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On-Going Service Projects in the DHC Trinity Chapter, Tallahassee, FL
At the February 4, 2025 meeting of the Trinity Chapter at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, FL, Daughter Julie Dombroski made two suggestions for this year’s service projects: 1) Putting together an evening prayer service for residents of Azalea Gardens Memory Care Center, located just north of St. Peter’s Cathedral, where several parishioners reside. 2) Contributing to the CCYS (Capital City Youth Services) Bucket Brigade, which provides buckets filled with essential items for the center's homeless clients. Julie presented a list of possibilities. Those Daughters present at the meeting voted enthusiastically to support both projects.
The evening prayer service at Azalea Gardens began with a special service on Ash Wednesday, and services have continued on Friday afternoons at 4 p.m. Deacon Preston Colangelo led both the Ash Wednesday and Good Friday services; however, the remaining services are conducted by the Daughters from Trinity. Barb Mattick created a five-page service folder, with each page featuring a different color, making it easier for residents to follow the service. Residents are also given a booklet with the words of 15 favorite hymns. One Daughter leads each service, another plays the hymns, and one or more circulate among the residents to help them follow along. More than thirty residents attend each service. They enjoy singing and participating in the prayers. One gentleman always requests a prayer for world peace. It is a sweet time of worship for both the residents and the participating Daughters.
At each of our meetings, a nice selection of items is brought for the buckets for CCYS based on an updated list of needs emailed prior to the meeting. Julie explained that CCYS mostly helps young people ages 18-22 who have aged out of foster care, many of whom are living on the streets. They provide a structured program that helps meet basic needs while also offering housing, education, and job opportunities. Young people in the program must meet certain requirements, such as remaining drug-free, to be eligible. One member of the Trinity Chapter is in a position to help those working towards a GED. Thanks to all the Daughters who are supporting these very worthwhile projects.
From left to right: Linda Stokes, Lucile Palmer, Merry Beth Taintor, Barbara Mattick, and Julie Dombroski
An Evening of Prayer
Daughters of All Saints in Springfield, MO, hosted an Evening of Prayer for the women of the congregation and their guests prior to Advent in hopes of providing some peaceful moments in which they could reflect upon the meaning of the season before all the demands of the upcoming holidays converged.
The liturgy for the evening was both instructive and meditative, introducing the four themes of Advent with brief devotional thoughts and scriptures followed by common and individual prayers. Chapter members worked together to plan all aspects of the evening in consultation with their Chaplain, Fr. Jim Bright.
Reflecting on the experience, Lacey Eyberg, Chapter President, said the following: “I thought it went well. The planning process took time, but with guidance from clergy and the Holy Spirit, everything came together beautifully. Since this was the first event of its kind that we have hosted as a DHC chapter, it was a learning experience. Now that we have gone through the process, we have a much clearer understanding of how to plan future events and what the flow of the evening should look like.”
All Saints has seen tremendous growth recently, and many coming to the church are unfamiliar with the liturgical seasons and their meanings, so a brief explanation of Advent along with some ideas about how to observe it at home were included at the back of the evening’s program. A generous donation of Advent candles and wreaths was made by some members of the chapter, and these were gifted to those attending. Guests enjoyed a dessert reception afterward and had the opportunity to learn more about Advent and The Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross.
For other chapters considering offering a similar Evening of Prayer in their own churches, Lacey has this advice: “Give yourselves plenty of time to plan, and don’t feel pressure to make everything perfect. Be more like Mary and not so much like Martha—focus on being present rather than overworking. Most importantly, give yourselves plenty of grace throughout the process.”
The Evening of Prayer was well attended and well received. Daughters of All Saints anticipate this will become an annual event.
The Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Chattanooga Tennessee celebrated the Feast of the Holy Cross of our Lord and Savior on September 14. At the time of the communion all the Daughters of Redeemer and the four candidates in the discernment process were anointed with oil and were prayed for in our ministry.
On January 8, 2023, Esther Chapter at the Church of the Cross Bluffton, South Carolina, joyfully welcomed six new sisters: Becky Owens, Theresa Hendrickson, Della Biemiller, Karen Tinnerholm, Barbara Weisner, Jonetta Peck, Meryl Larsen Newell, and Michele Brophy.
Theresa Hendrickson was installed as the Chapter President and Linda Laird (by proxy Judy K Ferguson) was installed as Chapter Secretary.
Esther Chapter at the Church of the Cross in Bluffton, SC on January 2023