The Rev. Scott Gunn (left) and the Rev. Tim Schenck, who operate the website Lend Madness.org, pose with a cut-out of Mary Magdalene, last year's winner of their NCAA March-Madness-style competition of saints. The 2013 tournament begins with the second day of Lent next week, St. Valentine's Day.

March Madness, meet Lent Madness.

The NCAA basketball tournament that drives millions to fill out their brackets and cheer ardently for their team now has a knock-off of the highest order. Two Episcopal priests have turned the bracket format into a showdown of saints.

They run LentMadness.org to offer humor as well as exemplars of holiness during Lent, the days of devotion leading up to Easter.

Here's how it works: In the basketball elimination tournament, the college teams play their match-up and the winner moves on to the next level. In Lent Madness, anyone who visits the site can vote for the saint they want to see win a match and that saint moves on up.

The field narrows day by day from the Saintly Sixteen to the Elate (as in elation) Eight, the Faithful Four and so on to the winner. With each round, the priests and guest bloggers pump up the competition by loading in the contenders' quotes and quirks, legends and "saintly kitsch."

Traditionally, Lent is marked by fasting - giving something up - or by adding a new spiritual practice.

But instead of a dreary slog - all prayer, no chocolate - the premise of Lent Madness is that "it's OK to have fun. What could be more joyful than a season dedicated to getting closer to God?" says the Rev. Tim Schenck, who launched the site in 2010.

He wondered, "Why should everyone else have all the fun picking brackets?" So he set up a his own tournament where people - initially fellow priests and seminarians - could vote on line for a favorite saint, official or otherwise, from the ancients to contemporary times.

By 2011, LentMadness.org had become so popular, Schenck brought in the Rev. Scott Gunn, executive director of the publishing house Forward Movement, to help manage the competition. Gunn's view: "Christians take themselves too seriously and don't take Jesus seriously enough. This is a way to draw people in." Continue Reading

On December 20th, the Bishop announced the launch of the Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund in response to the alleged misappropriation of funds by the former chair and his wife of the Woodcock Foundation. This restricted fund will receive contributions to continue and support the legacy of the Woodcock Foundation Scholarship in two ways.

1. Scholarships promised for Fall 2011/Spring 2012 will first be fulfilled.
2. Funds received over and above the amount needed to fulfill those promised scholarships will begin to rebuild the Woodcock Scholarship Fund.

The Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund will be a restricted fund, governed by Trustees and Council of the Diocese of Kentucky until such time as all litigation and any other matters are resolved. The establishment of the Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund under the oversight of Trustees and Council has the unanimous support of the Board of Trustees of the Woodcock Foundation.

Contributions can be made by sending a check made payable to the Diocese of Kentucky, memoed Woodcock Scholarship, and mailed to:

Soon online contributions will be possible through the diocesan website. Notice will be given when the online payment method is up and available.

The response from so many people who wish to make a contribution to rebuild the fund has been wonderfully encouraging, especially from those who themselves received a Woodcock Scholarship at one time.

Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is offering some great web conferences this February.  There is no cost to participate in most of the web conferences and all lay and clergy leaders are welcome to take part.  (Note:  There is a modest fee of $10 per web conference for the two-part Fresh Start series, Leading Through a Clergy Transition)

Topics will  include vestry leadership (in English and in Spanish), clergy transition (Fresh Start), stewardship, and endowments.

Click on the links below to register, or click here to see a complete list of web conferences for January - March, 2013,

We hope these web conferences will engage and empower Episcopal leaders throughout the Church to transform their faith communities and respond to God's call.

• Vestry Leadership 101 (February 5, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM ET), presented by ECF President Donald V. Romanik
• Two Part Fresh Start Series on Leading Through a Clergy Transition, Part 1 Reacting to Change (February 19, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM ET), presented by ECF Consultant, Sandy Kolb (note:  there is a $10 fee to register)
• Flourish in Faith:  Planting the Seeds of Your Annual Giving Campaign (February 20, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM ET), presented by the Rev. Laurel Johnston, Program Officer for Stewardship, Episcopal Church Center
• Basics of Endowments (February 21, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM ET), presented by ECF Program Director, Ken Quigley
• Two Part Fresh Start Series on Leading Through a Clergy Transition, Part 2 Change and Transition (February 25, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM ET), presented by ECF Consultant, Sandy Kolb (note:  there is a $10 fee to register)

Description:

How many times a day does someone say to you, "How are you?" You reply, "I'm very well, thank you."  We say we're very well and continue on our way, but are you well, really?  Are you well in the sense of having a healthy body, mind and spiritual life balance right now? You're thinking, "C'mon, are you kidding? We're Episcopal Clergy!!" 

No, we're not kidding.  Your wellness matters. It matters to your family and friends, to your Bishop and to those whom you serve.  "Oh no, they're going to send out the butter police! I'm not going! I don't want to eat nuts and dried fruit for lunch!" 

During our upcoming Ember Day together, as we look at the new Draft Clergy Continuing Education and Development guidelines we will have an opportunity to reflect on our personal wellness. We will offer the time and space for you to ask yourself some questions about your wellness, and even give you some data that might be useful for you to consider. 

The Norton Healthcare Office of Church and Health Ministries will be giving free health screenings for the following things:

• Total Cholesterol
• Blood Glucose
• Blood Pressure
• Weight
• Body Mass Index

These assessments require that you fast for the morning. Nurses will be on site at All Saints starting at 9:00 AM Central time to work with you. Appointments take ten minutes. You will have privacy during the tests and your information is considered confidential. Refreshments will be provided for those who need breakfast.

Our speaker Cathy Bryant, RN will address wellness issues from the point of view of nutritional habits. You'll also be encouraged to reflect on your spiritual and physical fitness. Sharon Elsesser will share information about how you might access training and resources so your parish could have a health ministry in the form of a wellness champ or parish nurse.

Your wellness does matter.  Come to the Bishop's Ember Day and give it some thought and some prayer.

To schedule your free health screening, call Jane Hess at the Norton Healthcare Office of Church and Health Ministry at 502.629.2700.  Please call no later than Friday, February 15th.

Can't wait to see you all there!

the Rev. Whit Stodghill

Itinerary:

February 19th

   9:00 a.m. CST - Open for health screenings

10:00 a.m. CST - Business session begins

12:00 p.m. CST - Lunch

   3:00 p.m. CST - Dismissal

To Register:

Visit the event page on the diocesan website here. You will be given more information on how to register in our new online system. 

If you have any questions about how to register or about the event in general, please don't hesitate to email me at bkinnaman@episocpalky.org or call me in my office 502.584.7148 or on my cell at 502.759.0450.

Note:

Clergy, if you cannot attend, please send an email to Bishop White to inform him of your absence.