call followed 20+ years of work for several Fortune 500 publishing companies and owner of a computer and technology career school. Beth is a popular speaker in ecumenical groups on a wide range of topics; some of the most popular are Gutenberg to Google: Effective Use of Technology for Congregations, Strategic Planning for Faith-Based Organizations, and Congregational Hospitality. Having been raised Lutheran in Lexington, Kentucky, Beth continues to be a dedicated fan of UK Wildcats basketball, so brackets are among her favorite things to follow! She writes the One Mission blog and you may connect with her on Twitter @bethalewis and on Facebook.

1. Since being named a Celebrity Blogger is obviously your greatest lifetime achievement, how will you handle the inevitable post-Lenten letdown?
I’m thinking a nice bottle of red wine will do the trick; perhaps one of my favorites, Druid’s Fluid from Troon Vineyard in Grant’s Pass, Oregon?

2. What is the single strangest thing you’ve learned about one of your assigned saints?
Dominic’s emblem in art is a dog with a torch in its mouth. It is reported that it is a pun on his name because the Dominicans are sometimes called the "Domini canes,” the hounds of the Lord.

3. What is your favorite saint-inspired food and why?
Chewy German pretzels. I assume that one of my favorite saints, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, having lived most of his life in Germany, must have enjoyed plenty of these! Besides, they are bread-like, so make me think of communion. The best ones have plenty of salt -- “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

And, I find this bit of legend/history regarding their Trinitarian form interesting: “Though the exact origins of the pretzel remain mysterious, legend has it that the story began around A.D. 610, when Italian monks presented their young students with treats of baked dough twisted in the shape of crossed arms. At the time, crossing one’s arms was the traditional posture for prayer. As the custom spread through medieval Europe, the pretzel’s three holes came to represent the Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and the twisty baked good became associated with good luck, long life and prosperity.”

4. Besides Lent Madness, what do you most look forward to during the season of Lent?
This Lent, it will be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary with my husband! Yes, a Lutheran pastor and a Lutheran publisher were married in Lent! Probably slightly scandalous in some circles!

Celebrity Blogger Week (or however long it takes) kicks off today! We’ll introduce you to the fabulous writers who will help make our 32 Lent Madness 2016 saints come alive.

We’ve asked all of our CBs to answer a few questions and provide a photo that somehow reflects or sheds new light upon them in a way that transcends their official headshot. The Supreme Executive Committee will be posting these intros in the order we receive them. Mostly because this will offer subtle motivation to those Celebrity Bloggers who have yet to submit their answers. Don't make us write the answers for you! (as we famously did one year for a particularly deadline averse former Celebrity Blogger).

As the pre-Lent Madness frenzy ratchets up, we hope you’ll enjoy spending some time with the men and women of Lent Madness 2016. We think they’re all pretty amazing and not just because they work for free mugs.

Then make sure to order your copy of the Saintly Scorecard: The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2016 and large Bracket Poster in order to fully participate in the Madness.

But before you read about our first CB, don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Thanks — it’s good for our self-esteem.

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