Kansas City, Missouri, church preparing for anonymous firearm surrender event [Video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Central Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Missouri, is preparing to launch a safe firearm surrender site.

“The neighborhood we are in, as recently as last weekend, there were shootings right within the church’s boundaries almost,” said Mary Merola, an elder at the church. “We see it happen all the time.”

The church is located at 3501 Campbell St.

Merola also is a member of the church’s Safe Surrender Task Force.

She told KSHB 41 that church leadership has been waiting for the right opportunity to promote safety in the community.

“While we believe in prayer and good thoughts, we are an action-oriented group,” Merola said. “Our goal was to make a tangible difference in our community of getting weapons off the street.”

The new initiative is in conjunction with Guns for Garden,a faith-based organization.

“What we found in terms of common ground with Guns to Garden; it allowed a safe surrender of unwanted weapons,” Merola said.

“RAWtools’ mission to “disarm hearts and …