May 2015
Issue 53
For the Master's Fund

  

O heavenly Father, Lord of the harvest, we pray you to send forth laborers into your field. Fit and prepare them by your grace for their work in your church. Give them the spirit of power and of love and a sound mind and grant that both by their lives and by their doctrine they may show forth your glory and advance the salvation of all, For His Sake, our Lord and Master. AMEN.

 

Come Holy Spirit Come 

 


Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

 

Come as wind and fire,

Creating a flame in me that cannot be quenched.

Create a fire in my soul that must cry out to all who will hear:

No matter what darkness covers the earth, Jesus is Alive and God is in Control!

 

It is nearly the 50th day after Easter...Pentecost Sunday May 24, 2015...the day of remembering the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit...AND THE OFFICIAL INGATHERING DAY FOR THE MASTER'S FUND,  a fund that has made and continues to make a difference in the lives of many women seeking to follow their discernment of the Holy Spirit in their lives by seeking an education that will allow them to better serve Christ's people. 

 

The individual contributions from Daughters and others to the Master's Fund are an outward expression of their prayers in support of women who seek to help the spread of God's Kingdom, especially among women and girls.  The scholarships and grants are blessed by the prayers of all Daughters who have contributed to the Fund, as well as all Daughters who pray daily for the spread of God's Kingdom.  You can contribute any time and any day, but Pentecost is a great reminder to do so.  Why not go to the National website and contribute just as you finish reading this... OR don't finish reading and go directly there!  OR sit down and write a check to The Master's Fund just this minute and put it in the mail to the National Office today... or tomorrow, if you are reading this late at night!

 

A Cursillo prayer says, 

 

Come Holy Spirit,

Fill the hearts of the faithful and  

kindle in us the fire of Your love.

Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

 

Come fill our hearts so that we may help You renew the face of the earth.  May we have the desire and the means to contribute to all the Funds of the Order so that the people of this earth are renewed and empowered to spread the good news of Christ.   

 

Contributors to the Fund, recipients of Master's Funds scholarships and grants, and those whose finances only allow for prayer are touched by the Holy Spirit and are a blessing to each other as we all seek to dispel the darkness of the world. 

 

Patsy Thomson

Master's Fund Chair

 

(In case you didn't know:  Applicants should refer to the Master's Fund page on the National website for the most current information and instructions for submitting application packets.The number and amount of the scholarships and grants are determined by need and the amount of money available in the Fund when applications are reviewed by the Master's Fund Committee.)

 

In This Issue
Come Holy Spirit Come
National Day of Prayer
A Baker's Dozen
An Invitation to Pray
Spirited Walking
It Is What It Is
The Alpha Fund for JRDs
Chapter's Corner
Institution of Holy Apostles


Cross+Links Editor

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Province Presidents
 
Province I
Donna Abramov

Province II
Janet Papa

Province III
Laura Richard

Province IV
Lindy Kirk

Province V
Pam Sebura

Province VI
Lyn Zolman

Province VII
Brenda Amos

Province VIII
Sara MacDonald 
 
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National Day of Prayer

 

 

Margaret Franklin and Daughters of the King  

meet with President Coolidge, in 1928 at the White House,

to encourage him to establish an annual National Day of Prayer.

 

The National Day of Prayer is celebrated by Americans of many religions. The Day is designed to emphasize prayer for America, its leadership and its peoples.  Its purpose is to unify us in asking for God's guidance and blessings upon our country.

 

The first National Day of Prayer was proclaimed by the Continental Congress in 1775.  The second was established by President George Washington.  Presidents John Adams and Abraham Lincoln also proclaimed National Days of Prayer. In 1928 Margaret Franklin and 200 Daughters of the King met with President Calvin Coolidge and suggested an annual Day of Prayer for the nation.  On April 17, 1952, President Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. In 1972 a National Task Force was created to coordinate events. . In his 1983 declaration, Ronald Reagan said, "From General Washington's struggle at Valley Forge to the present, this Nation has fervently sought and received divine guidance as it pursued the course of history. This occasion provides our Nation with an opportunity to further recognize the source of our blessings, and to seek His help for the challenges we face today and in the future."  In 1988, the law was amended so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May. Two stated intentions of the National Day of Prayer were that it would be a day when adherents of all great religions could unite in prayer and that it may one day bring renewed respect for God to all the peoples of the world.

 

As our country struggles with continued economic insecurity, serious social problems and issues of inequality, citizens of the United States are asked to exercise their freedom to gather, worship, and pray. Millions answered the call to prayer on May 7th in observance of the 64th annual National Day of Prayer. Organized events were held in thousands of public venues where intercessions were made for the United States and its leadership.  Daughters of the King always are encouraged to participate in these events as well as to pray together and individually for our country and all things that concern the American people and this nation we call home.

 

Mariana Bauman

Public Relations Chair 

A Baker's Dozen: Tips for Triennial

  1. Come early, stay late.  Give yourself the gift of time to experience the serenity of Heber Valley and the surrounding mountains.  Also, the closing Eucharist on Tuesday is not to be missed, so don't plan to leave until midafternoon Tuesday.
  2. Make travel plans.  Southwest or Delta will get you to Salt Lake City at optimal times for the organized bus transportation to Midway.  Otherwise, try United. When comparing fares, be sure to check out luggage and other fees.  Also be sure to make reservations with The Transportation Network (the organized bus carrier) to get you from the airport to Midway.  To do this, e-mail reservations@thetransportationnetwork.com.
  3. Stay hydrated.  Beginning with the bus trip to the resorts, when bottles of water will be provided, you will need to stay hydrated during your stay in Utah.  There will be multiple water stations throughout the resorts, but you may want to bring your favorite refillable water bottle.  Remember, too, that staying hydrated can prevent altitude sickness.
  4. Breathe deep.  To enjoy this dry mountain air, you have to keep mucous linings moist, so bring saline spray for your nose and lip balm for luscious lips.  
  5. Dress casual.  Dress to be comfortable for long days, EXCEPT for Province Dinner on Friday and the Gala Banquet on Monday, when you may want to encourage your inner girl to play dress-up and "dress" for dinner (high heels not required).
  6. Bring a sweater, jacket, or wrap.  Mornings are cool, afternoons warm, and hotel rooms vary in temperature.  You may be hot one minute and an ice cube the next.
  7. Bring Mad Money.   There will be vendor exhibits ready to tempt us.  We will be able to shop without leaving the resorts.
  8. Bring your address book and camera - or your smart phone with Contacts and Camera all in one (for those who are au courant with technology).  You will want to keep the contact information for all your new friends in one place, and photo opportunities abound in and around the resorts.
  9. Bring a banner.  If you are your chapter or diocesan delegate, you need to bring your chapter or diocesan banner to be a part of the "banner wall."  It is one of the most impressive sights at Triennial (and a great photo op).
  10. Have curling iron, will travel, but you can leave your blow dryer and iron at home.  Zermatt and Homestead are full service resorts and toiletries are stocked in your room.  (Check out their website to learn more about their amenities.)
  11. Stay in your comfort zone.  The schedule is packed.  Be prepared and feel free to take breaks as you need them.  A ten-minute walk around the property refreshes, so bring walking shoes and a hat for sun protection.  If you can't sit for long periods, try to sit in the back so you can stand up as needed (although seating for delegates at the business meetings is assigned).  
  12. Challenge yourself.  Sit at a table where you don't know anyone.  As the days go by, that will become more difficult and your address book will be full.  Yeah!
  13. Stay centered on shining the light.  We are attending this Triennial with women from all walks of life, in all different stages of our journeys.  Actively seek and love Christ in each woman as we interact.  

An Invitation to Pray - Triennial 2015

We will engage in the Triennial Prayer Vigil somewhat differently than in years past. We are not gathering vigil forms, but we are asking Daughters everywhere to unite in 14 days of prayer for the Triennial meeting, from June 11 through June 25. We will pray daily for the unleashing of the Holy Spirit and offer specific prayer concerns each day. The Prayer Vigil for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church commences on the first day of Triennial, June 19, and concludes on July 4. Prayers will be offered throughout Triennial and all Daughters are invited to join us in praying for God's guidance and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Episcopal General Convention. A calendar of prayers of special intention for the Prayer Vigil June 11 through July 4, 2015, will be published in The Royal Cross and available online click here Daughters in other denominations are encouraged to pray daily for their own leadership gatherings. 

 

Our Triennial Prayer Vigil will also be expanding electronically. Watch for more details on the Order's website, in Cross+Links, and on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @TheDOK1885, and for the latest Tweets about Triennial search for #DOKTRI2015. 

 

Spirited Walking

 

Theme:  Faith.

 

From Webster's New World College Dictionary, faith is defined as "an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence."  As Christians, we further refine the definition of faith to be a belief in God, in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.  Then in Scripture we learn of three different kinds of faith:  saving faith, the fruits of faith, and the gift of faith.

 

All of us, who by grace have accepted the risen Lord as our Savior, have saving faith:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

This saving faith working within us extends our faith into all areas of our lives.  Saving faith directs us to be holy, to be built into a spiritual house.   Our ongoing work to become holy gives rise to the fruit of the Spirit:  "By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  (Galatians 5:22)

 

The gift of faith, rooted in saving faith, is given by the Holy Spirit to some in the Church to encourage and build up the Church.  "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ... to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit ... (I Corinthians 12: 8,9) Those with this gift of faith trust that God is good, they expect Him to move, and they are not surprised when He performs miracles.  The gift of faith is often accompanied by works of faith.  The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, details examples of this gift of faith in the stories of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others.  In your own life, in your personal experience, who has this gift of faith that encourages you? 

  

A suggested thought:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

 

Click here to read the rest of this month's meditation on healthy choices.

 

Province V Retreat/Assembly - It is What It Is 



 

 

It is the week after Easter and for some it is vacation time, for others, just another week of school and work. For me, it is a stressful time planning for a conference presentation at 8 a.m. Friday in Indianapolis, making sure things are ready for the Province V weekend retreat and then driving to Kalamazoo to lead it.  I have created my power point presentation and keep running through what I need to take for the retreat. I have delegated responsibilities to other diocesan representatives to help with the retreat and now can only hope that all is well.

 


As I drive to Albany, Indiana, to leave my dog at our home, I am still going through all the things for the conference and presentation. Thursday, I will attend a meeting in Indianapolis and stay overnight with a friend. All of a sudden it hits me: I did not print out the power point and forgot the crate with all the extra things for the presentation. So I make plans to find a copy center on my way to my friend's house the next day.

I also start to panic because I wanted to bring little gifts for my executive board and my advisor, but I had not gotten them. What to give? "Okay, calm down. I've thought this out.  I have maps for the incoming president who served as my vice-president. I'm getting a bottle of Sexy Hair for the secretary. But what to get for my treasurer, the musicians, and the director of Drama Mamas? I need a pot of flowers for my advisor, but she lives in Chicago so what will survive the cold spring weather we are having?"

I can stop at Walmart on the way to my friend's house to pick up the last minute presents, then on to the copy store. I will be ready except for the missing crate of things. Finally, I exhale:  it will be what it is.

Friday I am dashing to meet my friend who will ride up to the retreat center with me. I have survived my presentation, with over 50 in attendance when I had planned for only 15, although I forgot to attach the list of references.  Oh well, I can have my student worker send the power point to all of the attendees. I am sure I am lost and have missed the destination when it hits me again - calm down, it will be what it is.

At the retreat center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I start to unload my things. The flowers for the living altar are there, the altar guild box has arrived, the living altar box is here; I am going through my check list. All of the Daughters are arriving and finding their way around the retreat center. After a brief hospitality time, we head to dinner and into the weekend. It is happening:  the last retreat I will plan for this triennial term. Oh no! Our booklets are missing several parts of the services for the weekend! Yet as we are setting up our living altar and beginning our time together, I have an epiphany. No one will know what I have worried about.  It is what it is.

The retreat has become a God thing and the weekend goes off without a hitch. We find booklets from last year and improvise. Yes, God, thank you for making it what it was - a God-filled weekend. That's what it was, even with all the little glitches along the way, that's what it was!

 

Pam Sebura

President, Province V

 

The Alpha Fund for Junior Directresses

 

As a Junior Directress, I know how hard it is to plan the year out sufficiently to anticipate the costs and to have some idea of what you will spend for any given project.  I find that the day before a meeting, I run off to the store to pick up lunch or snacks.  At that point it is too late to request monies from the Alpha Fund with such short lead time, so when I check out, I think "I am not going to apply to the Alpha Fund for $50 for today's lunch."  So I am not using the Alpha Fund.  Shame on me.  What I need to do is plan my year's events a little better so I can get the supplies I need, and that includes feeding the girls when that is part of the plan.  If you know you are going to do a training program on the weekends and will be feeding the girls, think about the cost and apply for a grant from the Alpha Fund.  If you are about to start on a service project, take a few minutes to think through what supplies you will need and see if you can estimate the cost of the items you will rush out at the last minute to pick up.  Then you can apply for an Alpha Fund grant to pay for those things.  The Alpha Fund Committee turns applications around as quickly as they can. The Alpha Fund was created to fill these kinds of requests.  It only takes a little looking ahead to take advantage of the Alpha Fund.  

 

Susan Keith

National Junior Directress

 

Chapter's Corner - Diversity

 

My mother would often say, "It takes all kinds to make the world," when my siblings and I complained about what someone else was doing. As I was choosing the topic for this month's Chapter's Corner, I reflected on questions that had frequently come up during my tenure as Province President, and the question of what to do with a Daughter who _____ (fill in the blank). This became the focus of my writing. What to do with a Daughter who:  Dominates the discussion, can't pay her dues on time, or whatever. Is it possible you are operating with hidden rules based on your culture, upbringing, or societal expectations? 

 

As some of you know, I teach early childhood education on the college level and have had the opportunity to teach a course in diversity. As educators we often have children and students with several different exceptionalities. This is also true for an officer serving in any of the different organizations or associations in the country, as there are always people who do things that we may not like or agree with.

In a book entitled A Framework for Understanding Poverty (2001), Ruby Payne talks about the concept of hidden rules.

An individual brings with him/her the hidden rules of the class in which he/she was raised. Even though the income of the individual may raise significantly, many of the patterns of thought, social interaction, cognitive strategies, etc., remain with the individual. (Payne, 2001*)


While there is much controversy with her work, I do believe that we often have hidden rules when it comes to our lives. Were you brought up that it is impolite to interrupt someone when they are talking? This might lead you to question how to stop someone who wants to do all the talking during your meetings or book discussions. Were you brought up not to have debt? Then you might question someone who has just received a large check as a tax refund, but instead of paying her dues, she goes out to buy a dress. Were you brought up to always arrive 10 minutes before church is scheduled to start or a meeting is scheduled to begin? Remember that not every societal class or person has these same rules. I think it is important to remember that not everyone has had the same upbringing as you.

It is also important to think about where the Daughter has attended church. I certainly do see differences in Terre Haute, Indiana, concerning how to do things in church from the way I was taught to do things in Butler, Pennsylvania, or East Greenwich, Rhode Island. I also see differences in political beliefs and how they are reflected in our actions based on the part of the country in which you live.

So I challenge you to think about what these hidden rules might be in your life or chapter. Rather than stew because someone does things differently than you, step back and reflect on how we are all different and perhaps this reflection will help you accept the differences. These differences are a reflection of socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, abilities and disabilities, religion, gender, and many others. Remember that if we were all alike the world would be very different than what we experience now.

Pamela Sebura
Province V

 

*R. Payne, (2005). A Framework for Understanding Poverty, 4th Edition. aHa! Process, Inc. Highlands, TX. ISBN-13: 978-1929229482 ISBN-10: 1929229488
Institution of Holy Apostles

 

Nancy Severin, Hanh Tran and Lyn Zolman traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota, to institute the Unity Chapter at Holy Apostles, St. Paul.  A year ago, Hanh, who lives in San Diego, was asked to talk to the women of Holy Apostles about the Order of the Daughters of the King.  The women caught on to the idea of prayer, service and evangelism and now, a year later, they have completed the study guide and are very excited about becoming Daughters.  All but two of the women are Hmong. 

 

Their service to Holy Apostles is legend. They made a quilt labyrinth which covers one-third  of the parish hall when laid out.  They made altar frontals for each season and did the handwork design on the frontals. They provide a meal for the parish once a month,   and they provided dinner and a lunch for the three of us.

  



The Hmong have a native dress which is stunning, and they decided to make their native dresses in blue and white, which they wore for the institution of the chapter.  They even made one for the priest, The Reverend Letha Wilson-Barnard, to wear.  These new Daughters are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they love and support each other.  They love being able to call each other "sister." They invited the Daughters at Large in the Minneapolis area to attend the institution.   

 




The Reverend Mary Gustafson and her granddaughter and Laurice Anderson. Minnesota Daughters at Large were guest at the institution.

 

Province VI welcomes Unity Chapter and the beautiful loving women who became Daughters of the King on April 19, 2015.

 

Lyn Zolman

Service and Evangelism Chair

 

 


 

Dear Jesus,

Help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go.               Flood my soul with your spirit and love.           

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly                   that all my life may only be a radiance of yours.                     Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.                                                                 Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus.                                                     Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine,

so to shine as to be a light to others.   

The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine.
It will be you, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best,
by shining on those around me.
Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example,
by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do,

the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you. Amen.

 

Jesus Prayer, Cardinal John Henry Newman 

 

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