The Bible asks that we love our neighbor, and at The Auburn Church of the Nazarene, members of the congregation are taking that idea to another level with a community service program called Labor for Your Neighbor.

The Rev. Dr. Scott Buell said that the church is always striving to find new and interesting ways to serve its most important mission.

“We are here to share God's love,” Buell said. “That is our goal here at this church - to show others that God does love them.”

Buell said that while searching for new ideas to complement already existing community service efforts the church already hosts, he went out to members of the congregation for ideas.

Buell said that the idea originated with Kristal Riggall, who also created a program called poverty simulation at the church. The idea rapidly gained support with in the church community.

“Kristal is a recent college graduate,” Buell said. “She came up with the idea and we took it to everyone, and everyone agreed that it was a wonderful idea and that it really demonstrated what this church is all about.”

The idea is a fairly simple and straightforward one, and the name pretty much says it all. Members of the church are doing work for their neighbors - not only their church neighbors, but their neighbors in the greater community.

“It is our mission to get out and be more visible in the community,” Buell said. “We are here to help people and this is a great way to let other people - people who may not be a part of our church or any other church - know that we are here and we are here to help our community.”

This help can come in any form, from yard work to minor household repairs and tasks to larger endeavors such as helping individuals and charities in need of support.

Buell said the first effort in Labor for Your Neighbor was a day of service to Catholic Charities, helping with tasks such as serving food. Volunteers also canvassed various neighborhoods in Auburn, regardless of religious affiliations, passing out pamphlets about the program.

With 17 volunteers working on this initial effort, Buell considers it a fantastic success.

“Catholic Charities really appreciated what we were doing,” Buell said. “And we had a wonderful time doing it and we took the chance to hand out flyers about what we were doing to help spread the word.”

Buell said that the members of the congregation that took part in the first efforts enjoyed what they were doing and are eager to take a more active role in their communities.

Buell pointed out that all the participants are volunteers, so there are limits to what the group can do. But they are more than eager to help with anything within their powers.

“Anything we can do to help,” Buell said. “We aren't a group of professional builders, but anything we can do to help around the house - mow the lawn, help with chores or to help the community, helping support charities - things like that. Anything we can do we will be there to help with.”

Buell said that the effort is still in its early stages, but he anticipates it becoming a regular part of the services the church provides and he encourages anyone with ideas to contact the church.

“It is all about helping other people, our neighbors,” Buell said. “It is about being there to help other people and by doing that, showing them that God does love everyone and that everyone is important to God. Anything we can do to help others and to spread that message, we will do.”