Rev. Jennifer Wells’ unorthodox plan to turn guns into gardens

Photo Courtesy of Jenny Wells

Kansas City saw its deadliest year in 2023 due to a rise in gun violence. The city saw 185 homicides with 160 of those involving firearms. Over 30% of the victims were under the age of 25. Recent Pew Research Center gun statistics showed about four-in-ten U.S adults live in a household with firearms and 32% say they personally own one. (For Most U.S. Gun Owners, Protection Is the Main Reason They Own a Gun)

Central Presbyterian Church is hosting Gun to Gardens Safe Surrender on Oct. 12, which will allow people to surrender unwanted firearms that will then be turned into garden tools and art by a local blacksmith.  

The plan is for cars to line up and a volunteer will retrieve the unloaded gun from the trunk of the car. After the weapon or weapons have been collected, participants will be given a grocery gift card for $20, $25, $50, or $100.

The Guns to Gardens initiative originated from RawTools. The movement was started following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School and has been active for 12 years and has hosted different events in numerous cities. 

Reverend Jenny Wells is organizing the event. Jenny spoke about the initiative coming after the rise of gun violence in schools, and Kansas City in general. 

“If I just say my thoughts and prayers are with you, then I can put it out of my mind. But how? How do we transform what we say our thoughts and prayers into the courage to take action,” Wells says. 

“We want people to know that they are loved, and we want them to be around, so, for me, that is how any change is going to happen and how I’m going to be able to participate in impacting or affecting change in my community,” Wells says.

Alongside Reverend Wells, Rebecca Merola, the overseer of the garden at Central, has an interesting background as well. 

Courtesy of Rebecca Merola

“I was raised by a Baptist preacher. I’ve known since I was a little girl that I was attracted to women, and even though I loved being in church and I loved singing in church, going to Sunday school, and memorizing Bible verses, I loved everything about being in church except as I got older. I started to hear that people who were attracted to people of the same gender were sinners and they were going to hell,” Merola says.

Through the acceptance of Central, Merola has been able to make a difference in her community. 

“Though, I didn’t go to church most of my adult life, it wasn’t until I found Central Presbyterian Church and actually heard a preacher from the pulpit preach out of the same Bible that my dad uses but in the version in this church, I don’t go to hell,” Merola says. “I was made exactly the way God intended to make me. God doesn’t make mistakes, and I am a child of God. All of my gifts that were given by God are utilized and are welcome in this space.”

Guns to Gardens has become a catalyst for addressing gun violence through an innovative approach that combines firearm surrender with urban gardening.

Urban gardening has seen a significant uptick in Kansas City. This rise has been in efforts to combat food insecurity and increase access to fresh, healthy produce. 

Central’s parking lot garden and pantry help feed 70 households on average every week. 

Wells and Merola hope that with the success of this Guns to Gardens event, the turnover of firearms to beneficial resources can become a recurring thing. 

“I hope that every person, from a volunteer to a surrendering person, feels like they can be proud of the fact that they stood up, they took courage, and they made a difference,” Merola says.

Updates on the event can be found on the Guns to Gardens website.