Dorcas

“Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas; this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.”

“She established a Dorcas society at Baslehurst, of which she became permanent president, and spent her money in carrying on this institution in the manner most pleasing to herself.”

“The daughter was probably some prim Miss, neat, sensible, pious, but all in a small feminine way, in which Felix was no more interested than in Dorcas meetings, biographies of devout women, and that amount of ornamental knitting which was not inconsistent with Nonconforming seriousness.”

“Secondly, When a person not only hath grace, but also is beneficial, usefull, doth much good in his time, is diffusive of holinesse, full of good works, serves his generation, and hath done his work before he fals asleep, hath his Dorcasses coats to be seen after his death; it is only our doing good that makes us called good;”

“I have beheld, O Dorcasses! with admiration and gratitude , the coats and garments, the lint and bandages which you have made.”

“They had been pouring tea and passing wafers when they should have been Dorcassing at their Christmas tasks.”

“It was by good works of this kind — not by doles , “Dorcassing,” and such-like — that Ossett gained and deserved the title of a “Charitable Man.””