Turning Swords into Plowshares (Shovels) in the South Valley

He'll settle things fairly between nations. He'll make things right between people. They'll turn their swords into shovels, their spears into hoes. No more will nation fight nation; they won't play war anymore... Each man will sit under his own shade tree, each woman in safety will tend her own garden.   from Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3-4 (The Message version) 

A coalition of churches, community organizations and businesses are coming together in the South Valley on Saturday, June 18, to turn swords into plowshares and spears into hoes. Working with the organization RawTools, the coalition will take weapons seized by the Albuquerque Police Department and convert them into gardening implements.

 The event, "From Guns to Gardens," will include food, music, poetry and testimonies from gun violence victims and shooters. Albuquerque Mennonite Church, American Friends Service Committee, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Swan Kitchen, Veterans for Peace, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, Everence, and Southwest Organizing Project are sponsoring the event, which will be held at La Plazita Institute, 831 Isleta Blvd. SW (map), 10:00 am. to 3:00 pm.