Celebrity Blogger Week continues with the inimitable Neva Rae Fox who returns for her third year of Lent Madness. Quite the world traveler, Neva Rae often heads out on adventures with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. In addition to being photobombed by Stonehenge in her headshot, the other picture was taken at an outdoor cafe in Jordan (Fun Fact: One member of the SEC was sitting across from her at the table -- and it's not the one you would expect).

Neva Rae Fox

Neva Rae Fox counts her blessings – and gives thanks to the Supreme Executive Committee – for the honor of returning as a Lent Madness Celebrity Blogger for a third year. Neva Rae is the Public Affairs Officer for the Episcopal Church which continues to keep her busy, dedicated, connected, and on her toes. Neva Rae remains active in her own Episcopal Church – St. John’s, Somerville NJ, Diocese of New Jersey. She is a frequent presenter and also is active in various volunteer, social and philanthropic causes. Relaxation for this Jersey Girl is enjoying music (ranging from Clapton and Copeland to Beethoven and Puccini), cheering (often in vain) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles, and checking off “bucket list” items – in 2016 she checked off Stonehenge, Scotland, and running longer than she ever dreamed. Next goal on her bucket list is to visit all 50 states (she’s currently marked off 47). Neva Rae looks forward to adding another Lent Madness mug to her collection.

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Fresh off her successful run as the advocate for Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 2016 Golden Halo-winning performance, Beth Lewis is back for her second year with Lent Madness. We have no clue how she can possibly top that, but we're delighted Beth didn't decide to do a "one and done" turn as a Celebrity Blogger (like most of the players on her beloved Kentucky Wildcats basketball team). Fun fact: Beth is not our only Lutheran Celebrity Blogger. Stay tuned!

Beth Lewis

Beth Lewis is the President & CEO of 1517 Media, the ministry of publishing of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 1517 Media is the parent organization for Augsburg Fortress, Fortress Press, and Sparkhouse. This call, having begun in 2002, followed 20+ years of work for several Fortune 500 publishing companies and owner of a computer and technology career school. Beth has announced her retirement from this role, effective September 2018. But, retirement from this role means she hopes to continue speaking, serving on Boards, etc. while finding more time to spend traveling and wine tasting with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Rick Rouse. They have recently built a new home in Mukilteo, WA to be closer to young grandchildren and wineries. 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.
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Day three of Celebrity Blogger Week, brings us the encore blogging performance of Hugo Olaiz, who joins us for his second year in a row. A man of many talents, as you can see from the accompanying picture, Hugo can cook and sing opera at the same time! We assume he's not lip synching but we have yet to verify this.

Hugo Olaiz

Hugo Olaiz is associate editor for Latino/Hispanic resources at Forward Movement. Hugo grew up in La Plata, Argentina — a country where provinces and cities are sometimes named after saints. After completing a degree in literature and classics, Hugo spent two years on mission in Paraguay. He later moved to the U.S. to do graduate studies in Spanish, linguistics, and translation, pursuing a Ph.D. in Hispanic linguistics at Berkeley, California. He later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he became the news editor for Sunstone magazine. Upon moving to Carrboro, North Carolina, Hugo stumbled into an underground network of home-based businesses — hair styling, sewing, cooking — all run by Mexican immigrants; these contacts led him into Latino ministry and advocacy in the Diocese of North Carolina. Hugo lives in Oxford, Ohio, with his husband John-Charles Duffy and an aging beagle mix named Patches. In his spare time, he loves to entertain friends, edit Wikipedia entries, and watch opera clips on YouTube.

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Second-year Celebrity Blogger Anna Fitch Courie is on tap as Celebrity Blogger Week continues (we will not quit until we highlight every single one of these dedicated scribes!). As a fitness guru, among other things, it's not surprising to see Anna doing pushups in...her home gym? We're not sure exactly where this picture was taken but we're sure impressed by Anna's use of an invisible selfie stick.

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); and “Sally and the Constellations (CreateSpace, pending). 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 eighteen 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. 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 currently in Virginia, but really, 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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As Celebrity Blogger Week kicks off today, Tim and Scott bring you another action-packed episode of Monday Madness. This week, they talk about Celebrity Blogger Week and the burden of the Lentarazzi that our Celebrity Bloggers face. However, if you are lucky enough to spot one of our Celebrity Bloggers in person, they'll probably agree to sign an autograph for you. You can look forward to a different featured Celebrity Blogger every day this "week" until we finish all eleven of our rock Lent stars.

Oh, yeah. It wouldn't be Monday Madness without shameless commercial promotion. This week though, it's getting urgent. Make sure you buy your Saintly Scorecards (individual, bulk price, or eBook) and giant bracket posters while supplies last. We usually run out before Lent!

If you haven't invited every person you know, and at least a couple of total strangers, to like Lent Madness on Facebook and follow Lent Madness on Twitter, you're not doing your job! If you've been calling your Senators and Representatives, go ahead and mention Lent Madness while they're on the phone. Get to it!

Remember, it's only 16 days until Ash Thursday. There's not much time to strategize your bracket, evangelize your friends, and synergize your wallet at the Lentorium!

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Welcome to Celebrity Blogger Week! A long-standing Lent Madness tradition, we spend the days leading up to everyone's favorite online Lenten devotion by introducing you to the fabulous writers who will make the 32 saints of Lent Madness 2017 come alive (well, they're already alive, theologically speaking, but you know what we mean).

We’ve asked all of our Celebrity Bloggers to answer a few questions and provide a photo that reflects something non-churchy that they're passionate about. The Supreme Executive Committee will be posting these intros in the order we receive them. Because we're all about fairness. Also, so you can see who the slackers are.

As the pre-Lent Madness frenzy ratchets up, we hope you’ll enjoy spending some time with the men and women who will bring you Lent Madness 2017. We think they’re all pretty amazing and not just because they essentially work for free mugs.

In preparation for Ash Thursday (March 2), make sure to order your copy of the Saintly Scorecard: The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2017 (while supplies last!) and perhaps you'd like a large Bracket Poster to post at church. Or in your kitchen.

But before you read about our first Celebrity Blogger, Lent Madness veteran Megan Castellan, don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Thanks — you get additional Lent Madness content AND it does wonders for our self-esteem.

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As a member of the staff at Forward Movement, Hugo Olaiz is the ultimate Lent Madness insider. Not bad for a first time Celebrity Blogger. There is no truth to the rumor that Tim has placed Hugo at FM, to serve as a mole into Scott's nefarious activities. None whatsoever. Keep moving. Nothing to see here.

If you're a first-time Lent Madness participant, you may enjoy this brief video Hugo made with fellow Forward Movement staff member Peggy Sanchez which explains the basics of how to play.

Hugo Olaiz is associate editor for Latino/Hispanic resources at Forward Movement. Hugo grew up in La Plata, Argentina — a country where provinces and cities are sometimes named after saints. After completing a degree in literature and classics, Hugo spent two years on mission in Paraguay. He later moved to the U.S. to do graduate studies in Spanish, linguistics, and translation, pursuing a Ph.D. in Hispanic linguistics at Berkeley, California. He later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he became the news editor for Sunstone magazine. Upon moving to Carrboro, North Carolina, Hugo stumbled into an underground network of home-based businesses — hair styling, sewing, cooking — all run by Mexican immigrants; these contacts led him into Latino ministry and advocacy in the Diocese of North Carolina. Hugo lives in Oxford, Ohio, with his husband John-Charles Duffy and an aging beagle mix named Patches. In his spare time, he loves to entertain friends, edit Wikipedia entries, and watch opera clips on YouTube.

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Although Laurie Brock took St. Francis all the way to the Golden Halo last year, the SEC stubbornly refuses to sell St. Laurie garden statues in the Lentorium. It should also be noted that despite the fact that Laurie is a huge fan of Alabama football, the acronym SEC stands FIRST AND FOREMOST for Supreme Executive Committee NOT Southeastern Conference. Just to clarify.

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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No matter what else David Sibley accomplishes in his life, he will always be best known for shepherding Charles Wesley to the 2014 Golden Halo. In fact, we've already taken the liberty of writing the first line of his obituary: "The Rev. David Sibley, longtime Lent Madness Celebrity Blogger..." Okay, that's all we have so far and as the youngest CB (again), we hope we don't need to finish this anytime soon. Welcome back, David!

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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We're excited that Amber Belldene will soon begin her third year as a Celebrity Blogger because, well, name another online Lenten devotion that can claim to have an Episcopal priest/romance writer on their team. Yeah, you can't. Because we're unique! Or at least Amber is. Read on!

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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