Faith guides Leandra Anderson's life

Who is the new Lutheran pastor in town?
It's someone who was raised as a Southern Baptist and someone who was a competitive clog dancer for 15 years.
This newcomer, who has been called to serve the Red Oak Grove Church congregation, is Leandra Anderson. She preached at her first church service last Sunday during an outdoor setting.
She says her Christian faith guides her daily life's decisions. "Everything comes back to my faith in Jesus Christ," remarked Anderson.
Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, located seven miles south of Blooming Prairie, is Anderson's first church.
Not afraid to show her excitement about the call to Red Oak Grove, Anderson said she sent a profile to Southeastern Minnesota Synod.
"Red Oak Grove seemed like a ministry site where I could work with kids and also stay involved with a rural congregation," Anderson remarked. "The spirit was working," she added.
"I was told that Red Oak was an extremely loving congregation," Anderson said. "I have already found that to be true.”
"Red Oak congregation members have been super helpful and kind, helping us fix a dryer in the parsonage," she said.
The soon-to-be Red Oak pastor, her husband Jesse and their two small dogs arrived at the Red Oak parsonage in late June. Willow is a pug mix and Salem is a chihuahua-wiener dog mix. Both are rescue dogs.
Anderson was raised in Wilkesboro, N.C. on a family farm. Her brother, Nathaniel Staley, is rebuilding the farm, which is home to his wife and two children. "He has the farmer gene," she smiles.
Anderson's parents are Danny and Becky Staley, with residence in North Carolina. Her mother, now retired, was a special education teacher for 31 years. Her father was director of public health for the state of North Carolina. He currently works for a non-profit attached to the Center for Disease Control.
As a 10-year-old, Pastor Leandra switched from Southern Baptist to the Lutheran faith. This was a decision made by her parents. Anderson was baptized in the Baptist faith at age 9.
She graduated from West Wilkes High School in North Carolina in 2012. She then attended Furman University in Greenville, S.C., graduating with a BA degree in religious education in 2016.
Her next step was to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Gettysburg. It merged with a seminary in Philadelphia and became United Lutheran Seminary. That's where she met her husband Jesse. They were married in 2017.
Jesse is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He majored in philosophy and minored in creative writing. He is a freelance private tutor.
While at seminary, Anderson interned for a year in Naples, Fla. "The year in Naples was a learning experience for me because the congregation size fluctuated from 800 members in the winter to 150 members on a regular basis," she says.
She graduated with her Masters of Divinity in 2020.
Anderson interviewed twice with the Red Oak Grove call committee, via zoom. The call committee voted unanimously on May 17 to call Anderson to serve Red Oak Grove.
Her early goals as pastor at Red Oak "are to connect with members to find out their hopes for the future of Red Oak Grove and how I can best accompany them to get there," she says.
She will be ordained as Pastor Leandra on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 at Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church. Her installation as Red Oak pastor will likely be that same day. She said her parents are planning to bring their RV from North Carolina to Blooming Prairie.
"Hopefully, we can set up zoom for my friends to watch the ordination on zoom," says Anderson.
"It will be an exciting day," she believes.
Anderson loves playing the acoustic guitar and the mountain dulcimer, a four-string instrument She also competed 15 years as a clog dancer. Chuckling, she says she can still do it.
She is a painter, creating projects with acrylic and water colors. Anderson also likes to read, choosing fiction as her likes.