Pastor Groe has, as the long-term pastor of Immanuel, brought a unique blend of life experiences and personal characteristics that have been instrumental in developing a strong and supportive spiritual community. Pastor Groe is well steeped in Lutheran doctrine and spiritual practices having grown up in a small town in rural Iowa in which the size of the congregation of the Lutheran Church was approximately the same as the number of people in the town! What makes Pastor Groe unique, however, is not only does he have this rich heritage but when combined with his ecumenical respect for different spiritual traditions and life experiences, it has resulted in Immanuel being a welcoming and caring environment to people from a wide variety of lives and spiritual histories. In addition to being the pastor of Immanuel, Pastor Groe is also the chaplain at Providence St. Joseph Hospital. This experience has allowed him to enhance his naturally empathic and supportive tendencies to become very supportive to both congregation members and community members in general when faced with serious illness and/or death of a loved one.