News & Updates

The last post focused on the pasture where we hope to build our campus.  Today, we want to share some images of the neighboring field — which we’ve tentatively named in honor of St. Patrick. This is where the boys’ bunkhouses will be built.  We decided to set the bunkhouses apart from the campus and closer to the woods so the boys can build community and have a natural space that they have an active role in developing.

Here’s a view leaving St. Peter (campus) going towards St. Patrick.

The two pastures are divided by a tree line that runs their entire length and a wet-weather creek that forms a natural boundary.  It’s nothing more than a dip when it’s dry.

The field is slightly higher than the build site and completely surrounded by tress.  It really does feel set apart.  As usual, it’s difficult to tell the scale and elevation in these pics, but it’s a sizable chunk of real estate.  Here’s the view looking east where the bunkhouses will be built in a smaller wooded enclosure (not pictured).  Our woods beyond are very deep and ripe for exploration!

And here’s the western view.

The bottom of this pasture runs up against one of the natural springs on our land which, in turn, forms the western most boundary of this field.  Having live water on the property was a sine qua non for our site committee when we were looking for land.  It’s a criterion that moved Missouri so far up the list of possible sites for the school.

It’s very difficult to see the small pools of water, so you’ll have to look very closely for the reflections in the indentations.

And there beyond the spring and through the trees is the border of St. Sophia: our agricultural land.  The boys will follow this route — from their bunkhouses to St. Sophia — every morning to milk the cows and do other morning chores before chapel.

It’s only by the grace of God and your support that we’ll be able to accomplish this great endeavor.  Please keep us in your prayers and consider making a donation today to help make this vision a reality.  The sooner we meet our financial goals¹, the sooner we can build and start educating.

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¹ Much more on those goals as we get closer to Christmas and launch our Founders’ Appeal

UPDATE 10/12/24:  A (slightly) better image of the spring:

Here’s a photo of our land from the air courtesy of a good neighbor.   It gives an interesting perspective that can’t really be achieved from a land-based photo, but it doesn’t quite capture the hills and elevation. (We’re in the Ozark mountains, after all).  You get an idea of how wooded, or timbered,  we are, but there’s still plenty of beautiful, open land for building and agriculture.

For orientation purposes, the top of this picture is due south.

#1 is the pasture where we hope to build our main campus, rugby pitch and allotment gardens.  It’s a huge, open meadow with a gentle, sloping elevation entirely surrounded by trees.  It’s set well back from the road.

The wooded surround gives it a very private feeling.  We sometimes refer to this as a hidden pasture for that reason.  The boys’ bunkhouses will be in the woods nearby. We really want them — guided by their house fathers — to put their marks on it.  For example, do they want it more wooded or more open? One bunkhouse might choose to build a fire-pit while another might put up a basketball hoop or an archery target.  We want to spark those young imaginations.

#2 is the general location of St. Seraphim’s guest house. It would be a healthy walk to the campus and, thus, to the chapel.  This is by design. We don’t want the two areas to overlap. They are both private and self-contained.

#3 is the pasture where we’ll begin our agriculture program.  We have named it in honor of St. Sophia and we’ll start with a small dairy and kitchen garden.  There’s already a modest dairy barn with a milking parlor, but it’s going to need a hefty renovation.  We hope we can find a person, group of people, fraternal or trade association, or parish to underwrite that particular project.  (If you know anyone who fits the bill, beam an email to info@saintalexander.org!)

To the east (left) are even more pastures and deeper woods.  We’re going to designate most of that as conservation so the boys can learn to be good stewards of the land.

As always, please keep us in your prayers and let us know if we can pray for you.
 

… and sometimes you’ve really gotta help it along.

The beauty of God’s creation is a critical part of our educational philosophy.  That’s why we took our time finding just the right piece of land.  So much of what surrounds us is naturally beautiful but there are one or two things that need a bit of human agency to get them ship shape.  Case in point, our main entrance.

Now, there’s no doubt that God’s part in all of this — that beautiful sky and the forest beyond — cannot be improved upon, but a previous generation’s metalwork?  Well, that’s another story entirely.

We have two entrances to the property along our little country road.  The first is a smaller (16 ft) gate near St. Seraphim’s Guest House.  Then there’s the larger,  main entry above.  When the academy opens, we’ll call this the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3) and mean it, but for now, it’s just that old farm gate that needs a heckuva lot of work.

The first order of business is to clear the brush. Here’s a view from the interior of the property looking towards the road:

You know what loves that tall grass? Horses, cows, sheep, goats, and small birds that feed on insects.  You know what else loves that tall grass? Snakes that feed on small birds that feed on insects.  Yep, it’s all got to go.

We’re planning to build an arched, wrought iron entrance.  Something appropriately scaled that will look right at home in rural Missouri (Something like this but, you know, not a cemetery).  Eventually, this will be a small reception area.  It will allow us to engage in limited public outreach while keeping the main campus set back and private.    We’ll have a multi-purpose barn and some (very) limited and discrete parking.  We want everything to be in harmony with the rural environment and always respectful of our neighbors.

Of course, none of this can be accomplished without God’s grace and your generous support.  Support that includes your prayers, your donations, and your help to connect us to people who have the willingness and capacity to help us build this school.

Please consider helping us and check back often for updates on our progress.

For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth (Jn 18:37)

In America, the term Witness Tree has at least two meanings.  The first is as a witness to history.  That is, a tree that was present during a significant American historical or cultural moment.  The second usage refers to a tree that serves as a marker of a geographical boundary.  It’s primarily that second usage that concerns us here.

In keeping with the monastic custom of naming created (and even manufactured) objects in honor of saints, meet Boniface.  We named this Missouri Oak that marks the northern most boundary of our land in honor of the 7th Century English saint who brought the Gospel to Germany.  Legend has it that St. Boniface felled the great Donar’s Oak — a tree that was sacred to the Pagan Germans.  When St. Boniface brought down that tree, he brought down the idolatry of the German tribes and the paganism that kept them in darkness and bondage. In its place, he planted a life-giving tree, the Cross of Jesus Christ.

When we’re ready to break ground for construction, we’ll gather around our bishop with our friends, neighbors and benefactors and we too will literally plant the Cross of Christ in this land.   And just as the Lord abundantly blessed St. Boniface’s mission, by the prayers of that great saint, may he bless ours as well.

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Addendum:  St. Boniface was previously named Wynfreth and, for a few days, so was this tree.  In the end, we thought Boniface was the wiser choice but we can be persuaded to change our minds! Let us know what you think in the comments.