Guns to Gardens · Boulder, CO

Swords into plowshares.

A grassroots community of faith working to reduce gun violence in Boulder, Colorado, by destroying unwanted guns and forging the parts into life-sustaining tools, art, or jewelry.

Get Involved How It Works

The biblical text calls us to peace, and to dismantling the constructs and systems that lead to violence. As it says in the Book of Isaiah:

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:4
Our Story

From grief to action

In response to a mass shooting at our local grocery store, where 10 people were killed on March 22, 2021, we resolved to find a way to move beyond thoughts and prayers.

We were shocked, scared and grieving, and that quickly turned to anger and outrage. We were told nothing would change. So through our tears and discernment, we decided to take action.

The dayMar 22, 2021

A mass shooting at our local grocery store, where 10 people were killed.

The first eventJun 13, 2021

On Sunday, June 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., Community United Church of Christ, with RAWtools and other partners, hosted our first county-wide gun buyback, with the support of the Boulder Police Department and in conjunction with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

The wider church2023

The United Church of Christ’s General Synod passes a resolution lifting up ministries like Guns to Gardens.

We offered a chance for the proper and safe disposal of unwanted firearms of all kinds. And we hope to reduce the number of gun deaths and injuries locally as we transform our trauma, individually and collectively.

Volunteers in Peace Ambassador shirts at the June 2021 Guns to Gardens event, with the chop saw in the foreground
Peace is taking the pain of the moment and daring to transform it.
Rev. Nicole Lamarche, Community United Church of Christ
It felt important to acknowledge that trauma around gun violence is a reality.
Rev. Jackie Hibbard, Community United Church of Christ
How It Works

From gun to garden

We are a collaborative effort of Community United Church of Christ in Boulder and RAWtools, Inc., a national non-profit whose comprehensive efforts to move communities away from violence brought us together.

We seek to support faith communities to take action to reduce gun violence in their own communities, and to provide resources and connections with other like-minded people of faith.

Volunteers at the forge and anvil
01

Surrender

A chance for the proper and safe disposal of unwanted firearms of all kinds.

Sparks flying as a firearm is cut apart
02

Dismantle

Our chop saw team safely dismantles each unwanted firearm.

Glowing metal being forged on the anvil
03

Forge

The parts are forged into life-sustaining tools, art, or jewelry.

Events

Upcoming events

There are currently no events scheduled. Please check this space for soon to be announced events in the Boulder and surrounding areas.

Own an unwanted gun? Want to bring Guns to Gardens to your church or group?

We would love to talk with you about our work.

g2gboulder@cuccboulder.org
Read & Listen

Voices of the movement

Article

Why Dismantle Guns?

With over 400 million guns in American homes, many of these guns are no longer wanted.

G2G BoulderRead →
Podcast · Georgetown

Evolving on God’s Time

Rev. Jackie Hibbard and Rev. Nicole Lamarche, from the Berkley Center’s American Pilgrimage Project.

Listen
Get Involved

Join our movement

  • Volunteer at an event or on our chop saw team.
  • Connect your church or group with our work.
  • Give. We run only on the gifts of generous individuals, churches, and organizations. Your gift is tax-deductible.
Donate g2gboulder@cuccboulder.org
Our Partners

Who we work with

Community United Church of Christ

Community United Church of Christ is based in Boulder and is a welcoming community of spiritual seekers, with an ever-evolving progressive view of the Holy, actively engaged in building a world with justice for all creation.

In June of 2021, in response to a massacre at our local grocery store, CUCC catalyzed a nationwide Guns to Gardens movement with RAWtools and other partners, inspiring communities of faith of all kinds to take action to reduce gun violence by safely destroying unwanted firearms donated by community members. Read the story.

Visit CUCCBoulder.org

RAWtools

Turning guns into garden tools is at the center of the work of RAWtools. It connects their programs and enables storytelling: stories of magnificent transformation, as well as the deep trauma of grief and loss.

We lose more than 100 people a day to gun violence in the United States, and it’s becoming more and more clear that guns have no place in conflict resolution. Many folks donate their guns because they realize they don’t need them anymore.

Visit RAWtools.org