By Michael Miller

I’m one of those people who take the Bible seriously, but not literally. Taking the Bible seriously means looking for the story behind the stories and asking, what message or challenge we can discover for our own time in those ancient words which have been translated and re-written many times? I do have an exception to this rule however. I do take literally a teaching of Jesus, from Matthew 22:37-40 which challenges us to “love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as yourself.” In Christian teaching and practice this is called the Great Commandment. It was not a new teaching when Jesus first presented it, but rather it was the bringing together of two teachings from the Hebrew tradition which Jesus was familiar with: “love of neighbor” from Leviticus 19:18 and “love of God” from Deuteronomy 6:5 (known as the Shema).

Back in 1971, this teaching was taken quite seriously and very literally by a handful of people from Eden Prairie when several Christian churches came together to create a nonprofit service agency called PROP (People Reaching Out to Other People). Working in collaboration with the Eden Prairie Schools and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s department they began to distribute food and clothing to those in need of this direct assistance as an act of compassion and love toward neighbor. Gerry Beckman and several others from the local faith communities formed this all-volunteer agency.

PROP has offered services to neighbors in need through a variety of venues and locations, including Gerry Beckman’s home, a church, the Band Room of Eden Prairie’s original school building and most recently in the lower level of the City Center. Regardless of the location, PROP remained faithful to its mission “to compassionately provide our neighbors in need with food and financial assistance and to provide support toward self-sufficiency.” PROP has been supported faithfully by the churches of Eden Prairie and Chanhassen because it is an important way to live out this “Great Commandment” to love our neighbor.

The city of Eden Prairie has graciously provided space in the lower level of the City Center for a number of years, but the need for services provided by PROP has simply outgrown the space. Cramped space made it difficult to interview clients in a private setting, storage space for donated food was limited, and the growing staff was working elbow to elbow in cramped office quarters. The PROP Board determined that it was time to make a move to help the community more effectively serve and love our neighbors in need. The past year has been a time of searching for space, securing initial funding and launching a capital campaign. Yesterday, on June 10, the new facility located on Martin Drive was opened to serve our neighbors in need.

As faith communities and as residents of Eden Prairie, we can love our neighbors through financial support for PROP’s capital campaign, which will be officially launched in the coming months. Even though we do not know their names, we can love our neighbors by continuing to donate food or money to purchase food or to be used for short-term loans for those who struggle with housing and utility costs. Volunteers are also needed to care for the organization and distribution of food items each day.

Love of God and love of neighbor are intentionally linked in this teaching of Jesus. When we love God, we are brought to a new depth of sensitivity and compassion for our neighbor. And, when we love our neighbor we see in them the face of God, creator of the whole human family of which we are all members.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement in England took seriously the challenge to love God and neighbor. He urged the early Methodists of England in the 1700s, to reach out to others with compassion when he said:

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
In all the ways you can, in all the places you can,
At all the times you can, to all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

That’s sound advice for us, whatever our faith tradition. I invite you to learn more about the important work of PROP, which serves our neighbors with sensitivity and compassion. Show your love for neighbor and for God, by investing in the work of this great organization, with your time and your money. The new location of PROP is: 14700 Martin Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Check out the Web site at www.propfood.org and join over 100 volunteers and staff who are making a difference in this community by reaching out to love their neighbor in partnership with PROP.

The Rev. Michael Miller shares this space with the Revs. Rod Anderson and Timothy A. Johnson as well as spiritual writers Dr. Bernard E. Johnson and Lauren Carlson-Vohs. “Spiritually Speaking” appears weekly.