Kansas City church to begin second year of turning guns into gardening tools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Rows of sunflowers were sprouting out of a raised garden smack dab in the middle of a parking lot at Central Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, making their final show. Reverend Jenny Wells stood holding a garden trowel with special meaning. It was made from an unwanted firearm.

“We are turning something that is destructive into something that can be productive and feed people,” Wells said.

A handcrafted garden trowel and bottle opener bear signs of their original form as firearms. They were made by a blacksmith from surrendered, unwanted firearms.(KCTV)

A tool of violence transformed into a tool of sustenance is the mission of a national movement called Guns to Gardens. It’s inspired by a biblical passage in Isaiah 2:4 – “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”

Guns to Gardens began after the Sandy Hook school shooting. Wells and her parishioners organized the first such event in Kansas City last year as a way to process the mass shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl Rally.

“That really inspired us to want to turn our thoughts and prayers, which is something that we often hear our community leaders say when tragedy happens, into courage and action,” Rev. Wells said.

The 2024 Kansas City event yielded 81 firearms. They were inspected, disassembled, then cut apart with chopping saws. The parts were then given to a blacksmith to be turned into tools, jewelry and art.

The 2024 Kansas City event yielded 81 firearms.(Kimberly Stern)

On Tuesday, Wells began the first volunteer training for this year’s event in the lower level of the church at Campbell Street and Armour Road. This time, it comes on the heels of a homicide just two blocks away from the church. On Sept. 3, five people were shot and one killed at 34th and Harrison Streets.

There is no evidence events like these reduce gun violence, but they can be a source of healing.

Wells described one woman who came to last year’s event right as it was about to close. She brought numerous guns that a spouse had used to threaten her. She didn’t want them around her kids.

“Through tears she told me how relieved she felt,” Wells said. “And when the chop saw operators held up the firearms to her in pieces, you could tell just what a weight was lifted off of her.”

Half of the volunteers who arrived for this year’s first training are new. Mary Pickett Vincent, who attends nearby St. James Catholic Church, described why she’s coming back for the second year.

“I have met wonderful people and working in community with them gives me a sense of we can do it,” she said. “We just have to keep at it. A little at a time is better than nothing.”

Government-funded gun buybacks have faced criticism as a waste of resources. This is a solely donation-driven, faith-based effort. In exchange for the guns, they offer grocery store gift cards.

This year’s event will take place on Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. There are two more training opportunities before then. You can register for volunteer training here. There are multiple volunteer roles, from greeters to chop saw operators to ministerial counselors. The event is also seeking sponsors and donations for the grocery gift cards.