Did you Fill out your March Madness bracket yet? I always fill mine out online with ESPN. I don’t know if this was always the case, but this year they allowed us to fill out as many as 25 different brackets. I’m sure that if I work really hard and spend way too much time it’s conceivable that I can come up with what may be viable alternatives for particular teams for this year’s tournament of college basketball. But do I want to put that amount of time into it? What’s great about this year is my son and I have completed separate brackets and will be undoubtedly be checking in with one another’s bracket throughout the next couple of weeks as a playful competition between father and son. As the father of a graduating high school senior, I’m looking forward to yet one more opportunity to have a conversation with my son, I’m taking every one of them as a treasured moment.

        Did you know that the Episcopal Church offers a similar opportunity during this time of year? It’s called Lent Madness! It’s been around for several years and gets bigger with each passing year.  The idea centers around a participant visiting the Forward Movement website www.LentMadness.org each day (they will send you a reminder email as well) and after reading about the two “competing” saints, you vote for one. The winners advance through the brackets from the Round of 32 to Saintly 16 , Elate 8 , and Faithful 4 - with the winning saint receiving the Golden Halo for 2019.

        Unlike the March Madness brackets, which you submit upfront and then sit back, hope and yes pray that your team(s) advance, the Lent Madness bracket keeps you engaged every day. And if you’re like me and you’re trying to grab every moment of good quality father-son, Parent-child, time together as possible - this is a guarantee winner! Even if you didn’t begin Lent Madness on Ash Wednesday, unlike March Madness, your bracket is not closed. So why not jump on board and play with me through the Saintly 16 and beyond. I dare say you’ll be introduced to some really interesting people. 

I look forward to hearing how your family experienced wonderful moments with Lent Madness!