“Who are these women?” Nadine Craig wondered when she began attending St. Mary’s, Belleview.

“These women” were those “who seemed to just have a glow and a light about them, and they were always smiling, and they were wearing these Fleury crosses,” she explained. “And then someone said, ‘Do you know about the Daughters of the King?’”

Although she became an Episcopalian in 1982, Craig had never heard of the DOK until that day in 2014. Today, as the new diocesan president for the order of women who commit to lives of prayer, service and evangelism, Craig has come full circle, hoping to bring the light she saw to others – and to lead her fellow Daughters in the ways of their heavenly Father. After serving as first vice president for the past three years, she moved into her new role on Jan. 4, 2023, when the previous president, Dr. Karen Adderly-Clark, stepped down due to health concerns.

Daughters of the King, St. Mary’s, Daytona Beach (Craig’s home chapter) l Photo Credit l DOK Diocesan Assembly of Central Florida

Despite her late introduction, Craig quickly became involved with DOK at the local level and beyond. “I got exposure to the diocesan level and meeting Daughters from different chapters,” she said. “That was so enriching. And I went to Kanuga [in Hendersonville, North Carolina] for a retreat Province IV has every October, and that was a total spiritual immersion,” she said.

Craig said she has also attended more than one of the DOK Triennial Conventions; her first such experience took place in Austin, Texas. “We had Daughters there from 17 different counties; we had about 800 Daughters from all over the U.S., and it was just the most amazing thing to be in a room with 800 women who were praising God at the same time and singing,” she said. “It was such a moving experience.”

After Craig and her husband moved to Port Orange in 2017, she became president of the DOK chapter at her new church, St. Mary’s, Daytona. She met with the church’s rector, the Very Rev. Jason Murbarger, and asked how the chapter could help him accomplish his goals. That led to a church beautification program in which the DOK took an active role, cleaning out various rooms, refreshing and redecorating to help make the church more attractive to the community. In addition, the chapter prays for every member of the church daily and helps with outreach programs such as Barracks of Hope, a local shelter for veterans.

None of these activities is uncommon for the DOK, Craig said. “I think people are not aware; they think of us as just prayer warriors. … that is our purpose, to pray, to evangelize and to provide service out in the community. At the diocesan level, we have an outreach project each year, and this year, it’s in support of Feed the Lambs, which is an after-school enrichment program for children in the Indian River County area.”

Institution of a new DOK chapter at Christ Church, Suntree-Viera, and admission of six new Daughters l Photo Credit: DOK Diocesan Assembly of Central Florida

But the spiritual focus of the order remains at the forefront. Although she experienced a connection with God throughout her life, even as a child orphaned at a relatively young age, “The journey of being a Daughter has been like following the path of Christ, where your awareness of Christ in your life becomes much more vivid,” Craig said. “I’ve learned to rely on Christ more in everything I do instead of trying to handle things on my own.”

She pointed to the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, diocesan bishop and recent national chaplain, as a “wonderful supporter” of the DOK; to her own rector, Murbarger, the diocesan chaplain for the order; and to Adderly-Clark, who, she said, “has been a wonderful mentor for me. She’s a godly woman. And the one thing I really have learned from her is to pray first before acting. … I’ve been working closely with Karen for the last three years.”

Members of the DOK in the Diocese of Central Florida have much to look forward to, Craig said, adding that she has already been in contact with Bishop-elect Dr. Justin S. Holcomb regarding the work of the order. She expressed gratitude for the diocesan DOK’s recent theme, implemented by Adderly-Clark: “Living and Guided by the Spirit.”

As the order moves forward, Craig suggested the diocesan DOK keep that theme, but take it a step further: “Going Deeper Into Our Faith Journey Together.” Province IV DOK President Kathy House, guest speaker for the diocesan DOK spring retreat, will address that topic, as will the Rev. Lo Cook, All Saints, Winter Park, speaker for the diocesan DOK May meeting.

As Craig leads the 1,023 members of the diocesan DOK, she intends to keep going deeper herself. “I really want to be a light to others,” she said. “And I can only do that if I look to Christ for his light and allow that to shine through me.”