Tag: Evergreen Presbyterian Church

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Dozens of Guns Surrendered in Guns to Gardens Event

Credit: Guns to Gardens Louisville via Facebook

Seventy-nine firearms were surrendered and dismantled at Memphis’ first-ever Guns to Gardens safe surrender event last month.

Guns to Gardens, hosted by Evergreen Presbyterian Church, took unwanted guns in a drive-through event and dismantled them with chop saws. The gun parts will be given to artisans at the Metal Museum to make garden tools and art. The church called the event “a form of direct action to intervene in record levels of gun violence.”  

Participants were offered Kroger gift cards for their guns in the 24-hous event. In all, 48 vehicles drove through and $6,350 in gift cards were given out. Thirty-five volunteers from 12 organizations participated.  

Here’s what was surrendered: 

● 79 firearms surrendered and dismantled

● 48 single-shot rifles/shotguns

● 30 handguns

● 1 assault-style weapon

“With this being our first Guns to Gardens event in Memphis, we honestly weren’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of participation,” said Reverend Patrick Harley, pastor of Evergreen. “To say that we were overwhelmed by the response is truly an understatement. 

“Cars were lined up down the street, with some folks waiting patiently for nearly two hours. We started out with two chop saws and added a third to help handle the incredible number of guns that were being surrendered. 

“And people shared such touching stories about why they wanted to surrender these guns. We are so grateful to those who participated and to the volunteers and ally organizations who helped make this event happen. This clearly showed there is a strong desire among Memphians for this type of solution to help reduce gun violence in our city, so our hope is that we can host similar events in the future.”

The Metal Museum will display the new tools and art made from Guns to Gardens in a special event on March 23rd from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

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“Guns to Gardens” Event Will Transform Surrendered Firearms Into Tools, Art

Credit: Guns to Gardens Louisville

Surrendered guns will begin to be transformed into garden tools on February 24th at Evergreen Presbyterian Church. During the church’s “Guns to Gardens” event, surrendered guns will be immediately cut up with a chop saw. Later, they’ll be turned into garden tools and art objects by artisans with the Metal Museum. 

“Like so many in our community, our church is concerned about the extreme level of gun violence in Memphis and the lives that are being devastated every day,” said Evergreen pastor Reverend Patrick Harley. “We are offering this event as an affirmation of our commitment to peacemaking by working to reduce gun violence in Memphis and Shelby County.

“People who, for whatever reason, have guns they no longer want will be able to safely and anonymously surrender those firearms to be dismantled and later transformed into garden tools. This is foundational to our faith — taking weapons designed to destroy and transforming them into tools that bring life.”

During the drive-through event, gun owners must bring their guns unloaded and stored securely in the trunk or rear of their vehicles. While those owners remain in their cars, their guns will be dismantled with a chop saw.       

No background checks will be conducted and no personal information will be collected. Unlike a “buy back” event, gun ownership is not transferred. Gun owners will be offered Kroger gift cards ($50 for handguns, $100 for rifles and shotguns, and $150 for semiautomatic and automatic guns, while supplies last) as a way to thank people for disposing of unwanted guns. Spiritual and mental health support will also be available on-site.

The project is part of the national “Guns to Gardens” movement, which works to reduce gun violence by reducing the number of guns in homes and communities. Similar events have taken place across the country, resulting in the dismantling of thousands of guns.

The gun parts collected at the event will be given to the Metal Museum, which will host a special event on March 23rd to display the transformed guns. Artisans will demonstrate techniques used in creating the objects. 

“Gun owners may want to surrender guns for a range of reasons,” the church said in a news release. “The gun owner may have children or grandchildren in the home; a gun owner may have reached an age where they no longer feel that they can safely handle weapons; a gun may have been returned to family by the police after it was used in a suicide or accident; there may be conflict in a family or there may a family member with a serious illness. 

“Guns to Gardens provides a way to dispose of unwanted guns without returning them to the gun marketplace, where they could be used for future harm.”

Details

What: Evergreen Presbyterian Church Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event

When: Saturday, February 24th, noon to 4 p.m.  

Where: Presbyterian Place, 449 Patterson Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38111

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Evergreen Presbyterian Says Goodbye to Sanctuary

CREDIT: Alaina Getzenberg

After 64 years, Evergreen Presbyterian Church finally said goodbye to its sanctuary at 613 University Street.

The church sold its facilities to Rhodes College, which is located across the street from the church, two years ago, but the congregation held its last service there on Sunday, June 21st.

The property will add about 9.7 acres to the Rhodes campus. It includes a 1,000-seat sanctuary, a two-story education building, a gymnasium, and a variety of sports equipment. The college bought the facilities and land for $2.6 million.

Part of the reason for the sale was the church’s decrease in membership, making the space larger than necessary for the congregation of about 160 people. In 1950, when the building was erected, the church had about 1,400 congregants.

Alaina Getzenberg

University Street Sanctuary

The church has been able to phase out of the space in the past two years due to an agreement with Rhodes that allowed them to remain there while the college updated its master plan to include the new space.

Under the leadership of Reverend Lucy Waechter Webb, a Rhodes alumni who has been part of the church for nine months, Evergreen has been using the time to explore new locations. Over the past five months, they visited six locations, including storefronts and space in other churches.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to go and do a new thing. Church in our world is dramatically shifting and that’s exciting to me,” Waechter Webb said. “You also can’t make those changes unless you take some really bold steps, so Evergreen’s decision to sell the building was a sign to me that it was a community ready for change and ready to embrace the next thing.”

At Evergreen’s last service, the congregation and others walked around the grounds and said prayers to bless the property’s future uses, and then the final worship service was held in the sanctuary.

To wrap up the Father’s Day afternoon service, a lunch and organ concert were held. Evergreen’s 44-rank Reuter organ has been a part of the church for all of its 64 years. The concert highlighted its history with 10 musicians playing a diverse array of pieces.

The church will hold services this coming Sunday and for the foreseeable future at the Beethoven Club, 263 South McLean Boulevard, a historic performance venue that the churchgoers decided was an inspirational space that left them hopeful for the future, Waechter Webb said.

Rhodes has not disclosed detailed plans for their new space, although the music program will have a piece of it, including the historic organ. The relationship between Evergreen and Rhodes will continue. If the church ever decides to come back to the area, Rhodes has offered it an indefinite proposal to worship at the college.

While the future is largely unknown for Evergreen Church, all eyes are on the road ahead, according to Waechter Webb.

“We are walking out into the unknown. We are not sure exactly what is next, but we trust that as we do, there will be clarity that comes for us as a church,” said Waechter Webb. “There is already just tons of imagination and ideas for partners in this city. How can we make a difference in a particular way in this city? That’s the journey we are setting out on and the exploration ahead.”