Neva Rae Fox

We're excited that returning Celebrity Blogger Neva Rae Fox agreed to answer our questions despite the fact that it's Super Bowl Week. You may not know this, but Neva is a HUGE Philadelphia Eagles fan. We're not sure if she was one of those Philly fans who once famously booed Santa Claus but at least St. Nicholas isn't in this year's bracket.

Oh, and for those of you rabid football fans considering blowing off church on Super Bowl Sunday, consider this. We don't THINK God cares about the outcome of football games. I mean, presumably God has bigger fish to fry. But do you really want to take that chance?

Neva Rae Fox cannot fully express how excited she is to return to the Lent Madness crew for a fourth year, remaining the only Jersey Girl among the celebrity bloggers. Since last year’s Lent Madness season, she has ticked off a few more items on her bucket list, most notably: visiting Hawaii (thereby marking 48 off her quest of visiting all 50 states!); three more MLB parks to her current total of 16; and enjoying four exciting operas that she had never seen before. She is the Public Affairs Officer for the Episcopal Church and looks forward to seeing thousands of Episcopalian friends at our upcoming family reunion known as General Convention – stop by the media room and say Hi! Neva Rae remains active in her Diocese of NJ church as well as local, regional and national organizations and groups – some you may have heard of, and some you probably haven’t. Neva Rae is excited about the 2018 season of learning, fun and frivolity known as Lent Madness and, of course, to another mug for her collection!

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Dr. David Creech

Here at Lent Madness, we hoard Davids. We have three of them: Sibley, Hanson, and Creech (not including St. David of Wales). Two out of three of our Davids are Lutherans, but that's a mystery for another day. Today we meet David Creech, the first of our Trinity of Davids. This is Dr. David's fifth year plying the Celebrity Blogger trade. We keep him around for a variety of reasons but mostly because his doctorate lends us a veil of respectability ("one out of four doctors recommend Lent Madness for all your penitential needs").

Oh, and in case you missed yesterday's special Celebrity Blogger Week edition of Monday Madness, watch it here. It's must-see, pre-Lenten TV.

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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Welcome to Celebrity Blogger Week! Over the next week (or so), we'll be highlighting the amazing people who will make the magic of Lent Madness 2018 happen. Our slate of 32 saints doesn't just come to life on its own (excluding the whole Resurrection thing). No, it takes our gifted Celebrity Bloggers to tell their stories in engaging ways and we're grateful to all of them for being part of the vaunted Lent Madness team.

If we're being honest, it will take more than just one week to highlight our 11 celebrity bloggers and a few others like our Bracket Czar and Celebrity Chef. But Celebrity Blogger Fortnight just doesn't have the same ring. So enjoy reading about these fantastic folks. We share their basic bios and then ask them to answer three carefully hand-crafted questions. We've also asked them to provide a photo of them doing something they're passionate about (besides writing saintly bios).

In case you were wondering about the lineup presented, we run these features in the order in which they are received. So Anna Fitch Courie is number one because she submitted her responses to the Supreme Executive Committee first. Also, she's Number One because she is the defending Golden Halo Champion, having shepherded Florence Nightingale to the highest of honors in 2017. But that's just mere coincidence.

Anna Fitch Courie

Anna Fitch Courie Anna Fitch Courie is an army wife, nurse, layperson, and the author of “Christ Walk: A 40 Day Spiritual Fitness Program” (Church Publishing, Inc., 2015); “Christ Walk Kids” (Church Publishing, 2016); “Sally the Comet” (CreateSpace, 2015); “Sally and the Constellations” (CreateSpace, 2017), and “The Adventures of Cancer Girl and God” (Church Publishing, 2018). Anna finds her calling where health and spirituality intersect. Anna is a registered nurse by training and has been working in the health care field for the past twenty years. More recently, she has been a consultant on building community coalitions on health. Anna is a graduate of Clemson University, the University of Wyoming, and Education for Ministry at Sewanee: the University of the South. She is currently enrolled at Ohio State University in the Doctoral in Nursing Practice program. In her spare time, she fights cancer, consults in public health, and runs Christ Walk, retreats, writes books, and blogs for “50 Days of Fabulous” and “Lent Madness.” In her dream world, she hikes the El Camino and Mount Rainier, sails, travels, cooks, reads, and attends every Clemson football game each season. Home is wherever the Army (and God) sends her. You can find her on her blog at Christ Walk; on Facebook; on Twitter @christwalk1; and on Instagram @christwalk1.

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Today marks the final day of another epic Celebrity Blogger Week! And that can mean only one thing...Lent Madness draweth nigh. But first, say hello to Dr. Derek Olsen. Yes, we have so many doctors serving as Celebrity Bloggers that we're considering opening our own practice. Or at least solving the health care conundrum by initiating LentMadnessCare. Stay tuned for details on how to sign up.

Dr. Derek Olsen

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 author of Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life, a user-friendly guide to the spirituality found in the Book of Common Prayer. He is also 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.  Derek also served 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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Distinguished Celebrity Blogger David Sibley remains in the throes of baseball ecstasy as he continues to revel in last year’s World Series victory by his long-denied Chicago Cubs. Of course this pales in comparison to the euphoria he felt in shepherding Charles Wesley to the 2014 Golden Halo. We’re delighted David is back for another year of Lent Madness as we find out — in just a couple of months — whose halo will be doused with champagne in the saintly locker room.

The Rev. David Sibley

The Rev. David Sibley, Distinguished Celebrity Blogger is in the middle of his seventh year as a southern transplant into the northeast, where he now lives on Long Island and serves as Rector of Christ Church in Manhasset, New York. Raised right in the middle of South Carolina, David studied and did research as a chemist before being whisked away to seminary in New York City. When he’s not in church, David enjoys travel, hiking and camping, all things food and music related, and is a sports fanatic – with his teams of choice in baseball (Chicago Cubs), college football (South Carolina Gamecocks), and soccer (Liverpool FC) being minor obsessions. When the ideas are forthcoming, he’s been known to blog at Feeding on Manna, and holds forth much more often with his partners in crime on Twitter at @davidsibley.

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Laurie Brock remains the ONLY Celebrity Blogger who owns a horse. And while we think she takes this whole "circuit riding" clergy thing a little too seriously, how could we not name Nina the Official Horse of Lent Madness? Laurie is a long-time Lent Madness contributor who successfully shepherded Francis of Assisi to the Golden Halo in 2014 and we're thrilled to have her back this year (not that we gave her a choice).

The Rev. Laurie Brock

The Rev. Laurie Brock, Distinguished Celebrity Blogger is a returning Celebrity Blogger because she loves getting free coffee mugs and receiving celebrity red carpet treatment at Episcopal gatherings. One of those things may not be entirely accurate. She serves as the rector of St. Michael the Archangel Episcopal Church in Lexington, Kentucky. She blogs at Dirty Sexy Ministry, is the co-author of Where God Hides Holiness: Thoughts on Grief, Joy and the Search for Fabulous Heels (Church Publishing), and is also a contributor to a forthcoming book about the real lives of women clergy. A reality series on E! is surely coming soon. She is also the creative force behind Fifty Days of Fabulous from Forward Movement. She frequently shares her quirky, snarky views on faith, Alabama football,and popular culture on Twitter at @drtysxyministry, but don’t follow unless you can laugh at yourself and your religion. Otherwise, you’ll just be offended. When she’s not doing priest things, she is riding her horse Nina, the Official Horse of Lent Madness.

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Admit it. Nothing quite says "romance" like Lent Madness. I mean, doesn't everybody purchase a giant bracket poster from the Lentorium for their true love? This is why we're delighted that Amber Belldene, Episcopal priest and romance novelist, is returning for another year of everybody's favorite Lenten devotion.

The Rev. Amber Belldene

The Rev. Amber Belldene is a romance writer and the alter ego of a vampire-loving Episcopal priest. She grew up on the Florida panhandle swimming with alligators, climbing oak trees, and diving for scallops…when she could pull herself away from a book. As a child, she hid her Nancy Drew novels inside the church bulletin and read mysteries during sermons — an irony that is not lost on her when she preaches these days. Amber believes stories are the best way to examine life’s truths, and she is passionate about the relationship between sexuality and spirituality — namely, that God made people with a desire for love, and that desire is the heart of every romance novel. Her paranormal romance series Blood Vine is now available from Omnific Publishing and her sexy contemporary novella One Sinful Night in São Paulo, about an Episcopal seminarian looking for love, is scheduled to release later this year. She loves wine, history, heirloom tomatoes and she lives with her husband and children in San Francisco. For more information about her books or to check out her blog go to www.amberbelldene.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmberBelldene or Facebook.

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Celebrity Blogger Week continues today with Professor David Creech. If you were trying to look at this website a little while ago, you might have noticed that we had a tech glitch and were offline for a couple of hours. Tim and Scott are each busy issuing denials right now, looking for ways to blame the other. But, for now, we bring you today's CB Week installment...

Dr. David Creech

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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Celebrity Blogger Week continues with...another Lutheran! We're pleased to have digital media guru David Hansen return for another year of Lent Madness. We're not exactly sure what's going on in his extracurricular photo. He appears to be defending a stone fortress, or at least some environmentally friendly rain barrels, with a toy sword. We wish him luck in his Don Quixote-esque quest!

David Hansen

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. David has recently begun work as the Director for LEAD -- an organization committed to providing resources for leaders and ministries. Connect with him on Twitter @rev_david and Facebook.

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Okay, he's not technically a Celebrity Blogger (though he once was!). But as Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas is an integral member of the Lent Madness team. He's the one who not only makes the bracket pretty -- you should have seen it the first two years when Tim hosted the whole thing on his blog -- but also keeps it updated electronically throughout the season. We're extremely grateful for Adam's diligence and you should be too!

The Rev. Adam Thomas

The Rev. Adam Thomas, Distinguished Lent Madness Bracket Czar, had one stint as a celebrity blogger, in which his Cinderella story Philander Chase made it way farther than the analysts expected. Since 2012, he has been the keeper of the bracket and writer of pithy headlines on the bracket page. This Lent is his third as rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic, Connecticut. Adam is the author of Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in the Virtual World (Abingdon 2011), which you should read since you are using the Internet right now and you are more than likely a Christian. His first novel Letters from Ruby, which is about an Episcopal priest (imagine that!) arrived in August 2013 and a video Bible study series Unusual Gospel for Unusual People followed in spring 2014. A passionate gamer, Adam just launched a new website about board games called Human Cleric Games. Adam lives in Mystic, Connecticut with his wife Leah and their beautiful and precocious twins. Check out his website WheretheWind.com, for nearly eight years of content. You can fan Adam on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @RevAdamThomas.

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