One week until Ash Thursday

February 7, 2013
Scott Gunn

One More WeekThroughout the world, people are wondering how they will manage to wait until Ash Thursday. Just one week from today, Lent Madness 2013 kicks off on February 14, 2013. In an effort to serve our global audience, the Supreme Executive Committee hereby shares the Top 10 Ways to Pass the Longest Week of the Year.

10. Get your bracket for Lent Madness 2013. Print it out. Start picking your saints.
9. You'll need to do some research to succeed at number 10. Besides Wikipedia, there are some great resources listed on this site. Naturally, we especially recommend The Calendar of Saints: Lent Madness 2013 Ultra-Revised Edition.
8. Go on a worldwide Lent Madness pilgrimage. Build an itinerary with St. Louis, St. Bart's, San Francisco and other saint cities and/or islands.
7. Sip coffee from your official Lent Madness 2013 coffee mug. Just please do not put lousy coffee in it. Life is too short, and the mug is too great.
6. Plan to take part in Brackets to Go this year on Shrove Tuesday. It's important to take the brackets to the people, rather than expecting people to come to the brackets. Print out some brackets and hand them out at train stations or street corners.
5. Watch the entire corpus of Monday Madness episodes again. If possible, get the director's cut on Blu-Ray. Make sure you learn our new theme music so you can hum it constantly.
4. As you know, the SEC does not condone gambling. However, we do encourage fund-raising for charity. Start up a betting pool, and give the proceeds to a great cause such as Episcopal Relief & Development.
3. Plan to hijack the pulpit at your church on Sunday. Get everyone rallied up. Suggest various places where brackets could be placed (the front of the altar, on the back of the celebrant's chasuble, or projected onto giant screens).
2. Connect with other Lent Madness fans by liking our page on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or getting Pinterested in our other social media.
1. Tell your friends about the good news of Lent Madness. Why keep the joy to yourself?

Before you know it, it will be time to cast the first votes in Lent Madness 2013. Who will win the Golden Halo? No one knows, but it will be a grand competition. Expect laughter, learning, inspiration, and no small amount of snark.

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12 comments on “One week until Ash Thursday”

  1. . . . or you could get in touch a person named Saint. I have a sister and cousins named St. Clare -- can't give out numbers, but I'll pass messages along . . . and would certainly consider selling an autograph or two!

  2. I think we should try to find 32 actual living saints this week. After all, you can meet them in school or in lanes or at sea. In church or in trains or in shops or at tea...

  3. This is great! Do we actually vote online - if so I cannot find directions. Thanks for your help.

  4. Hi Rosemary. Welcome to Lent Madness! Yes, all of the voting takes place online right here at this website. The Madness begins on "Ash Thursday," February 14. The best way to insure you never miss a vote is to sign up for email updates on the home page. See you in Lent!

    1. Yes, but then who voted in the Play-In Rounds? I'm going to sign up for email updates for myself, but I'm having a hard time explaining this to our congregation.
      Thanks!

  5. Am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my poster so I can keep up in the proper manner of one born to the manor.....Whoops! Too much influence of DOWNTON ABBEY and I don't even watch it...easily influenced by anything that sounds remotely British...Oh! I've gotten Hyacinth Bucket mixed up with ABBEY folk. Toodle-oo, old chap! Lacking caffeine..gotta go.

  6. I received the posters to use at my church today. I assume purple is the correct col0r sharpie ?

  7. You guys are wacko. But I'm passing this on to my folks. One of them can show me how to do it. I have also suggested to my wardens that they use it to destroy each other. Am I on the right track so far?