Establishment of The Convent of St. Thekla at Antiochian Village has long been a dream of Metropolitan Philip.  In this vein, Mother Alexandra arrived there on July 7, 2009. 

Mother Alexandra lives in the home formerly occupied by Fr. Michael Nasser and his family and is working diligently to prepare the home for monastic life to afford the nuns privacy and retreat into prayer life.  She is in correspondence with interested women.  The home has living arrangements for up to three nuns.  (At the proper time, an architect will draw plans for a new, conventional, permanent facility for the convent.)  Mother Alexandra explained that a traditional convent consists of a monastic prayer life and a presence not only to the many ministries at Antiochian Village but also to the local church communities.  The obedience of the nuns will be that of "Hospitality".

After arriving at the Village, Mother Alexandra initially spent time with the children and staff at the Antiochian Village Camp, and since has busily participated in a various activities, which included:

• Attended the Archdiocese Convention for one week
• Attended special sessions with our Antiochian Seminarians at the Heritage and Learning Center
• Attended Family Camp, the Antiochian House of Studies, where she spoke at both General Assemblies, the Clergy Retreat and the Saint Thekla Pilgrimage.  She also was on a panel discussion with Bishop Joseph and Fr. Anthony Yazge and facilitated a group discussion with Fr. John Abdalah on "Family Crisis".
• Attended the Board of Trustees Meeting and Banquet in Houston, TX.
• Attended Clergy Wives Weekend
• Spoke to the Fellowship of St. John the Divine on "The Beauty of Inconvenience and Doing God's Will"
• Led a Middle School Retreat, whose theme was "In His Image" and "...Looking at the Person and life Jesus Christ in the Gospels and icons, and discovering how we can become more like Him".

Additional information about The Convent of St. Thekla and a Biography of Mother Alexandra is available on the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese website. 

Establishment of The Convent of St. Thekla is to be facilitated by the gifts of the Antiochian Women of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America which, of course, includes our St. Elijah Church at 15000 N. May Avenue in Oklahoma City!!  Please attend the Annual Lenten Fish Dinner on March 7th to personally contribute to this worthwhile endeavor!