Welcome
“When I was reading other dissertations, I saw that Coptic women were rarely discussed. Scholars discussed social issues, the Church itself, and the foundation of the Church. But discussion of our struggles, as first-generation Coptic women immigrating to the US, was extremely limited.”
Shery Luke
Our Benefactors
Sunday, November 17
6-7:30pm Eastern
Tired at the end of the day? Having leftover thoughts and worries in the evening, which block you from being fully present with your dear ones or connecting deeply with God in prayer?
Join us for our upcoming workshop with Dr. Ioana Popa from Team For The Soul®, an expert in spiritual renewal. She’ll work with us on how to refresh at the end of the day through brief rituals, to separate and release from the cares of the day and experience that “peace that surpasses all understanding.”
To give you a sense: in her last Axia workshop on Boundaries, Dr. Ioana Popa addressed those of us who are feeling overwhelmed and constantly juggling work, church, relationships, caretaking, and personal life. She gave us tips and advice to avoid health issues and burnout. This is all the harder for those of us in the church because we assume that, in order to by Christ-like, we must say “yes” to whatever is asked of us.
She shared several psychological group phenomena that impact all of us at work, church, and family.
One of them is “Social Loafing,” which is the tendency for many people in a group to work less, because they know someone else will show up to help.
Another one is “Social Compensation,” which states that the most conscientious members of a group will be the one who bears the brunt of the work.
She identified the tendency many of us have to promise ourselves that we’ll do it “just this time,” only to find that promise becoming a cycle and a feedback loop. She asked the question, “What if we just wait?”
Sometimes if we decide NOT to say “yes,” we can give a gift to someone else to access their own resourcefulness and gifts in Christ. And we might be pleasantly surprised to find out who rises to the occasion because they are called by God for that work!
$12 (Let us know if cost is a barrier.)
Sign up here!
(Orthodox women only, please.)
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Yesterday I found some new life, new growth in plants I thought were completely dead. I brought the cuttings inside. Small shards of hope. - Susan Ashbrook Harvey
Monday, November 4, 2024
Maybe, like us, you’re looking for an alternative to the never-ending news of polarization and conflict. Perhaps you, too, are wondering: how can we best live as Orthodox women in our world today?
Axia Women exists because we asked the question: What if Orthodox women–present and past–could teach us more about how to truly live into the fullest experience of life, our most real and life-giving selves, and discover Christ within our own hearts?
Friday, November 1, 2024
As a convert to the Orthodox faith, and having been raised in the Evangelical church, my views on icons have evolved over the years.
When I first started attending an Orthodox church, I loved how the icons transported me into another world when I entered the building, but I was skeptical of the way the church spoke about the icons. In the evangelical church you will find a gray- or white-walled sanctuary because the focus is on the stage. That felt familiar, and therefore, it was the most comfortable for me.