Resources for Hurricane Helene Relief

 Dearest Sisters,
 
We are sure that you have been busy at your chapter level helping with efforts to send resources and funds to the areas that have been affected by Hurricane Helene.
We would like to share with you some  resources available.  

Blessings and FHS,
SC Assembly Executive Board
 
 Episcopal Relief and Development www.episcopalrelief.org
 There is a specific page just for Hurricane Helene relief  Click here.
The donations go to helping their partners and dioceses reach vulnerable communities devastated by hurricanes and other catastrophic storms.
 
Anglican Relief and Development Fund  www.ardf.org
There is a specific page just for Hurricane Helene relief  Click here.
They are taking donations to help with immediate needs and with long-term recovery efforts.  Their Domestic Response Network is connecting with various churches to coordinate volunteer efforts.

 
ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response  www.community.elca.org/lutherandisasterresponse  Click here

 Your donation provides them with the resources we need to help rebuild the lives and communities of those dealing with natural disasters, famine, and war or violence. Lutheran Disaster Response remains hard at work long after the first responders are gone. Your donation today makes that possible.

Ashville Relief- Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina Facebook Page   www.facebook.com/AshevilleRelief

This site set up as an adjunct to the Diocesan Facebook page to manage information regarding the current emergency in Asheville NC.

Province IV Assembly Retreat at Kanuga is canceled due to the catastrophic hurricane

---URGENT---

Province IV Assembly Retreat at Kanuga is canceled due to the catastrophic hurricane moving across southeastern United States and the existing flooding conditions in Hendersonville, N.C. Additionally, there are unsafe water levels, power outage and tree damage at Kanuga. They have suggested we reschedule. Please watch for upcoming information this weekend. 

 

Wendy Martucci

Province IV Assembly Board

"The Messenger" Editor

Election of Officers on Zoom- April 27, 2024 10:00 AM

Dear Sisters,

The South Carolina Assembly will hold election of officers via zoom on Saturday, April 27, at 10:00 am.  Officers to be elected are President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President and Treasurer.  This will be a very brief meeting dedicated solely to the election of officers.  There is no fee for this meeting but you must register so we can send you the Zoom sign-in information.  Please register with Janet Stoda at Janet@saintmatthews.us   Nominations will remain open until March 31st.  The nomination form is available here.

Please feel free to contact me

 if you have any questions or concerns.

FHS,

Kester Heaton, President

SC DOK Assembly

Winter message from the SC Assembly President

Dear Sisters in Christ,

Praying your Thanksgiving was filled with many blessings.  I know mine was with the marriage of our first born which took place in our home.  He and his wife were filled with love and could not have been more pleased with the manner in which their nuptials took place.  Blessings upon blessings.  And now, "Happy New Year"!!  Advent is upon us and a time of expectation and patience as we await the birth of Christ and his coming again.

Much is happening in the new year in our Assembly as well.  Regional meetings approach rapidly at the end of January and February.  All Saints' Church, Hilton Head, is hosting our second meeting on February 3rd and St Matthews, Darlington will host the February 17th meeting.  We are still awaiting a host for our January 20th meeting in the middle sector of our Assembly.  Please let me know if your Chapter can host one of this gathering.

 
These regional meetings are a wonderful opportunity to gather with Daughters in your area without having to travel a great distance.  PLEASE take advantage of these opportunities to catch up with the business of the Assembly and enjoy fellowship.  And then, register for our Spring Retreat Hope in the Holy Spirit, April 12-14, with our Speaker Sherry Schuman.  We have invited our Sisters from the Upstate Assembly to join us so register early as our room space at Camp St Christopher is limited.  A registration form is on our Assembly website (www.doksc.org) and will be available at the Regional Meetings.  Registration will be available for our Upstate Sisters following the completion of our Regional Meetings.

For those who attended our Fall Assembly, you will remember we did not hold elections because our officer slate was not complete.  We will hold elections electronically (online) on Saturday, April 28, 2024.  Nominations are still open if you wish to nominate a Daughter for any of the four elected positions (President, 1st VP, 2nd VP and Treasurer) and will remain open until April 1, 2024. Note that the nomination form and qualifications/duties links are below.
 
As a note of explanation, according to our ByLaws, each Chapter is allotted four delegates and four alternates for the election.  A Daughter must be in good standing, which means current in her dues, to serve as a delegate. Chapter Presidents, please make sure you have elected (or appointed) delegates for the election and submit those names to me and our Registrar Bobbie Puckett.  Though any Daughter is welcome to attend the online meeting, only delegates are allowed to vote.  If you are not a delegate and still wish to attend you will also have to register.  There is no fee for registration.

Nomination Form

Officer’s duties

The Triennial celebration, A New Day Dawns, is rapidly approaching June 26-30, 2024, in Louisville, KY.  Room reservation information is available and open on the National website (www.doknational.org).  Event registration will be open January 2, 2024.  We are the host Province and with that comes many opportunities to volunteer.  One of those opportunities are the Welcome Bags given to each registrant and every Province IV Assembly is asked to donate to the bags.  St Paul's Conway has very generously donated Prayer Squares.  The Assembly Advisory Board elected to include a tea bag from Charleston Tea Plantation (the only Tea Plantation in the country).  We are negotiating with them to determine at what level they will participate with us.  Any monetary balance will be disseminated among the Chapters and DAL's.  You will hear more about these opportunities at the Regional Meetings but please set the date aside and plan to attend.  

It is with a very heavy and sad heart I announce the resignation of our long-time Chaplain, the Rev'd Janet Echols.  She has served our Assembly well and we all owe her a debt of deep gratitude.  Well done good and faithful servant!

Wishing you all an expectant and comfortable Advent season and a blessed Christmas.  I look forward to seeing you all in the secular New Year at one of our Regional meetings.

FHS,
Kester Heaton, President
SC Assembly, DOK

South Carolina Assembly Prayer

SC Assembly Prayer

Dear Father,  Look upon our Assembly as one whole body in Christ, joined together in love.  Guide and strengthen us individually and as a Sisterhood, to carry out your will through our vows as servants, evangelists, and prayer warriors.  Help us always to reach out to others in our chapters, churches, and communities in love, prayer and service each day.  Empower us,   individually and collectively, to continue to grow and mature in your love so that we may better serve you, to be the Daughters you created us to be.  We ask it all in His name and For His Sake, our King and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

President's Report 2023

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  John 15:5-8

My dear Sisters in Christ,

This passage from John has resonated in me very clearly over the last few years but this year in particular.  We must never lose sight of the vine!  And, yes, we are the branches.  What a journey it has been.  Thanks be to God.

We have had an amazing and busy year together.  Yes, we did some pruning,  Yes, we did lose some Chapters and Daughters at Large along the way.  These loses have contributed to a cut in our operating income from dues.  We do, however, give thanks for the fruits that have come to bear on our new branches.  I have had the privilege and joy to attend several services of admission for new Daughters across our Assembly this past year.  Probably the most exciting for me was the service of admission at Old Saint Andrews to welcome five new Junior Daughters --- so enthusiastic and our future!  It was a joyous and glorious celebration.

We are working to have representation at both the Episcopal and Anglican Diocesan Conventions and the Lutheran Synod across the Assembly this year.  We had representation at the ACNA Diocesan Convention in Bluffton where we had the opportunity to field several inquiries.  Some inquiries regarded formation of new chapters and some asked about re-energizing old chapters.  We also had one inquiry about the possibility of a new Junior Chapter – Hallelujah !  We look forward to being present at the Episcopal Diocesan Convention on James Island in November and pray for similar outcomes.  We will continue to work to have a presence at the Lutheran Synod.  And, not to go unnoticed, is our Roman Catholic Sisters in Christ.  We are working to meet with the Bishop of Charleston to spread the word about Daughters of the King and invite them to our Sisterhood.  The end item, we instituted a new Chapter and have three others in formation.   Praise God!

Our Assembly Project for the Triennial Period has been structured in way to be more accessible to all Chapters across the wide expanse of Assembly area.  The focus for the project has been women in need.  To that end, we partnered with three different shelters – Tenacious Grace of Florence, Magdalene House in Summerville and Hopeful Horizons in Beaufort.  Each Chapter was asked to commit to one month, once a year, and take the responsibility to coordinate with the shelter in their Chapter area to discern what type of services could be provided.  Projects have spanned from providing window treatments to providing gently used clothing for job interviews, to fulfilling wish lists from the residents.  Chapter participation has been good but far from 100%.  If your Chapter is not yet involved, we do have open months for the upcoming year and would be happy to speak with you about these servanthood opportunities for these women.

Two milestones have been reached during the past year.  First, a written history of the design and construction of our Assembly Banner has been completed.  A copy will be part of our archives and a copy will travel with the Banner.  Second, with your approval and adoption today, we will have a Daughter of the King Prayer specific to our South Carolina Assembly.  This Prayer of the SC Assembly will complement our Prayer of the Order.

As President of your Assembly, it has been my privilege to serve on the Province IV DOK Advisory Board and work with other Assembly Presidents throughout the south east.  As part of this Board, I have been humbled to serve as Altar Guild Chair for the Province. 

In closing I want to extend an immense amount of gratitude to our Assembly Advisory Board.  In particular, I would like to thank Sue Farley for her many years of service as our capable Fund Chair.  We shall miss her on the Advisory Board and wish her well in her next season.  These individuals are an amazing group of spiritual, strong and dedicated women.  As a Daughter-at-Large myself, they have been my Chapter and I shall be forever grateful to them as individuals, friends, and my Sisters in Christ.

I love you all and thank you for allowing me to serve you in this position as it is all to His glory.

For His Sake,

Kester Heaton, President

SC DOK Assembly

A letter from Our SC President

My dear Sisters in Christ,

As I write to you on this Pentecost Sunday, my prayer is your eyes see, your ears hear, and your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit. May you all be blessed.

Though the weather indicates differently, summer is upon us. Children are finishing another school year and graduations abound. Congratulations to all of our graduates at all levels of education. Opportunities abound for all of them.

We, also, have much to look forward to in our lives in the South Carolina Assembly of the Daughters of the King.

The Master's Fund Ingathering is June 5th. The Juniors Weekend Retreat in Orlando, Florida (6/22-25), the Alpha Fund Ingathering on September 5th), our Fall Assembly (September 23rd) and the Kanuga Retreat (Oct 2-6).

The Fall Assembly is September 23rd at the Cathedral Church of St Luke and St. Paul in Charleston. This is our annual business meeting and, with the Triennial, will be our election officers. We will be electing a President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President and Treasurer. These officers will be installed in September 2024. The remainder of the Advisory Board positions are at the invitation of the President. Nominations are open until August 15th and the form (along with officer duties) is attached. If you, or a Daughter you feel qualified, are interested in standing for Office, please take the initiative to submit the nomination.

With Triennial approaching in June 2024, we will have many responsibilities within our Assembly as our Province is the host chapter. More information will be forthcoming regarding our responsibilities at the Fall Assembly.

Enjoy your summer and I look forward to seeing you all at the Fall Assembly in September.

FHS, Kester Heaton

SC DOK Assembly President

Nomination Form and Position descriptions

The Well by the Sea hosting a National Day of Prayer event

The Well by the Sea. 211 Forest Brook Rd, Myrtle Beach SC 29579

From our Providence IV President

From our Province IV President

Dear sisters,

Blessings for a joyous Easter season!

A recent tornado went through the small town of Rolling Fork, MS. I'm sure many of you have seen the devastation from the pictures on TV and online. One of the pictures you may have seen is of Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Rolling Fork, which was heavily damaged.

Linda Tolliver, Diocesan Assembly President in MS, let me know that Chapel of the Cross does not have a chapter of Daughters of the King or Daughters at Large, but the community itself is in great need. She found out that gift cards for things the people need, who are staying in shelters, school gyms, and hotels, would be greatly appreciated. Linda has asked her chapters in MS to help with this, but we wanted everyone in Province IV to know, too.

If you or any of your chapters/members would like to help meet the needs of the survivors of this tornado, please send gift card(s) to Linda at her home address, and she will get the cards to the people in need. Linda's diocesan assembly is also collecting needed items to be distributed

(diapers, cleaning supplies, clothing in special sizes for children, etc.), but it would be very expensive to mail those items, so gift cards will be the best way the rest of us can help.

Linda Tolliver

217 Falcon Ridge Road

Vicksburg, MS 39180

Gift cards to Walmart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Sam's, Gas cards, etc. would be very helpful for the families to get needed items.

Remember that our Province IV Help Fund is specifically for Daughters who need help. If any of you find out that a Daughter in Province IV needs help after a disaster, a health concern, etc., please let me know so we can assist.

We do want Daughters to know about needs when there is a natural disaster in our Province. The DAP in the area will coordinate efforts in her assembly by Daughters to help and let us know how assistance can be given.

Thank you, Linda, for making us aware of this need in Mississippi after the tornado. We will keep the parish of Chapel of the Cross and the community of Rolling Fork, MS in our prayers.

For His sake,

Kathy House, Province IV President

Diocesan Assembly of Upper South Carolina Spring Retreat 4/22/23

We have just concluded a very spirit-filled Spring Retreat led by Fionna Richardson of "Titus Women" (one of many missionary endeavors she is involved with).  One of the joys of the weekend was to have Sisters from our companion Assembly in the Upstate join us for the weekend.  Their Assembly President has extended an invitation to us to attend their one day Spring Retreat on Saturday, April 22nd.  The information and registration form are below.  I pray you will seriously consider joining their celebration.

Diocesan Assembly of Upper South Carolina

Spring Retreat

April 22, 2023

9:00 AM to 3:00 PM 

St. Margaret's Episcopal

4180 SC HWY 9

Boiling Springs, SC 29316

$25

We have a beautiful day planned for you!

It will be a wonderful opportunity to see your sisters in Christ. God has so much planned for our day together. Look forward to seeing you there.

Sign up now and have faith that God will be present and you will be fed!

Spring Retreat Online Registration