The Fort Worth Daughters of the King (DOK) order hosted the Province VII Assembly at St. Christopher, Fort Worth, April 22-24. Bishop Sam Hulsey, assisting bishop of Fort Worth, took part in the opening Eucharist at 8 pm on Friday, April 22, along with the Rev. Mike Gemingnani, Province VII chaplain, and the Rev. Hope Benko, Diocese of Fort Worth chaplain. The Glory Bound Singers from the Diocese of Texas was also part of the service.  Ms. Pat Hinds of the Diocese of Dallas is the Province VII DOK president.

The Episcopal Church of Wise County’s Daughters of the King furnished table favors for the DOK Assembly.  Round coasters were printed with the date of the assembly.  The initials FHS  was also imprinted on the coasters which stands for “For His Sake.”   The coasters adorned each table setting.

Below is a picture of Lydia Hiatt holding one of the coasters.

Thanks everyone!

“Daughters of the King are women and girls between the ages of seven and one hundred and seven who desire a closer walk with the Lord. We are Christian women, both lay and ordained, who are strengthened through the discipline of a Rule of Life, and supported through the companionship of our sisters. We are all at different stages of our Christian journey – some have just begun and some have been on this path for a long time. But no matter where we are on our sacred journeys, our primary goal is the same – to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known to others,” according to the web site of DOK.

We have so many blessings for which to be thankful, and sometimes we take things for granted.  For example, we take it for granted that we will always have a roof over our heads, clothes to wear, and food to eat.  However, not everyone has these things.

We became aware of a Wise County family in need…being displace from their home.  The children did not have the basic necessities–clothing.  The members of the congregation donated funds for the purchase of clothing.

Here is a picture of the counselor of the school showing the clothing that was purchased for the family.  Thank you all for your kindness.

Gloria Sanders organized our January Mission of the Month.  She chose to collect socks, underwear and neutral-colored sweats for boys and girls, sizes 6-8 and 10-12.  Gloria said, “I was excited to use Bridgeport Elementary for our mission of the month because my daughter, Stacey, works there.  I have heard stories that so many children come to school with no socks, coats, or underwear.  If children accidentally soil themselves, the school sends them home in clean underwear, socks, and sweats. The children are so excited to receive these items.  It breaks my heart to think of children going without such basic items.”

Our contact person at the school was Kristen Shelton and she was overjoyed to receive the 3 boxes of clothing.  It is amazing how such a small congregation can give so much from their hearts to help others in need.  This is what Christ teaches and it is our goal to do whatever we can to assist.  Thank you all!

Gloria Sanders (l) and Kristen Shelton

Lydia Hiatt is a teacher at Boyd Elementary School in Wise County.  She stated that there was a need for school supplies for the next semester of school–after Christmas.  A list of supplies was given to the congregation and before you knew it, things began to appear in the box we provided for the collection.

Below are a few pictures of the items collected for the school children.

Deborah Dery was instrumental in wanting to serve the homeless in the Wise County area.  Her idea was to get warm items such as socks, scarves, hats, throws, etc., as well as personal hygiene items to people who were living on the street.  She checked with several agencies as well as law enforcement and was told that there was not a shelter in Wise County set up to handle that.

She decided that she wanted to work with W.A.R.M. (Wise Area Relief Mission) to gather food items for the food pantry.  We also accumulated plenty of socks, hats, and gloves for children and adults as well as homemade scarves and throws.  We were told that these items would be distributed as folks needed them.

As you can see, many items were gathered.

In October, Angie Whitley asked that we fill shoe boxes with items for children in third world countries who have very little and would be overjoyed to receive even a toothbrush or a box of crayons.  So, our mission was “Operation Christmas Child,” in conjunction with Samaritan’s Purse.  There were three different boy and girl age ranges from which to choose–2-4 years old, 5-9 years old, and 10-14 years old.  How fun it was to shop for items to fit into our shoe boxes.  We all purchased plastic shoe boxes with lids that snapped on.  These boxes can be used for carrying water or for storing items.   We tried to have one particularly special item included to really leave an impression, along with school items, gum, toothbrush and toothpaste, wash cloth, bar soap, Legos, pencils, crayons, etc.  The list goes on and on.  All in all we collected 18 boxes….not bad for our small congregation.  Angie then delivered the items to the specified drop location.

We found out later that our boxes were headed to a community in Ecuador.

July Mission of the Month

Gently used eye glasses of all kinds were collected by Jill McClendon for a leper colony in Hyderbad, India.  Dr. Babili, of the Diocese of Forth Worth, will travel to India with a medical team during the Fall to help save the sight of people in need.  Dr. Babili’s father was the Bishop in India who founded the leper colony.

Several dozen pairs of glasses were collected and donated.

August Mission of the Month

Pat McGowan organized the collecting and delivering of items needed for the Wise County Animal Shelter.  She was told their only needs at the time were for bleach, Dawn and kitty litter.  We collected 399 oz. of bleach, 480 oz. of Dawn Dish Soap and 219 lbs. of cat litter.  She said it was a great success and the shelter was grateful for the donations.

September Mission of the Month

The Episcopal Church of Wise County is organizing its September “Mission of the Month,” The Wise Hope Shelter and Crises Center which provides safety, strength and hope for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.   Women and children leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs–sometimes in the middle of the night.  Therefore, personal hygiene items are vital.   Shoes and socks for children are needed, as well as pajamas.  Also, small toys for boys and girls, or hair clips and brushes for girls.  Little boys enjoy hotwheels or Legos; little girls enjoy My Little Ponies or Pound Puppies.  If you would like to donate, please check out their wish list on www.wisehope.org for items needed.  Ellen Whitley organized this month’s mission and she and husband, Marquis, delivered a carload of things to the drop-off site.