In 1907, bishop Cleland Kinloch Nelson addressed the second annual meeting of the diocese's council of colored churchmen, held at the Church of the Good Shepherd. He described Alexander as a "devout, godly and respected colored woman" and consecrated her as a deaconess. She became the first and only African-American deaconess. She worked in Altamaha River area for the rest of her life, teaching not only academic subjects, but also moral values. Her Sunday School students always donated pennies to those worse off then themselves. When an earthquake devastated Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan in 1923, Alexander's mission diverted their own building funds to aid the overseas victims, donating more proportionally to assist other needy people than any other church in the diocese.