By Krisita A. Jackson
The Order of the Daughters of the King® began the year 2020 jubilantly planning for the celebration of our 135th anniversary. Our Order was founded on Easter Eve in 1885 at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (now Church of the Resurrection) in New York City. Margaret Franklin gathered a group of women to “arouse their interest and urge their cooperation as a class of definite workers for Christ and His church”.
By March of 2020, our plans were confirmed for a Eucharistic and a celebratory reception on April 4th. They ended abruptly as the pandemic unfolded. Reluctantly we all agreed it would not be safe or even possible to travel to New York City at that time.
Daughters were not undaunted and set about celebrating somehow. A committee came together to plan and present a virtual celebration. Nearly two hundred Daughters joined came together in community to remember our history, commemorate our founders, and celebrate 135 years of prayer, service, and evangelism.
Thus, began Conversations With Daughters. Our vision was to continue to gather as a virtual community to remain connected and be in community even during the pandemic. We have shared many stories and prayed together.
On May 2, 2020 we renewed our longstanding relationship of ministering with the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. We gathered to pray and prepare for the National Day of Prayer which was celebrated on May 7th.
Our conversations continued as the pandemic grew. Led by our International Committee we met virtually with members of The Order throughout the world. This Conversation informed us of the hardships Daughters in International countries were suffering. Daughters in Cuba, Haiti, Spain, Germany, Israel, Honduras, Mexico, and other countries shared how they were coping during the pandemic. We learned they were more fearful of starvation than dying of disease.
Following this call the Executive Board agreed that grants from our Self Denial Fund could be extended to assist in providing food and other immediate needs to allow the Daughters to continue to serve their communities. Grants totaling over $10,000 have been made to Panama, Honduras, Malawi, Uganda, Mexico, Columbia, Dominican Republic, and Spain. The Daughters in the Diocese of Central Florida additionally, at the request of our National Chaplain, Bishop Gregory Brewer, contributed $5,000 to the Daughters in the Diocese of Cuba. They have used the funds to plant crops and buy livestock to provide eggs and milk for the children. Daughters in Province III gathered contributions for the Diocese of Honduras.
We were all delighted to see and hear from our Junior Daughters on our 4th Conversation With Daughters. We learned of a variety of service projects undertaken by Junior Daughters. They are sending cards, participating in drive by hellos, and doing sidewalk drawings, The Junior Daughters of St. Barnabas in Deland, Florida, serenaded us with a song arranged by their church’s music minister.
Spirituality and the Practices that open us to transformation were the focus of our next Conversation. We learned of a variety of methods of prayer, including Centering Prayer.
As May ended with the death of George Floyd, the committee’s focus turned to tackle the sin of racism. President Jackson published a Statement of Racism anchored by the words by our National Chaplain.
“It is urgent for Christian leaders to speak into this racially charged moment of our nation’s history. Silence in this matter can be interpreted as complicity with a demonically empowered status quo that prefers one kind of human over another. Please do not opt out. Call us all not only to repentance and faith, but also service. Challenge us to ask the Holy Spirit to empower us for mission. May God help our churches become beacons of healing, serving our deeply divided communities in the Name of Jesus Christ”
The next four Conversations With Daughters focused on this topic. Our goal was to first define and educate Daughters about systemic racism as it exists in America. We explored the realities of life faced by parents of children of color and parents of white children and how they differently educate their children to successfully function in society. Our Conversations continued with a discussion of the Beloved Community and, in breakout rooms, we shared our stories. In a future call, we will come together to discuss our growth and experiences in facing and efforts to dismantle racism in our lives.
Our Tenth Conversation With Daughters introduced our Nehemiah Prayer Vigil, Past President Sharon Lundgren shared her vision that we could encircle in PRAYER our families, churches, cities and our nation from Sept 1 – Oct 22, a total of 52 days, so that the Holy Spirit can come into our country and bring about Peace and Healing. This is much like Nehemiah did in 52 days to bring Peace and Healing to the Jews in Jerusalem 450 years before Christ. We will come together in October to share our stories about how we have seen the Lord work as we prayed.
In 2018 at its Triennial Convention, we were introduced to our 2018-2024 Strategic Plan. The Plan was the culmination of nearly six years of focus groups, surveys, and committee work to develop six goals. The overall goal of the plan was to provide a unified vision of our Order and identify a path for sustainability. Our Conversations With Daughters- Part 11- 14 will focus on the spiritual aspects of our Strategic Plan using our Companion Booklet. There are Scripture and reflection questions, as well as action acts for each goal.
The Order has continued to thrive in many ways during the pandemic. We, of course, have met virtually. Daughters in chapters have trained and admitted members via Zoom and in social distanced settings. Regular chapter meetings have become virtual. Provinces have reluctantly cancelled in person annual retreats and assemblies and innovatively replaced them with virtual meetings. Our Executive Board and National Council meet regularly.
Daughters are finding new ways to serve. Our members are serving in food pantries, participating as clergy, choir, lectors, altar guild for online services, sending cards, driving the elderly to doctors, assisting with errands, and working in soup kitchens, and telephoning church members to keep in touch.
Daughters thrive in community. It is a part of who we are – to be physically together in worship, prayer, and fellowship. We have evolved in this time of need and continue to sow the work of The Order of the Daughters of the King®. Everyday we aspire to live the vision of our founders: prayer, service, and evangelism.
