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Will a Wesley win Lent Madness?

Methodism could score a victory as part of a unique Lenten practice created by an Episcopalian priest in Massachusetts. In 2010, Tim Schenck decided to play off the popular practice of creating brackets to predict the winner of the NCAA college basketball championship, a tradition called March Madness.  

In Lent Madness, saints, both ancient and modern, compete against each other for the coveted Golden Halo.  People can read the Lent Madness blog and vote for their favorites. 

National Public Radio featured this story.  Take a listen and please share your comments about the idea below.


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Disaster Relief
Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Conference.

Louisiana Conference: Hope Beyond the Storm podcast series

A special series of the Louisiana NOW podcast shares first‑hand stories of resilience, hard choices and pastoring from church leaders, volunteers and neighbors who rebuilt together twenty years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Disaster Relief
Sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows as the choir sings during worship at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in New Orleans in July 2025. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Members rallied to save church after Katrina

Reopening for outdoor services a month after Hurricane Katrina likely kept St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in New Orleans from having to close altogether.
Church History
“A boy at Gulfside Waveland, Miss.” is the original description of this undated photo taken at Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss. The historic African American camp, founded in 1925, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Photo courtesy of Gulfside Assembly.

Gulfside Assembly 20 years after Katrina

Gulfside Assembly was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the spirit of this special place can still be felt today.

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