While not technically a Celebrity Blogger, Maple Anglican nonetheless has become the official video blogger of Lent Madness. Since the Supreme Executive Committee is generally benevolent, we have included the mysterious Maple Anglican in Celebrity Blogger Week.

You can find Maple's videos featuring Archbishop's John Chrysostom and Thomas Cranmer on the newly created YouTube channel, Lent Madness TV. They'll be providing commentary throughout the saintly smackdown -- commentary you won't want to miss. Ever.

Maple Anglican is the nom de plume of the mysterious Anglican Vlogger living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Very few know his true identity. Supposedly he is married with two young children, a son and daughter, attends All Saints’ Cathedral, Edmonton, has really bad grammar, and is very proud that he is Scott Gunn’s “Canadian Nemesis.” Last year in Lent Madness he was able to collaborate with the late Archbishops John Chrysostom and Thomas Cranmer  (@LMArchbishops) using a special device called the “Clairvoyatron,” a device even more mysterious than Maple Anglican himself.  Some say that he’s really a plant by ACNA, while others think he’s a complete git. Either way we still watch his videos. He can be found on Twitter @MapleAnglican,Facebook, or YouTube.

How has Lent Madness transformed your life?
I would say it has gotten the chance to bring out Church Geek in me a lot more and meet a lot more Church Geeks.

Obviously being a Celebrity Blogger is your greatest lifetime achievement. What perks have you enjoyed as a result of your status?
Well, it seems that I have become a bit more mysterious than I previously have been.

What do you hope the Lent Madness public will learn from the lives of the saints?

Maple in a ball pit

All competitiveness aside Lent Madness is a great way for people to learn about the Saints, and more importantly, the history of the Church. In the modern so-called "Post-Christian" society there is definitely a lack of knowledge about Christianity and I think that Lent Madness helps to educate people. At the same time this isn't just for Anglicans/Episcopalians; we have Roman Catholics involved. We have Lutherans involved. It is something that is ecumenical.

Someday, when you become the answer on Jeopardy, what will the question be?
I would want the "Answer" to be "This anonymous Canadian video blogger was part of the Social Media Evangelization movement of the early 21st Century."

[Yes, this should be in the form of a question but we'll cut MA a break. He's Canadian after all.]

Celebrity Blogger Week (or however long it takes) kicks off today! We'll introduce you to our fabulous stable of writers who will help make Lent Madness 2014 happen  (please note: by "stable" we're not implying that they're all horses although Laurie Brock actually does own a horse named Nina).

We've asked all of our non-equine CBs to answer a few questions and provide a photo that somehow reflects or sheds new light upon them. While we did this in alphabetical order last year, in 2014 we're getting loopy and mixing things up. In other words, we're posting these in the order we receive them, which also offers subtle motivation to those Celebrity Bloggers who haven't yet submitted their answers to the SEC to get them in ASAP.

As the pre-Lent Madness frenzy ratchets up, we hope you'll enjoy spending some time with the men and women (not horses) who will bring our 32 saints alive for us this year. We think they're all pretty amazing and not just because they work for carrots, er peanuts.

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.

Canon Heidi Shott

Heidi Shott, entering her third year as a Celebrity Blogger, is Canon for Communications and Social Justice in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. She is a member (and past Vice Chair) of the Standing Commission on Communications and Information Technology and served as Chair of the Episcopal Life Board of Governors. She worked on the Office of Communication’s video news team at two General Conventions, hosting “The Daily Wrap” in Anaheim in 2009. In Indianapolis she hosted an interview blog atwww.indy300.net. Praised widely for her writing about faith in daily life, Heidi writes for a variety of publications and blogs. She keeps the blog Heidoville. With the departure of their twin sons for college, she and her husband Scott are milling aimlessly around their home in mid-coast Maine where they root for the Red Sox even when they lose. Follow her on Twitter @heidomaine.

How has Lent Madness transformed your life? 
I never thought of myself as a competitive person until Lent Madness came along. I haven't won anything since my third place ribbon for the triple jump in the Holland Patent Central School 6th grade track meet in 1974. There's something about looking at those vote totals when one of my saints is up that lights a holy fire in my heart. In the first round last year Frances Perkins was neck and neck with Damian of Molokai. As it approached midnight East coast time, I was worried she might lose and that all the people who had never heard of her life and witness would go on with their lives without hearing about her life and witness. That's when I decided to take action and vowed to keep tweeting photos of Graceland to the Lent Madness twitterverse (I happened to have a lot of Graceland photos on my phone) until Perkins took the lead. It paid off. She won the first round and never looked back all the way to the Golden Halo.

Obviously being a Celebrity Blogger is your greatest lifetime achievement. What perks have you enjoyed as a result of your status?
The executive director of the Frances Perkins Center bought me a cup of coffee at the Maine Coast Bookshop and Cafe last year. That was sweet. I'm still waiting for the letter from Social Security Administration to announce that they will double my lifetime benefits because of my relentless support of Perkins, not to mention the free trip to Hawaii for helping Queen Emma get to the Golden Halo Round in 2012.

This week, Scott and Tim welcome the first-ever featured guest to Monday Madness. The Rev. Nancy Frausto joins from Los Angeles, CA to talk about how one parish is using Lent Madness (Locura de Cuaresma) in her bilingual congregation of Trinity Melrose, Los Angeles. Tune in to see which saint this ECF Fellow plans to cheer for in the race to the Golden Halo.

To get the resources she has created, you can email Nancy Frausto directly at the email address shown in the video. She'll be glad to email you her Spanish/English materials. Meanwhile, here's a photo of happy folk studying their Lent Madness materials -- a well-prepared congregation!

You can also visit the Lentorium to stock up on Saintly Scorecards or Lent Madness bracket posters. Don't worry if it says we're sold out of Saintly Scorecards. We've got more on the way, and you'll have yours in time for Lent.

While you're in the mood for Lent Madness television, don't forget to tune into LentMadnessTV on Youtube.

One more thing. Celebrity Blogger Week starts tomorrow! Are you ready to be dazzled by our stellar array of Celebrity Bloggers, video blogger, and Bracket Czar?

Archbishops John Chrysostom and Thomas Cranmer, thanks to Maple Anglican's Clairvoyatron 2100, have interviewed Supreme Executive Committee member Scott Gunn. You should immediately stop whatever you're doing and gather 'round the computer to watch the video for exclusive access to insider information on the world's greatest and biggest online Lenten devotion.

You can visit the Lentorium to load up on the Lent Madness merchandise Scott mentions in the video. And in your spare time, make sure you watch every episode on LentMadnessTV.

Lent is just around the corner! Have you evangelized for Lent Madness yet? Tell all your friends and neighbors to like Lent Madness on Facebook and follow @LentMadness on Twitter. Set aside whatever Lenten programming is planned in your parish, and prepare to orient the entire season around Lent Madness. After all, won't Easter be all that much more joyous when you're basking in the glow of the Risen Christ and the thrill of having rooted for the Golden Halo-winning saint?

Dear Friends,

Today we offer you an amazing pre-Lenten gift. No, it's not a hair shirt -- you'll have to find one of those on eBay. It's a free, no-strings-attached newsletter/website article ghost written by the Supreme Executive Committee about Lent Madness 2014. Feel free to use it (for free!) in your church's publications. If you are a parish administrator or communications specialist, this is your lucky day. If you are a priest that's on deadline and you've used one of your three wishes from the genie that came out of the oil lamp you stumbled upon in the undercroft on the magic appearance of a newsletter article, consider it granted.

That's not all, of course. Besides newsletters, this material can be used to e-mail friends and family, as graffiti around the neighborhood (note: the SEC has an ironclad alibi), by skywriters hired to spread the word, or applied in needlepoint to kneelers.

But please don't think of this as mere "filler." Think of it as "ful-fill-ment." And note that if you encounter any typos or prevarications, Scott and Tim will blame the other for the oversight.

But...in the spirit of the famous Ginsu Knives...that's not all! Use this article now and we'll throw in free widgets for your website or blog!

Lent Madness 2014

The Saintly Smack Down!

Grit, determination, perseverance. These are the traits, along with the obvious one -- holiness -- that will be needed to win the 2014 Lent Madness Golden Halo. Based loosely on the NCAA basketball tournament, Lent Madness pits 32 saints against one another in a single-elimination bracket. It is also a wildly popular online devotional designed to help people learn about saints.

Lent Madness began in 2010 as the brainchild of the Rev. Tim Schenck, an Episcopal priest and rector of St. John’s Church in Hingham, Massachusetts. In seeking a fun, engaging way for people to learn about the men and women who make up the church’s calendar of saints, Schenck 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.”

Starting in 2012, Schenck partnered with Forward Movement (the same folks that publish Forward Day by Day) executive director the Rev. Scott Gunn, and Lent Madness went viral, reaching over 50,000 people and getting mentioned in everything from the Washington Post to  USA Today, to Sports Illustrated (seriously).

Here’s how it works: on the weekdays of Lent information is posted at www.lentmadness.org about two different saints. Each pairing remains open for 24 hours as participants read about and then vote to determine which saint moves on to the next round. Sixteen saints make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen; eight advance to the Round of the Elate Eight; four make it to the Faithful 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. It’s fun, it’s informative, it’s the saintly smack down!

This year Lent Madness features an intriguing slate of saints ancient and modern, Biblical and ecclesiastical. The 2014 heavyweights include Thomas Merton, Catherine of Siena, J.S. Bach, David of Wales, John Wesley, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Joseph of Arimathaea. The full bracket is online at the Lent Madness website.

New this year is the publication of the Saintly Scorecard -- The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2014. Available through Forward Movement, it contains biographies of all 32 saints to assist those who like to fill out their brackets in advance, in addition to a full-color pull-out bracket.

This all kicks off on “Ash Thursday,” March 6. To participate, visit www.lentmadness.org, where you can also print out a bracket for free to see how you fare or “compete” against friends and family members. Like that other March tournament, there will be drama and intrigue, upsets and thrashings, last-minute victories and Cinderellas.

Ten “celebrity bloggers” from across the country have been tapped to write for the project including the Rev. Laurie Brock of Lexington, KY; the Rev. Penny Nash of Williamsburg, VA; Dr. David Creech of Morehead, MN; the Rev. Megan Castellan of Kansas City, MO; Canon Heidi Shott of Newcastle, ME; the Rev. David Hendrickson of Denver, CO; the Rev. Amber Belldene of San Francisco, CA; the Rev. David Sibley of Brooklyn, NY; the Rev. Laura Darling of Oakland, CA; and the Rev. Maria Kane of Houston, TX. Information about each of the celebrity bloggers is available on the Lent Madness website.

If you’re looking for a Lenten discipline that is fun, educational, occasionally goofy, and always joyful, join the Lent Madness journey. Lent needn’t be all doom and gloom. After all, what could be more joyful than a season specifically set aside to get closer to God?

Forward Movement is a ministry of The Episcopal Church dedicated to making disciples and sharing the Good News. With offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forward Movement has worked since 1935 to reinvigorate the life of the church.

NOTE:
High-resolution graphics are available upon request. News organizations and non-profits may freely use graphics from the Lent Madness website, with attribution. Free Lent Madness widgets for website are also available for download.

Contact: press@lentmadness.org

Today is Viginti-tribus-gesima, with Lent Madness starting in just 23 days. With the crowning glory of Ash Thursday just around the corner, Tim and Scott have a question for you: Have you showed your love of the Lord by shopping in the Lentorium yet? There's not much more time. Hurry up and buy your Saintly Scorecards, bracket posters, mugs, and sundry items. Buy now!

Also, it's important to practice Lent Madness evangelism. Make sure you have liked us on Facebook, followed us on Twitter, viewed us on Vimeo, stared at us on Youtube, and whatevered us on Pinterest. Most important: encourage all your friends to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Here is this week's video, chock full of cinematic mastery and cheesy effects. On the latter front, please note the debut of our brand new opening transition effect!

You can see more videos on our Vimeo channel. And make sure you watch Maple Anglican's excellent work over at LentMadnessTV on Youtube.

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Apparently some basketball teams run their own bracket. Thanks to Warren Buffet you can get one billion dollars for correctly completing that other bracket. It's madness! Because Lent Madness is better than basketball, the prize for flawlessly completing a Lent Madness bracket is also better. Watch this week's episode of Monday Madness (Tuesday Edition) to learn more.

Scott and Tim urge you to show how much you love Jesus by buying plenty of copies of the Saintly Scorecard and the giant bracket poster. You'll also want to follow Lent Madness on Twitter and Facebook.

Don't forget to head over to the Lentorium so you stock up on Lent gifts for all your friends and neighbors.

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