Rev. Jenny Wells and some of the members of Central Presbyterian Church were nearby when the deadly shooting took place at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally.
"That following Sunday, we talked about it in worship,” Wells said. "What does it mean for us to do something about this in our community? And what are we going to do about gun violence in our community?”
Wells, the pastor of the church, was familiar with Guns to Gardens, which first began in Colorado. The grassroots movement was spurred by the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Stemming from a biblical scripture, the nationwide grassroots movement takes unwanted guns and turns them into garden tools and other items.
“We hear about it (gun violence) almost every day, and this was an opportunity for us to do something tangible that felt like we're actually making a difference in our community,” Wells said. “By taking these unwanted firearms and turning them into something productive and beautiful.”
Last year’s event hosted by the Kansas City church yielded 81 unwanted firearms.
Many of the unwanted guns were inherited or gifted, Wells said.
“They either didn't know what to do with them, or they wanted to get rid of them,” Wells said. “But didn't want to sell them or pawn them, because there's a chance that those firearms could end up on the street used in a violent crime in the future, and this was an opportunity for them to give back.”
Guns to Gardens, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Central Presbyterian Church, 3501 Campbell St., Kansas City, Missouri 64109.
- Rev. Jenny Wells, pastor, Central Presbyterian Church.
