What an… interesting school project.

Statecollege.com reports.

Guns Turned Into Garden Tools at State College Presbyterian

“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and 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 any more.” — Isaiah 2:3-4

That Bible passage is closely tied with the church’s focus on non-violence. It refers to making a peaceful item out of one used to hurt others.

We don’t often use swords or plowshares in today’s world, but the message comes across just as strongly when turning guns into garden tools.

Raw Tools, a Colorado-based group, is doing just that with its PeaceMaker tour, which stopped off at the State College Presbyterian Church last night.

Two blacksmiths stood outside the church, heating up pieces of a handgun barrel and hammering them out on an anvil to create a garden tool. Inside the church, attendees watched the forging on a live stream while hearing speeches, songs, poems, and more about gun violence.

One local mother, Rebekah Carswell, heard about the event through her church and decided to bring her children so that they could soak in the positive message.

“I grew up in the Church of the Brethren, which is one of the three historic peace churches. There’s Quakers, and Mennonites, and Brethren. I grew up with that foundation of service and social justice and peace or non-violence,” Carswell says. “I thought this was a great event and it’s very tangible for kids to see them take something that’s non-violent and turn it into something that can promote life and peace. That was the real draw for us, to be able to bring the kids out there.”
Carswell’s daughter Naomi, 7, was mesmerized by the red-hot gun barrel’s transformation as it continuously came in and out of a kiln that’s heated to over 2,000 degrees.

“It’s funny. They’re melting a gun. It’s really hot,” Naomi says. “It can melt the snow. What they’re doing is good because now the gun can be useful.”