Lent Madness began in 2010 as the brainchild of the Rev. Tim Schenck. In seeking a fun, engaging way for people to learn about the men and women comprising the Church’s Calendar of Saints, Tim came up with this unique Lenten devotion. Combining his love of sports with his passion for the lives of the saints, Lent Madness was born on his blog “Clergy Family Confidential.”
The format is straightforward: 32 saints are placed into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. Each pairing remains open for a set period of time and people vote for their favorite saint. 16 saints make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen; eight advance to the Round of the Elate Eight; four make it to the Final Four; two to the Championship; and the winner is awarded the coveted Golden Halo. The first round consists of basic biographical information about each of the 32 saints. Things get a bit more interesting in the subsequent rounds as we offer quotes and quirks, explore legends, and even move into the area of saintly kitsch.
The major change from 2010 to 2011 was the introduction of four “celebrity bloggers” to champion particular saints through the Final Four. Meredith Gould, Scott Gunn, Penny Nash, and Neil Alan Willard dove into the spirit of Lent Madness with abandon adding even more intrigue to the proceedings.
Tim and Scott discussing the relative merits and saintliness of Athanasius vs. Florence Nightingale
This year we have partnered with Forward Movement and Executive Director Scott Gunn to create our own website and broaden the number of people involved in the selection and writing process. We hope this will make Lent Madness 2012 even more lively, allow more voices to be heard, and broaden the audience of this Lenten discipline. What won’t change is the essence of Lent Madness: allowing people to get to know some amazing people who have come before us in the faith and reminding one another that there’s no reason for a dreary Lenten discipline. If this helps people connect with the risen Christ during this season of penitence and renewal, and have a bit of fun in the process, then it continues to be worthwhile.
We hope you’ll participate fully this Lent and vote with reckless abandon! (Once — this isn’t Chicago).
This sounds like a lot of fun and educational too. I definitely will be participating.
Excellent, Emily! This will make your Lenten experience the best ever.
Dear Tim+, I’m wondering if you and Scott can put together a post about how a parish might go about running a Lent Madness tournament among its members. I know there are different ways of scoring brackets, but I’m clueless about the pros and cons. Any advice?
Your brother in Christ,
-Chris+
Good thought, Chris. I assume the goal is to fix it so that the rector automatically wins some sort of cash prize? I’ll post something on this topic when I have a chance.
Naturally. I’ve just been doing some research, and I think I’m going to use a fibonacci series scoring system here. We’ve got 5 rounds, and so the points per round will be 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. It strikes a balance between early and late rounds. In this system, the total points will be 105. The maximum number of points in each round is 32, 24, 20, 16, and 13. I think what I might do is set a $2 buy-in, and the winner decides to which of our diocesan ministries the total amount is awarded, and they’ll get a t-shirt.
This is what I’m sending around to the parish here: http://www.saintmarysmiddlesboro.org/1/post/2012/02/lent-madness-2012.html (note that the prize will be a Forward Publications book. How’s that for recursion?)
Chris, it looks like you’re turning this into some sort of pyramid scheme. But I like it and I think I’ll share your approach with others (with approriate attribution, of course). Thanks for giving this some serious thought!
Good afternoon, I am really looking forward to this. I am a co-teacher of Catechesis of the Good Shephard for the youth in our church and our focus this year is the Episcopal Saints. Thank you so much for starting a fun educational way to learn about them.
Amy, I’m delighted you’ll be able to use Lent Madness as a teaching tool!
Our Bible Study Group in Elk River MN was introduced to Lent Madness last night by Father Rob. As of 11:00 this morning the website address has been forwarded to thousands!! OK – a couple of dozen. Loaves and fishes. Thank you!
Delighted to hear this, Kate. Father Rob sounds like a very wise priest. Keep up the great evangelism and say hello to all the elk for us!
Where on your website do I find information about the saints?
Trish, each day, starting tomorrow, there will be a blog post with information about the saints you are voting on. Check back tomorrow morning.
You can also buy the book, Calendar of Saints: Lent Madness 2012 Edition. Check the store for details.