Act Justly and Love
Mercy, and Walk Humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)
The weekend of Sept. 25-27 I was in Hot Springs, Arkansas
for the fall meeting of the Prov. 7 Board. The Prov.7 Board is made up of all
Diocesan Presidents in Prov. 7, the Prayer, Service, Jr. DOK, and Evangelism
chairs, and of course the Provincial President, Secretary, Treasurer and
Chaplain. (The picture is of all of us at a Mexican restaurant in Hot Springs, AR.) The Board meets twice a year-in the fall and before Provincial
Assembly. It’s a time of sharing ideas and being inspired by each other through
fellowship and discussion. Bear with me and at least skim this rather long
letter-there’s a lot of news and info!
Fr. Mike, Prov. 7 Chaplain, led the board in an exercise
about visioning our ministry as servant leaders in our dioceses. A vision, you
know, is different than a goal. The vision is the overarching dream, while goals
are the steps to get to that vision. My
vision for the Daughters in the Diocese of the Rio Grande is to find a deeper
understanding of who we are as a Sisterhood in Christ. This will help us
each grow spiritually, both individually and corporately, into more effective servant
leaders in our parishes and all our ministries.
The goal is to
provide
growth opportunities and spiritual aids for spiritual growth within and through
our Sisterhood. In reaching that goal I’ll need the help of each Daughter.
Together we can communicate about prayer and service opportunities that have
strengthened us, and our history as chapters and as a diocesan assembly.
(Remember Marta and Ann are already working to gather that info as the Service
and Prayer chairs of our Diocese.) Ways of communicating include the e-news,
and e-mails, plus checking
Facebook and here for new information. We’ll also be hosting deanery
meetings over the next 3 years of my term to get together in smaller groups for
study, training, and to share about DOK with interested women.
If you believe that Daughters of the King is important-come
alongside and be part of the Celebration of Who we Are and Where we
are Going… our theme for Diocesan
Assembly 2016 in Silver City (August 5-6, 2016)! Together we CAN build stronger
Daughters in the Diocese, which will encourage and influence new women and
girls to join our Sisterhood.
A few bits of interest from the business part of the
meeting. The Micah verse above is President Pat Hind’s theme for her 3 year
term. We’ll be exploring the parts of that verse at upcoming Provincial
Assemblies. At the 2016 Provincial Assembly (
April 22-24, 2016 in Ft. Worth, TX), the topic will be “Walk
Justly”. I hope we can have a nice representation for the 2016 Assembly. It’s
about a 10 hour drive from Albuquerque, and we can look into the idea of
carpools! We also got news that you’ll be hearing from the National Office soon-about
cross prices and when new Daughters will start paying dues. The
Province 7 website has been redone and has photos from Triennial and
from our Board meeting. Check it out!
The Provincial Service Chair suggested that each chapter
consider the service project of making needlepoint
crosses to be given to new Daughters in Africa. Because of the numbers of
women becoming DOK, and because many cannot afford the cross, and because in
some places it is still dangerous to wear the silver cross, women are given a
blue needlepoint cross when they are installed. If you are interested, I have
the size and directions. We would bring all our needlepoint crosses to
Provincial Assembly and they would be sent to the National office for
distribution in Africa.
Tory and Jackie are the joint JDOK chairs. As adult
Daughters, we are encouraged to
grow and
support Juniors-not just because they are the future of the Order, but because
girls need the mentoring we can offer and they can give us new enthusiasm by
their joy and faith. (Please read the
attached letter about Junior DOK and
see if God is calling you to leadership of these girls.)
Those of you who attended the Provincial Assembly in
Albuquerque will recall a presentation about Daughters Going Deeper, a one-on-one, in depth, mentored study for
Daughters interested in deepening their walk with Christ. (The photo is of the 'beta' group at graduation during the Board meeting.) This is a 2-year
commitment and offers a chance to really dig into living into our vows. Each
president was encouraged to find 7 women interested in this program. Ask Cindy
or Deborah Tischler for more information.
The final part of the Board meeting was a retreat led by Fr.
Mike about our relationship with God and how that is built and grows through
prayer and relationship. He noted that the verse “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength” isn’t a command to us, but a
promise
from God who will help us love. Church (and Daughters of the King) is
not something that God needs, it builds relationship and unity with one another
and with God. We are part of a special
Sisterhood and community of faith that is not just in our parish, or even
restricted to our diocese. Indeed, we are part of a world-wide Order that
changes lives!
Watch for info about the Design the Diocesan Banner contest, too!
Stop by the DOK/Women of the Diocese table at Convention if you are attending.
