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Urban Connections
Urban Connections conducts guest interviews covering issues effecting our local, national, international and global communities from a Black perspective. Subjects include current events, trends, history, education, economics, science, political science, health, race, law and more.
Mary Merola is a member of the Guns to Gardens task force of Central Presbyterian Church. Guns to Gardens is a national movement based on the Biblical scripture Isiah 2:4, “…Beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.” The project is modeled on the non-profit organization RAWtools in Colorado, which created a national network of blacksmiths who forge dismantled gun parts into garden tools and art projects. The movement was started following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012.
Locally, on October 12, 2024, Central Presbyterian Church will sponsor a Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event, creating an opportunity to surrender unwanted firearms safely, responsibly and anonymously, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., at 3501 Campbell St., Kansas City MO.
“Guns to Gardens” shares the vision of making communities safer and more richly connected,” said Central Presbyterian Church Rev. Jenny Wells. “Sometimes, the firearms that people want to dispose of are inherited, or guns a family feels are unsafe to have in a home, for instance, with children, teens, senior citizens or with anyone who suffers from a serious illness.”
The Safe Surrender Event will allow community members to dispose of unwanted, unloaded firearms anonymously, practically, and responsibly. People surrendering firearms are asked to place them in their vehicle’s trunk and bring them to the church parking lot on Oct. 12, 2024, where a trained Guns to Gardens volunteer will remove and dismantle the gun. Following the Safe Surrender event, the chopped-up firearms will be repurposed into garden tools, kitchen implements, and other items.
Central Presbyterian Church Vision: We are a diverse, inclusive, and compassionate community Dedicated to service and social justice. Grounded in faith. Respecting our authentic selves, each other, and our planet. Progressive and LGBTQIA+ inclusive.
host/producer/engineer: Donna Morrow Wolfe
