Madness and Prayer

Hey folks!

It's been pointed out to me that I never gave a final update on the outcome of Lent Madness through this blog when it ended last week.
So, if you're itching to get up-to-date, here it is:

After a hard-fought Faithful Four and final matchup against St. Luke the Evangelist...

Frances Perkins has won the Golden Halo! Apparently Christendom has a soft spot for social justice workers and "firsts" - as she was the first woman in the US Cabinet, and is responsible for all sorts of social reforms on everything from child labor laws to establishing a minimum wage to creating Social Security.
Congrats Madam Secretary!

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I also wanted to take a moment to share with you a new take on the Lord's Prayer that is a rather fitting for this venue and this modern age:

"A Blogger's Prayer" by Andrew Jones


Our Father
who lives above and beyond the dimension of
the internet

Give us this day a life worth blogging,
The access to words and images that express
our journey with passion and integrity,
And a secure connection to publish your daily
mercies.
Your Kingdom come into new spaces today,
As we make known your mysteries,
Posting by posting,
Blog by blog.

Give this day,
The same ability to those less privileged,
Whose lives speak louder than ours,
Whose sacrifice is greater,
Whose stories will last longer.

Forgive us our sins,


For blog-rolling strangers and pretending they
are friends,
For counting unique visitors but not noticing
unique people,
For delighting in the thousands of hits but
ignoring the ONE who returns,
For luring viewers but sending them away
empty handed,
For updating daily but repenting weekly.

As we forgive those who trespass on our sites to
appropriate our thoughts without reference,
Our images without approval,
Our ideas without linking back to us.

Lead us not into the temptation to sell out our
congregation,
To see people as links and not as lives,
To make our blogs look better than our actual
story.

But deliver us from the evil of pimping ourselves
instead of pointing to you,
From turning our guests into consumers of
someone else's products,
From infatuation over the toys of technology,
From idolatry over techology
From fame before our time has come.

For Yours is the power to guide the destinies
behind the web logs,
To bring hurting people into the sanctuaries of
our sites,
To give us the stickiness to follow you, no
matter who is watching or reading.
Yours is the glory that makes people second
look our sites and our lives,
Yours is the heavy ambience,

For ever and ever,
Amen