Deaconess & Teacher: Anna Ellison Butler Alexander
In the pine-lined low country of Georgia, at the turn of the 20th century, a woman quietly defied expectations. Born just after the Civil War to formerly enslaved parents, Anna Ellison Butler Alexander faced the kind of poverty, racism, and disregard that could have easily silenced her gifts. Instead, she chose to plant seeds of hope—one classroom, one child, one prayer at a time.
Anna would become the first and only African American woman ever consecrated as a deaconess in the Episcopal Church. Titles, wealth, or ease did not mark her life. It was marked by grit, compassion, and a relentless belief that education and faith could transform lives—even when the church and the world gave her almost nothing to work with.
Teaching in Faith, Serving in Love
Anna Alexander was born around 1865 on the Butler plantation on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Her father, once enslaved, had learned to read from the abolitionist actress Fanny Kemble—a spark that may have kindled Anna’s lifelong devotion to teaching.
She first taught in the public school at Pennick, and later at a school her sister founded at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Darien. In 1894, while still teaching during the week in Darien, Anna began a small mission in Pennick, traveling a 40-mile round trip by boat and foot. She eventually returned full-time to Pennick in 1897, reviving the mission, opening a school, and nurturing a congregation that would become the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Anna supported herself by sewing, and in 1902 she purchased land on which her brother and others helped build a wooden church. In 1907, Bishop Cleland Kinloch Nelson consecrated her as a deaconess at Good Shepherd, making her the first—and still only—African American deaconess in the Episcopal Church.
Even when diocesan leaders excluded Black Episcopalians from church governance and offered little financial support, Anna persevered. She sought help from the national church, kept her school alive through the Great Depression, and remained a steady presence in her hardscrabble community. Her students learned more than reading and arithmetic; they learned dignity, moral courage, and faith in a God who saw their worth.
A Lasting Legacy
Anna Alexander served until her death on September 24, 1947. She was first buried at Camp Reese, a diocesan camp on St. Simons where she had worked, and later reinterred at Good Shepherd in Pennick—the church she founded and faithfully nurtured for decades.
Her ministry was not flashy, but it was fierce. With little money, no institutional power, and almost no recognition in her lifetime, she changed countless lives. Anna lived as if every child in her care mattered to God—and because of her, they knew it was true.
Plant Hope
As we remember Deaconess Anna Alexander, may her legacy challenge us. Look for the places where you can plant hope—especially when the soil seems hard. Teach someone, encourage someone, show up for someone who’s been forgotten.
Anna didn’t wait for perfect conditions to do God’s work.
Neither should we.
Let’s be bold enough to love with that same quiet, unshakable faith.