Our Mission
Imagining a less violent world by confronting the idols of our hearts.
We work with communities to offer the opportunity to grieve those lost to gun violence, the tools to transform, and the dreams of a less violent world.
Our Theological Method
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, we find repeated this image of the Day of the Lord when the people "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." We don't have many swords or spears in our modern arsenals but we do have a lot of guns.
A hunter and a gun owner himself, Corey takes guns that people donate (his first was his own handgun) and converts them into garden tools. He does this not with the intent to support any efforts to "take people's guns or rights away" but rather to offer a space to imagine a world with less violence and to mourn with those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. The desire is to break the idol of the gun we cling onto in our hearts rather than purely the gun itself.
It is our effort to provide a space where anyone can come together to find a moment to grieve, to imagine, to dream dreams and have visions. Whether you're a 2nd ammendment lover or strict pacifist, the hope is that this will offer space to imagine and dream of a better world.
Hosting a Demonstration
A guns into garden tools demonstration can take on any number of forms, though at its most basic level, we show up on-site with our forge and anvil setup along with whatever tools we might need. Corey will lead the demonstration by heating up the forge and beginning the process of turning the disabled gun barrel into a fully functional garden tool that your community can either keep, donate, or auction off.
From there we have any number of options available to personalize the event. Want to give people the opportunity to beat on the metal and join in the forging process? We can do that. Want a worship service or some other event to accompany it? We can do that. Want to give everyone the opportunity to take a personally made heart necklace home? We can make it happen.
While we hope that you would be able to provide the gun barrel we understand that sometimes that isn't an option. If this is the case let us know in your email and we can accomodate.
About
Corey Simon
A pastor in the United Methodist Church, Corey brings his passion for peace witness and antiviolence work to the forge. Focused on turning weapons of death into tools of life, he has been working to develop his talents to offer churches, communities, and organizations a unique opportunity to imagine a world with less violence.
Blacksmithing
Whether it's a church, a school, a community, or an organization, we want to offer you the opportunity to host your very own peace demonstration.