Daughters of the Holy Cross: Faithful Women with Global Impact
The Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross is a community of women devoted to making disciples and serving Jesus Christ through a shared Rule of Life centered on prayer, service, study, and evangelism. This calling is not meant to be lived out in isolation, but in Christian community through local chapters within churches.
Each month, women gather together to pray, study Scripture, serve others, and encourage one another in sharing the hope of Christ. Across the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), more than 1,000 women in over 90 chapters are faithfully living out this mission and helping others come to know Jesus.
The ministry of the Daughters extends far beyond their own chapters and churches. Through the In Christ Alone Fund, members and supporters help empower women and girls to serve Christ around the world. These donations provide grants for mission work and ministry opportunities that are transforming lives through the gospel.
Already in 2026, 17 In Christ Alone grants totaling $11,700 have supported mission efforts across the globe. These grants have helped fund ministry trips to Honduras, where women served underprivileged children, and to Malaysia, where teams ministered among refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. Support has also been given for vocational training programs for women in Rwanda and Ethiopia. In Tanzania, assistance has been provided through one of New Wineskins Anglican Partners, Shade, including English learning support and help with cottage industries.
In addition to supporting mission work through the In Christ Alone Fund, Daughters do many service projects in their communities and globally. One of the new Daughters Chapter, Sacred Hearts United, in Charleston, SC had a service project in the New Hope Burundi Association in East Africa who provides hope to marginalized individuals in Burundi, often working in areas affected by poverty or conflict. New Hope children and families were blessed with a generous donation of shoes, laptops, footballs and other equipment. In addition, one of the Daughters was greatly moved during a prayer circle with women praying in four different languages; it was a foretaste of heaven where every tribe, every nation and every tongue will worship the Lord.
Through each of these opportunities, the love of Christ is being demonstrated in practical ways. The gospel is being proclaimed, hearts are turning toward the Lord, and lives are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yet the work of the Daughters of the Holy Cross is not only financial or practical, it is deeply rooted in prayer. Their ministries and mission efforts are sustained through faithful intercession for churches, communities, missionaries, and those who have yet to know Christ.
Oswald Chambers once wrote, “Prayer does not just fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” The women of the Daughters of the Holy Cross seek to live out that truth daily. Through their prayers, service, and faithful witness, they continue to strengthen the Church and help carry the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
If you are interested in learning more about Daughters, contact Shelly Sorem.
Canon Shelly Sorem
Canon Shelly Sorem serves as Assistant Director of New Wineskins Missions Network and is a deacon in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Network within the Anglican Church in North America’s Provincial Leadership Network, on her diocesan women’s ministry team, and holds the role of Canon for Global Missions in her diocese. In addition, Canon Sorem serves as Vice President on the Provincial Council for the Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Trinity Anglican Seminary. She is deeply committed to advancing global missions and is passionate about seeing the name of Jesus proclaimed to the ends of the earth. She regularly leads women’s conferences and retreats both nationally and internationally and is dedicated to fostering collaboration among Anglican organizations to further the Kingdom of God. Shelly and her husband, Bill, have been married for 34 years. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren.