Mansfield Lutheran Church will be recognizing its 130th anniversary in 2011 and is getting a facelift just in time to commemorate it.

“We’re updating the fellowship hall and the kitchen,” the Rev. Donald Rose said. “We’re making the church more energy efficient.”

The updates are possible through the generous gift of a member who has passed away. But that isn’t the only buzz at the church.

The congregation has been giving offerings to fund relief from a devastating earthquake in Haiti.

“They are a mission-minded group and have always been very generous with their benevolent giving, and they continue to do so,” Rose said.

Mansfield Lutheran’s congregation does not particularly associate itself with any sort of mission organization but does occasionally work with a mission in Tanzania that has served there for many years.

The church also is collecting food, and women are quilting to provide warmth to people in need.

“After 130 years, we continue to be active in the Mansfield area,” Rose said. “We provide education opportunities for pre-schoolers to adults.”

And currently that education includes Rose’s message about “the ways in which God reveals himself.”

Mansfield Lutheran Church’s youth group meets in cooperation with United Lutheran Church in Walters, where Rose is also the pastor.

“They meet monthly and do special events, whatever the director comes up with.”

The church is acting like many other country churches around the area, doing its part to stay sustainable while helping out those in need, domestically and internationally.